How Do I Serve a Summons in Los Angeles, California?
In Los Angeles, you need no special credentials or training to execute process of service for either the Federal District or California Superior Courts. You must be at least 18-years-old and you cannot be a party to the case. If you serve more than 10 documents a year, you must be fingerprinted and you must register in Los Angeles County. Further, if serving legal documents is your ambition and you have been convicted of a felony, a Superior Court judge must be convinced that you have rehabilitated yourself and approve your career choice.
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Things You'll Need
- Second copy of summons (for state court substituted service and service by mail)
- 2 copies of California Form POS-015 (for state court service by mail)
- Self-addressed, stamped envelope (for state court service by mail)
- Form POS-010 (for state court process of service)
- Affidavit of Service (for federal court)
Instructions
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Hand-deliver a copy of the summons to the defendant or respondent whenever possible. Hand delivery is the simplest and least deniable method of process of service.
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Make "substituted service" on an individual by leaving the summons at the person's home, business or mailing address --excluding post office boxes -- with a competent member of the household over age 18 or the office supervisor who is over 18, telling that person the summons is for a lawsuit.
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Mail a second copy of the summons to the same home, business or mailing address after you make substituted service on an individual.
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Make a substituted service on a business or government agency by leaving a copy of the summons with the person, according to California law, "apparently in charge of the office or place of business." Tell that person what the summons is and mail a second copy to the same address.
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Serve the summons by mail by mailing a copy of the summons to the defendant with two copies of California Form POS-015 titled "Notice and Acknowledgement of Receipt" and a self-addressed stamped envelope. However, service is not complete until the defendant returns the acknowledgment to you.
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Complete and file Form POS-010, "Proof of Service of Summons," with the clerk of the Los Angeles Superior Court branch that issued the summons -- if the summons was issued by that state court -- after you complete service.
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Draft and submit an affidavit of service with the clerk of the Central District courthouse that issued the summons. A federal affidavit of service is not a fill-in-the-blanks form. You must formally state in writing that you are a citizen of the United States, that you're over 18, your address, the date you served the summons, on whom and the method of service. You must also declare "under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America that the foregoing is true and correct" and sign and date the affidavit.
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References
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