Why You Need A Process Server

If you plan to bring someone to court whether it’s a small claims lawsuit or divorce proceedings or just about anything in between you will need to have the other party served with court papers so they are aware of the legal proceedings against them and have time to respond.

No state will allow you to be the one to serve the papers yourself in a suit that you are involved in. This means you have a few options to serve the other party including having a friend or family member who is not involved in the suit, who is over the age of 18 (in most states), serve the other party. Another option is to use the postal service and have the paper work served via certified mail. This method is generally not recommended because the other party can simply refuse to accept the letter and you will not be able to proceed until they are served.

Most states require a time line for the other party to be served before the court date. Miss that deadline and your scheduled court date will have to be rescheduled and the pending case can be pushed out for a long time. This can be especially bad for small claims court where it can take months to even get a court date since these cases are low priority and generally are very backed up in most jurisdictions.

You can also have the local sheriff serve the papers but this can be the more costly option and generally the only time it is free is for restraining orders in most states. The most popular option to serve court documents however and the most highly recommended is to have a licensed process service serve the legal documents.

Process servers in some states such as Arizona are appointed by the courts, after the completion of a test and a background check. Other requirements to become a certified process server in some states such as Arizona for example include being at least 21 years old and meeting the residency requirements of the state.

Regardless of who you ultimately select to serve the papers- a process server, the sheriff or an uninvolved party, the other party must be served in person and the server must have proof of service. And there are some limitations and restrictions on how documents can be served. For example in order to serve a minor the minor and their legal guardian both must be served depending on the state rules and regulations on minors being served. All states require that process servers abide by the laws of the state which means they can not trespass or otherwise violate the law in order to serve the documents.

Once the other party is successfully served the process service must obtain and provide a notarized affidavit of service also known as proof of service. This must be filed with the court in order to prove that both parties are aware of the pending legal action.