What Does a Process Server Do

Citizens of the United States have the right to be notified of being Process servers summoned. For this, process servers act as a messenger to inform citizens of the same. They “serve” them with the notice that states the legal matter pertaining to their case. Originally the task of local county sheriffs, the task of process serving moved to these servers as the cities grew so they can deliver the papers legally and in a timely manner.

Tasks of a Process Server

Although the main task of a process server is to deliver or “serve” legal documents (at the directive of a lawyer or any legal team) to the person involved in a court case, they also fill out court papers and are responsible for document retrieval as well. The legal documents which they serve might include summonses, complaints, subpoenas, writs and other court documents. Once they have served the legal documents, they need to present evidence also known as an affidavit of service or the proof of service which signifies that the papers have been served to the defendant. Since service process laws vary across states these servers might act differently in the various states. For instance, legal documents can be sent via email in some states while others require them to be delivered by a personal service of process. In fact, they locate the person who needs to receive the documentation and deliver it to them.

These procedures are intended to uphold the process of law in the United States at every step. Also the legal papers need to be served in an efficient manner and only the designated process server can take charge of it as expected. Without the serving of papers, it is not possible for the court to rule on cases.

Hiring a Process server

If you are going to proceed with a court case you should know that a process server is someone who is experienced in all forms of legal documentation. Since the law requires filing of documents to be performed in accordance with the law, it is important to hire a legal server. If the service is not performed in accordance with the law, it might affect your case and at times even result in the dismissal of your case. The rates of process serving vary from case to case and state to state as well. Always find out about the cost, TAT (turn-around-time) and number of attempts that the provider requires before you choose their services.