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Serve papers after a case starts

Northwest Justice Project

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As a court case goes on, you must continue to give the other party copies of most documents you file with the court. Use the Proof of Mailing or Hand Delivery form to show how you served the other party. Choose the form below for your type of case. 

If you’re starting a new case or serving an order to go to court (show cause), subpoena, or any kind of restraining or protection order, use the Proof of Personal Service form instead.

Forms

Title
Download
Fill out online
NJP General 002

Proof of Mailing or Hand Delivery (general civil)

Fill out online

Not available

FL All Family 112

Proof of Mailing or Hand Delivery (family law)

Fill out online

Not available

Fast facts

You must arrange to give copies of any papers you file to the other parties to your case. The court doesn’t serve the other parties for you. 

Follow our instructions for personal service to serve any of these forms:

  • Summons and complaint (or petition)
  • Order to go to court (show cause)
  • Subpoena
  • Restraining or protection order

For most other court papers, you can serve by hand delivery or first class mail. Sometimes you can serve by email or fax, but only if the other party has put in writing that they agree to accept legal papers for this case in that way. 

If the papers must be personally served, you can’t serve them yourself. 

For papers that don’t need personal service, you can serve them yourself. But it’s still better to have someone else do it. Ask an adult friend or relative to do it for you.

If you’re filing a motion, you must serve the other party by your local court’s deadline. Usually, this is at least 5 court days before the hearing, but it could be 14 calendar days or more. Check local rules or ask the court clerk or facilitator what the service deadline is for your motion. 

If you’re responding, you must serve the other party by the same deadline that you must file your papers in court.

You can serve by email only if the other party has put in writing that they agree to accept legal papers for this case in that way. 

Look at the summons, response (answer), or any motion papers the other party filed. They may have put there that they’ll accept email. If not, you can email them to ask if they’ll accept service by email. 

If you email, keep a copy of the email you sent and any reply from the other party that shows they received it.

Hand Delivery means one of these: 

  • Handing it to the other party (or their lawyer)
  • Leaving it at their office with their clerk or other person in charge of the office
  • If no one is in charge, leaving it in a place in the office where someone can easily find it (example: on top of the front desk)
  • If the office is closed or the person has no office, leaving it at their home with an adult who lives there

If you’re mailing, you must mail your papers more than 3 days before your deadline.

  • When counting, don’t count the day of mailing, weekends, or court holidays (example: if you mail something on a Monday, it counts as served on Thursday)
  • If the third day is on a weekend or holiday, it is not “served” until the next court day 

If you send your papers by regular first-class mail, you can have an extra copy sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, for extra proof of mailing. Staple the green return receipt card to the Proof of Mailing or Hand Delivery.

Step-by-step

Don’t use this form to prove you mailed or delivered a summons, complaint (petition), order to go to court (show cause), subpoena, or any kind of restraining or protection order. Serve papers to start a new civil case has the right form for that situation. 

Otherwise, follow these steps.

  1. Have your server mail or deliver the papers to the other party.

  2. Have your server fill out and sign the Proof of Mailing or Hand Delivery form. Choose the form for your type of case (family law or civil). Check to be sure your server filled out the date of service, who the papers were delivered to, and how they were delivered. Also be sure the form lists all documents that were served. If your server leaves out a form, you won’t have proof it was served.

  3. Make one copy of the completed Proof of Mailing or Hand Delivery. Don’t give copies of this form to the other parties.

  4. File your completed form with the court clerk. Keep the copy for your records.

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