Wiktionary
n. 1 (context idiomatic English) A written record, history, or collection of evidence. 2 (context idiomatic English) the records left by a person or organization in the course of activities.
WordNet
n. the written evidence of someone's activities; "this paper trail consisted mainly of electronically stored information"
Wikipedia
Paper Trail is the sixth studio album by American hip hop recording artist T.I., released September 30, 2008, on Grand Hustle Records and Atlantic Records. He began to write songs for the album as he awaited trial for federal weapons and possession charges. Unlike his past albums, he wrote his lyrics down on paper, which he had not done since his debut album, I'm Serious (2001).
The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 568,000 copies in its first week, becoming T.I.'s highest debut sales to date, and the fourth highest debut of the year. The album was eventually certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on August 27, 2009. It received generally favorable reviews from critics, and is T.I.'s most successful currently. The album spawned eight singles, four of which reached the top five of the Billboard Hot 100, with two singles peaking at number one.
Usage examples of "paper trail".
I have found that, even when folk don't leave a trail on the hard soil of summer, you can often get a line on them by following the paper trail we all leave filed here and there.
He could buy a ticket without getting logged in a computer, the reason he didn't fly or rent a car-he didn't want to leave a paper trail.
We've tied Mabry to a group called Help Americans First I don't know if we'll be able to implicate any of them without his testimony, but we might be able to turn up a paper trail that ties them to it.
The first team was to secure the building and round up the employees, the second was to search out any stolen cache, while the third was to investigate the administration offices for any paper trail that led to theft operations or illegal purchases.
The paper trail remains exiguous, and Hitler apparently never signed anything.