Legal Question in Civil Rights Law in California

Remember, it is very important that you, if you are the plaintiff/petitioner or defendant/respondent, do NOT serve your own papers.

Consider service by mail or substituted service:

Service by Mail

In "service by mail," someone � NOT a party to the case � must mail the documents to the other party.

For �service by mail�:

The server mails the papers to the party being served. If the party being served is a person, the papers can be mailed to his or her home or mailing address. If it is a business, the papers must be mailed to the owner(s) at the business�s main office. 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. The server signs the Proof of Service and returns it to you to file in court.

Service by mail is complete 5 days after the papers are mailed.

Mail service is easy but not very reliable because the court cannot know for sure that someone received the paperwork.

Substituted Service

Substituted service is used after several attempts to personally serve the papers have failed.

For substituted service:

The server tries to personally serve the papers on the other party a number of times (usually 3 or more) but cannot find the party at home (or work, if that is the address the server has). The server must try different days of the week and different times of the day, at times when the other person is likely to be home (or at work if serving him or her there).

If the server is unable to find the person to be served on each one of those times, he or she can, on the last attempt, leave the papers with someone at the other party�s house, at least 18 years old, who lives there. If the server is trying to serve the papers at the other party�s work, then the papers can be left with someone at the office that appears to be in charge and is at least 18 years old.

The server must tell the person that he or she hands the papers to that they are legal documents for the other party. The server must also write down the name and address of the person he or she gave the court papers to. If the person will not give his or her name, the server must write down a detailed physical description.

Next, the server must mail a copy of the papers to the other party at the address where the papers were left.

The server must then:

Write up a �Declaration of Due Diligence,� which is document for the court detailing every attempt attempt he or she made to serve the papers in person. It should include the dates he or she went to the house or work, times of day, and what the result was (for example, �No one answered the door� or �Party not in the office�). The server has to sign this document under penalty of perjury. There is no form for this, but the server can use a Declaration (Form MC-030). Your court�s self-help center may have a local form to help you with this step too.

Fill out a Proof of Service, detailing when, where, and how the papers were served. The server has to make sure to write the name of the person he or she left the papers with (or a detailed physical description). The server signs the Proof of Service and returns it to you, with the Declaration of Due Diligence, to file in court.

Substituted service is complete 10 days after the day the papers are mailed.

"Service of process" means that the other side must get copies of any paper you file with the court. In �service of process� a third person (NOT you) is the one who actually delivers the paperwork to the other side. The person who does this is called the �server� or �process server.�

The �server� or �process server� can be:

A friend or relative;

A coworker;

A county sheriff or marshal;

A professional process server; or

Anyone over 18 who is NOT part of the case.

In all cases, the �server� or �process server� MUST:

Be 18 years old or older;

Not be a party to the case;

Serve the paperwork on the other side in the time require;

Fill out a proof of service form that tells the court whom they served, when, where, and how; and

Return the proof of service to you so you can file it with the court.

NOTE: Sometimes, like in small claims cases, you can use substituted service the first time the server tries to serve the papers in person and the other party is not at home or work.

�Substituted service� is not a very reliable type of service because the court does not know for sure that the person that had to be served actually received the paperwork.