What is Process Service?

Author:  The Process Server Center | PROServerCENTER is a legal professional organization whose mission is to set a national standard for the process service industry in the United States. 
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​What is Process Service? - Process service also known as “service of process” is the procedure employed to give an appropriate notice of initial legal action to another party (such as a defendant), court or administrative body in an effort to exercise jurisdiction over that person so as to enable that person to respond to the proceeding before the court, body, or other tribunal. Notice is furnished by delivering a set of court documents (called “process”) to the person to be served.

​The above definition is the legal definition applied to service of process. What is Process Service in reality then?  It is the simple complicated occupation. It is simple because Process Service is simply the delivery of legal documents to a person or a business. Simple enough, right? Not so fast!  It is also complicated because Process Service must be done right the first time or the service may be deemed invalid and even the legal case may be dismissed.  It is this done right part that makes service of process complicated.  To deliver the legal documents correctly, a process server must navigate through the myriad of federal, state, local, municipal, and county rules, laws and regulations. He or she must correctly understand the methods of service prescribed to this one particular service of process, and then apply them while serving the legal documents.  The process server must be well-informed and well-prepared in advance of the simple task of going to the person's address and handing the legal documents. That's why Process Service is the simple complicated job that process servers do on a daily basis, in rain or shine days.

Of course, service of process does not have to be hard. All it takes is preparation, so learn more on how to jump start your career as a process server and get certified through the only one nationwide Certification Program for Process Servers.

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