At the request of lawyers or legal teams, a process server personally delivers legal documents. When someone is named in a lawsuit or summoned as a witness, service of process is required by law, and this is frequently done in person by a process server. The laws governing service of process differ from one region to the next. Legal documents can be sent by mail in some areas, for example, and this is acceptable, whereas in others, personal service of process is required.
Process servers accept documents from clients, locate the person to whom the documents must be served, and deliver the documents. The law considers the service of process obligation complete once the documents have been delivered to the person or an authorized agent. If that person fails to respond, she or he may be held legally liable because the person knows a response is expected and is aware of legal proceedings, according to the law.
People who work in this position come from a variety of backgrounds, and they may be required to have a license in order to work. Many work for agencies, but some are self-employed. Because lawyers in a community become familiar with and use an agency on a regular basis, and lawyers from other areas who need a local process server may be referred to an agency, agency work is usually steady. Some deliver papers on behalf of the court for the local government.
This work can be difficult. When legal documents are served, not everyone is pleased, especially if they are unexpected, and a process server’s safety may be jeopardized. If there are any safety concerns, a law enforcement officer may accompany the server for protection. Others rely on personal safety training to safeguard themselves in the event of an emergency.
Process servers may be required to conduct extensive research. It can be simple to serve papers on someone if the documents include the person’s address and the server arrives on time. Other times, the process server may have to track down someone in order to deliver the papers personally. There may be times when a process server is unable to locate someone using all available resources. It helps to be familiar with the community and its residents, as well as avenues for research, such as social organizations that may provide a network that could be used to locate a specific member of the community.