The server must complete a Proof of Service indicating how the papers were served. Service by certified mail is complete on the 10th day after mailing of the papers. The process for serving someone outside the U. Service on someone who lives out of the country If you need to serve someone who is not in the United States, you may have to use the process set out under the Hague Convention.
For example, if you are filing for divorce and your spouse is living in Mexico, you will have to use the Hague Convention to serve him with divorce papers. The process is complicated. Your court's family law facilitator or self-help center may be able to help you. Or talk to a lawyer. Filling Out and Filing the Proof of Service The court must know that the other side was properly served. To do this, the process server must carefully fill out and sign the Proof of Service detailing how service was done, on whom, where, and when.
The process server then gives you the Proof of Service. Make a copy of the Proof of Service. Take the original and copy to your court clerk right away to file it. When you sue a person, you file your lawsuit against that person, using his or her legal name and any aliases. Often, it is easy to get this information if you do not already have it, by looking at any documentation you may have about the legal dispute.
But, sometimes, this information is not easily available to you. Below are some ways to track someone down. If you do not know if a person is in state or federal prison or county jail, search for the person in state and federal prison and the counties where you think the person might be incarcerated. Be creative!!! You do not need to know where someone lives or works in order to serve him or her with legal papers. You only need to find the person to give him or her your legal papers through a server.
The more you know about someone and his or her habits or the places he or she frequents, the easier it will be to figure out a good way to serve him or her with legal papers. You may also make a plan to meet the person somewhere and then have a server with you to give him or her the paperwork when you meet up.
You can also hire a private investigator to help you find someone. Skip to main content Skip to topics menu Skip to topics menu. Cancel Print. Advanced Search. Service of Court Papers. The information here is general and may not apply to your case. What Is Service? Types of service There are several ways to serve papers. Click on the type of service to find out more: Personal Service Service by Mail Substituted Service Service by Notice and Acknowledgement of Receipt Service by posting on the premises and mailing for eviction cases only Service by publication Service by posting at the courthouse Service by certified mail small claims only Service by certified mail for a party who is out of state Service on someone who lives out of the country Personal Service "Personal service" means that someone — NOT a party to the case — must personally deliver the court documents to the other side.
The server has to identify the party being served and hand the legal papers to him or her and inform him or her that they are court papers. If the party being served does not want to take the papers, they can be left on the ground in front of him or her. If he or she takes the papers and tears them up or throws them away, service is still considered to be valid.
The person being served does not have to sign anything. The server then fills out a proof of service, detailing when, where, and how in person the papers were served. The server signs the proof of service and returns it to you to file in court. Personal service is complete the day the papers are served.
If the party being served is a person, the papers can be mailed to his or her home or mailing address. If the business has an agent for service, the papers should be mailed to the agent for service. Learn more about serving a business. The server then fills out a Proof of Service, detailing to whom the papers were mailed, to what address, when, how by first-class mail , and where they were mailed from.
Check with your court clerk to see if this method is available in your area. It can be difficult to serve certain individuals. Some have developed their skill at avoiding process servers into a high art. In some states, avoiding service no longer works, as there is now a procedure that allows "substituted service" if you make "reasonable efforts" to serve a defendant and fail.
Often the slang for this type of service is "nail and mail," because in several states, if you are unable to serve the defendant personally, you do not have to leave the claim with a live person.
Instead, you can simply tack one copy to the defendant's door and mail the second copy. Service is complete ten days after mailing. Be sure that all steps, including mailing the extra copy, are carried out by an adult who is not named in the lawsuit. If you know nothing more than the individual defendant's post office box, you'll need to get a street address in order to serve the person.
To do this, you must give the post office a written statement saying that you need the address solely to serve legal papers in a pending lawsuit. There is no fee for the Post Office providing this information. It is proper to serve someone who is on active duty in the armed forces. If the person shows up, fine. If not, however, you have a problem. Although you can usually get a default judgment against a properly served defendant who fails to show up, this is not true if the person you are suing is in the military other than the reserves.
Default judgments cannot normally be taken against people on active duty in the armed forces, because Congress has given our military personnel special protections. To get a default judgment, you will probably have to file a statement under penalty of perjury that the defendant is not in the military.
This declaration is available from the clerk. Clerks almost always accept a Declaration of Nonmilitary Service signed by the plaintiff, as long as the plaintiff reasonably believes that the defendant is not on active duty.
This constitutes a lenient interpretation of the law by clerks, but no one seems to be complaining. If you have asked the court clerk to serve your papers by certified mail, you need do nothing else. The court clerk sends out the certified mail for you, and the signed post office receipt comes back directly to the clerk if service is accomplished. It's as simple as that. However, a court has no way of knowing whether or not papers have been successfully filed by personal service, substituted service, or first-class mail unless you tell them.
So, you are required to do so. Notification is accomplished by filing a form known as a Proof of Service with the court clerk after the service has been made. To leave this site now, use the X button.
If you are in danger, please use a safer computer. Computer use can be monitored and is impossible to completely clear. Blank forms to print and fill out on your own, with how-to instructions for completing and filing. When filing your case, make sure a copy of the petition, summons, and other papers you are filing are delivered to the person you are filing the case against "the other party" in a legally correct way.
When you file a family law case in court, you must have a copy of the petition, summons, and other papers you are filing delivered to the person you are filing the case against "the other party".
We call this having the other party "served. The other party has a legal right to receive a copy of the papers you file. The judge will not make any decisions in your case until you can show proof that the other party got copies of your court papers.
In Washington, you must always try to have the other party personally served. If you absolutely cannot have them served this way, you can ask court permission to serve them by mail or publication.
Someone age 18 or older besides you must hand deliver the papers to the other party, or to someone old enough living at their home. The person who delivers the papers is your "server. Keep track of everything you do to try to get the other party personally served. You may be unsuccessful.
At that point, you need court permission to serve by mail or publication. Hunter Faulkner Austin T. Hamilton C. Ryan Maloney Brandon C. Fox Gregory J. Lesak, Jr. Joseph R. Luna Lynne C.
Rhode Deborah L. Ruiz Stewart J. Subjinski Melissa G.
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