Hired by lawyers or legal groups, process servers deliver legal court documents to either individuals or businesses involved in a court case. Often times, delivery is met with little trouble or hassle. There are the instances when the court documents are being avoided by the intended recipient and a professional process server needs to be prepared for such an encounter. Even though most of the time serving process is seamless, it helps if a process server is well prepared for the off chance of a sticky exchange.
When delivering summonses, complaints, petitions, court orders, etc., a process server needs to collect five pieces of information on the intended recipient to ensure a safe, efficient, and professional exchange.
- Physical Description of Individual. A process server will want to make as few attempts as possible at serving documents. They will want to know physical characteristics, like gender, race, height, approximate weight, and any unique identifiers like tattoos. This will help a process server to approach the right individual.
- Valid Current Home Address. Without a current address, a process server has higher risks. He or she needs a good address to approach.
- Best Time of Day to Serve Individual. Having some insight into the lifestyle of the individual can assist in making minimal attempts at serving process.
- Place of Employment. This is vital if a home address is not available. Also, if the individual is rarely home or home at odd hours, a process server can serve documents while the individual arrives or departs from the place of employment.
- Is Individual Avoiding Service? This is the minimal background a process server needs to know when approaching an individual. This will give some insight into expected behaviors of the recipient and the process server can adjust his or her approach to serving process.
An experienced process server knows to gather this information from attorneys or legal groups prior to the first attempt. It is just the basics that help keep serving process professional and efficient.
Do you gather any additional information as a process server? I’d love your feedback in the comments section.
