What does a UK Process Server do?

Service of process is the procedure employed to give legal notice to a person (defendant etc.) of a court or administrative body’s exercise of its jurisdiction over that person so as to enable that person to respond to the proceeding before the court, body or other tribunal. Usually, notice is furnished by delivering a set of court documents to the person to be served. This is done by Process Servers.

Service

Each jurisdiction has rules regarding the means of service of process. Typically, a summons and related documents must be served upon the defendant personally, or in some cases upon another person of suitable age and discretion at the person’s abode or place of business or employment. In some cases, service of process may be effected through the mail as in some small claims court procedures. In exceptional cases, other forms of service may be authorized by procedural rules or court order, including service by publication when an individual cannot be located in a particular jurisdiction.

Proper service of process initially establishes personal jurisdiction of the court over the person served. If the defendant ignores further pleadings or fails to participate in the proceedings, then the court or administrative body may find the defendant in default and award relief to the claimant, petitioner or plaintiff. Service of process must be distinguished from service of subsequent documents (such as pleadings and motion papers) between the parties to litigation.

In ancient times the service of a summons was considered a royal act that had serious consequences. It was a summons to come to the King’s Court and to respond to the demand of a loyal subject. In ancient Persia, failure to respond to the King’s summons meant a sentence of death. Today the penalty for ignoring a summons is usually a default money judgment that must be subsequently enforced.

In England and Wales, the rules governing service of documents are contained within Part 6 of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 [1].

Service on a defendant who resides in a country outside the jurisdiction of the Court must comply with special procedures prescribed under the Hague Service Convention, if the recipient’s country is a signatory.

Personal service is service of process directly to the (or a) party named on the summons, complaint or petition. In most lawsuits, personal service is required to prove service. In most Anglo-American legal systems the service of process is effectuated by a process server who must be an adult and (in most jurisdictions) not a party to the litigation.

Substituted Service

When an individual party to be served is unavailable for personal service, many jurisdictions allow for substituted service. Substituted service allows the process server to leave service documents with another responsible individual such as cohabiting adults or an employer. Substituted service often requires a serving party show that ordinary service is impracticable and that substituted service will reach the party and effect notice.