Serving Court Papers at a Place of Employment

The perfect service scenario for any process server is to take the required documents to the individual’s home, where they open the door, take papers kindly in hand, and the process server leaves with service completed. However, this is not always the case. As a process server, you will encounter many requests where service of process will be requested at the individual’s place of employment. Although this may sound like an easy serve, it also comes with challenges. Whether you are an expert at serving people at their workplace or this is your first experience, we have gathered a list of tips that can make this process more effective for you!

• Know Your State Rules: It is important to know and learn your state’s rules when serving at a place of employment. Here are a couple of questions you must know the answer to before attempting service.
  • Does your state allow for service at an individual’s workplace? If your state does not allow service at the place of employment, you’ll need to inform your client so they can provide a different address for your attempts.
  • Can you perform substitute service or is it personal/individual service only? If only personal/individual service is allowed, you must be prepared to resist offers/directions to leave the papers with a receptionist, assistant, manager, or other workplace representative.

• Know the Individual’s Work Schedule: If possible, obtain the individual’s work schedule from your client. You want to make sure you attempt service at a date and time where the individual is at work. This will ensure that you are not wasting time and service of process is completed promptly.

• Be Professional: Keep in mind that this is not the individual’s home. You are going to a business to serve court documents and therefore you must be respectful to the people and rules at the premises. Don’t attempt to enter restricted areas or bypass receptionists. This will not usually result in a successful serve and will antagonize the business representatives that you may need to assist you in successfully serving the individual.

• Be Discreet: Your business with the individual is private and should be treated that way. Don’t share details or your feelings about the individual with anyone at their place of employment. If you are asked why you need to see the individual, simply say that you have a personal delivery for them.

• Be Positive: There will be times when businesses are not cooperative. Always stay calm and professional. Explain to the person in charge of the reasons why you are there with a positive attitude. Being kind to others will get you a lot further than being confrontational.

• Know the Individual’s Car Information: Having the individual’s car information – the make, model, color, and license plate number – can assist you during service. Employers or co-workers may lie and state the individual is not present. You may utilize the car information as evidence to the contrary and hopefully gain cooperation. If all else fails, you can watch the individual’s car and approach the individual as they go to get in their car, rather than attempting to interact with the business and its staff any further.

Serving court documents at a place of employment can go either very smoothly or can be very challenging, depending on how the business handles these situations. The important thing to remember is that you are attempting service on an individual and not the business.