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Personal Service & Court Ordered Options: Mail & Publication
PLEASE READ - IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Service is important. Service must be done correctly so that you can move to the next step in your case. Unless there is a court order that allows otherwise, personal service is required.
If you tried personal service but couldn’t do it, you must get the court’s permission (court order) before trying alternative service by mail or publication.
Always file proof of service. The method of service will determine which form can be used for proof.
No matter which form you use, the answers to the 4W’s are critical:
Who was served?
When were they served?
Where were they served?
What were they served?
Service by mail or publication is not the same as personal service. The court may not be able to address some things when you do not use personal service.
Service by publication is expensive. The court does not control the fees and cannot waive them. You must serve every party, including “John Doe” or “Jane Doe” when you do not have the party’s name.
| These steps do not guarantee your request will be granted. This is legal information. This is not a substitute for legal advice. If you need legal advice, talk to an attorney. |
- Personal Service
- Service by Mail (only after Court Order)
- Service by Publication (only after Court Order)
CHECKLIST:
__ Step 1: Decide who will do service.
- You cannot serve forms on the other party. Nor can your dependent children.
- The server must be age 18 or older.
- A friend or relative may serve or you can hire the Sheriff or a professional for a fee.
- An internet search using the search term “process server” may help you find a process server or a website such as the National Association of Professional Process Servers
__ Step 2: Keep a copy of each document you are going to serve.
- Also, make a list of the documents that are going to be served and keep the list.
__ Step 3: Serve (done by the server) the other party and pay the fee, if necessary.
__ Step 4: Complete and sign proof of service. The server does this. Not you.
** For more tips on filling out form FL All Family 101, click here. **
ALSO,
Complete and sign an additional form, if personal service is done outside of Washington State.
__ Step 5: File your Proof of Service and, if it applies, Declaration: Personal Service Could Not Be Made in Washington.
You can file documents electronically via the Legal Information Network Exchange (LINX). There is a fee to set up your account. Contact the Clerk of the Court's LINX help line at (253) 798.7757 to obtain information on how to register for a LINX Account and password. OR Submit your original paperwork by mail or in person at:
Clerk of the Superior Court for Pierce CountyCounty City Building, Room 110930 Tacoma Avenue S.Tacoma, Washington 98402
__ Step 6: Wait for the response. The other party has 20 days to respond if served in state, 60 days if out of state.
What if I tried personal service but couldn’t complete it?
If personal service doesn’t work, you must get a court order before trying service by mail or publication.
CHECKLIST:
___ Step 1: Complete and sign the following forms.___ Step 2: Schedule a hearing (Room 110A) and present your motion and order to the Ex Parte Courtroom (Room 105). If your motion is granted, the court will sign the order and give you a copy.
- Motion to Serve by Mail, FL ALL FAMILY 104
- Order to Allow Service by Mail, FL ALL FAMILY 105
- Summons Served by Mail, FL ALL FAMILY 106
** For more tips on completing FL ALL FAMILY 104, click here. **** For more tips on completing FL ALL FAMILY 106, click here. **
___ Step 3: File the original Summons Served by Mail with the Clerk’s Office.
___ Step 4: Keep a copy of each document you are going to serve by mail.
- Also, make a list of the documents you are going to mail and keep the list.
___ Step 5: Read the Order to Allow Service by Mail for instruction on how to serve.
- Two copies must go to each address listed in the Order to Allow Service by Mail: 1 copy by certified mail with return receipt requested and 1 copy by regular, prepaid first-class mail.
- Put the address where you want to receive legal papers on the certified and regular mail envelopes.
- Keep the post office receipt and certified mail receipt for step 7.
___ Step 6: Serve the other party by mail.
- You cannot mail the forms to the other party. Nor can your dependent children.
- The mailer must be age 18 or older.
- A friend or relative may do the mailing or you can hire the Sheriff or a professional for a fee.
- An internet search using the search term “process server” may help you find a process server or a website such as the National Association of Professional Process Servers
___ Step 7: The mailer/server must complete and sign the Proof of Service by Mail. Not you.
- Proof of Service by Mail, FL ALL FAMILY 107
- In the “List all forms you served” section, check off every form served AND use the “Other” section to add any forms served that are not listed.
- If any forms you served include a hearing date, write the hearing date next to the form name.
- Attach proof of mailing. (Certified mail receipt and post office receipt)
** For more tips on filling out form FL All Family 107, click here. **
Are you confined by Court order (i.e. incarcerated)? Click here for additional information.
___ Step 8: File the Proof of Service by Mail form and post office receipt with the Clerk’s Office.
You can file documents electronically via the Legal Information Network Exchange (LINX). There is a fee to set up your account. Contact the Clerk of the Court's LINX help line at (253) 798.7757 to obtain information on how to register for a LINX Account and password. OR Submit your original paperwork by mail or in person at:
Clerk of the Superior Court for Pierce CountyCounty City Building, Room 110930 Tacoma Avenue S.Tacoma, Washington 98402
Are you confined by Court order (i.e. incarcerated)? Click here for additional information.
___ Step 9: Wait for the response. The other party has 90 days to respond.
CHECKLIST:
___ Step 1: Complete and sign the following forms.___ Step 2: Schedule a hearing (Room 110A) and present your motion and order in Ex Parte (Room 105). If your motion is granted, the court will sign the order and give you a copy.
Are you confined by Court order (i.e. incarcerated)? Click here for additional information.
___ Step 3: File the original Summons Served by Publication with the Clerk’s Office.
___ Step 4: Serve the other party by publication.
___ Step 5: Complete and sign cover sheet for proof of service:
- Contact a publication/newspaper in the county where the court required that publication occur and pay the fee.
- The summons (see Step 1) must be published once a week for six (6) consecutive weeks.
- At a minimum, the summons must state:
- Date of the first publication
- Require the other party to appear and respond to the petition within 60 days of the first publication
- Give notice of what you want the court to do. This is the same information you entered in your motion in step 1.
___ Step 6: File your proof of service (see step 5).
- Secure proof the summons was published from the publication/newspaper – usually called an Affidavit of Publication.
- Attach the newspaper’s proof that summons was published to the Proof of Publication Cover Sheet
- Print and sign your name on the cover sheet
You can file documents electronically via the Legal Information Network Exchange (LINX). There is a fee to set up your account. Contact the Clerk of the Court's LINX help line at (253) 798.7757 to obtain information on how to register for a LINX Account and password. OR Submit your original paperwork by mail or in person at:
Clerk of the Superior Court for Pierce CountyCounty City Building, Room 110930 Tacoma Avenue S.Tacoma, Washington 98402