- 1020FA
Used to prove a party was properly served following the requirements of Utah Rule of Civil Procedure 4. - 1021FA
Used to prove a party was properly served following the requirements of Utah Rule of Civil Procedure 5. - 1022FA
See description above for information about when this form is used. - 1049XX
Used to provide law enforcement with information that may help them serve someone.
Delivering or Serving Papers (Service of Process)
Make sure that you serve papers correctly!If you do not, the court could dismiss your case. |
Serving someone in an adoption case or eviction case? The process might be different. Not sure? Contact the Self-Help Center or try Finding Legal Help.
Serve First Papers (New Case / Modify / Enforce)
If you are:
- starting a new case
- filing a petition to modify
- filing a Motion to Enforce Order
- asking for someone to be found in contempt of court
then you must follow strict court rules to officially serve the papers. What is allowed, like personal service, is explained below. Regular mail is not enough.
COMMON MISTAKES TO AVOID: Using regular mail or email Serving the papers yourself Not getting proof of service Waiting too long to serve the papers (must be within 120 days of filing) |
If you are starting a new case (including a petition to modify), you must include a summons with the papers to be served.
Learn about the different ways to serve someone below.
What is it?
Papers are handed directly to the defendant or respondent.
Who can deliver the papers?
Not you. Ask another adult. This person must NOT be:
- Part of your case.
- Guilty of certain serious sex crimes (see Utah Code 77-41-102(19)).
- Someone who must stay away in a protective order (see Utah Code Title 78B Chapter 7).
If you cannot find someone, you can pay for service:
- Ask the office of the sheriff, constable, or U.S. Marshal. (They charge fees.)
- Search online for "process server" to hire a company.
How do have the papers served?
The person who serves the papers is called the server.
- Make copies of all the papers you will have served. If you are starting a new case, include a summons.
- Give your server all the court papers.
- Give your server a Proof of Service form.
- See the Forms section below to find the right one for your case.
- Have your server fill it out after delivering the papers.
- Get the completed Proof of Service back from your server.
- File the Proof of Service and a copy of the summons.
If the defendant or respondent cannot be found:
- Your server can give the papers to an adult who lives in the defendant's or respondent's home.
- If the defendant is a company, your server can give them to the company's manager or the person in charge of the office.
What is it?
Mail your papers to the other party using the U.S. Postal Service or a commercial courier service like FedEx or UPS but get a signature for delivery.
How do you serve the papers?
- Make copies of all the papers you will serve. If you are starting a new case, include a summons.
- Send all your papers in a way that requires the respondent to sign for the delivery.
- The defendant or respondent must sign for the delivery - no one else can sign.
- Wait for the delivery service to send you proof of defendant or respondent's signature.
- Fill out a Proof of Service form.
- See the Forms section below to find the right one for your case.
- File these:
- Proof of Service.
- Your proof of the defendant or respondent's signature.
- A copy of the summons.
What is it?
You can ask the defendant or respondent to accept service. If they agree, you can just give them the court papers in a way that works for you both.
How do you do it?
- Make copies of all the papers you will serve.If you are starting a new case, include a summons.
- Give the defendant or respondent all the court papers.
- Also give them two copies of the Acceptance of Service form.
- See the Forms section below to find the right one for your case.
- Ask the defendant or respondent to sign one copy of the Acceptance of Service form and give it back to you.
- File the signed Acceptance of Service form and a copy of the summons.
If the defendant or respondent will not sign the Acceptance of Service, you must have them served personally or by mail, as explained above.
What Signing "Acceptance of Service" Means:
- It only proves the other person received the papers.
- Signing does NOT mean they agree with what the papers say or lose the ability to defend themselves.
Deadline to Reply to the Court:
Once they sign the form, they have time limit to file their own papers answering your Complaint or Petition:
- If they signed it in Utah: They have 21 days from that date.
- If they signed it outside Utah: They have 30 days from that date.
- If it is for an eviction case: they have 3 days from the date they signed.
What is it?
You can ask the court for permission to serve the defendant or respondent in a different way. You must have one of these reasons to ask:
- you made a good effort to try to find them and cannot do so.
- See our Finding People for Service of Process page for information about ways to try to find someone.
- you believe they are trying to avoid being served.
For information about the process and forms, see our Alternative Service page.
In divorce and custody cases, MyPaperwork will produce a document called a Stipulation. This is a legal word that means agreement. You can use this if you and the respondent agree about all of the terms of the case - even before you have the respondent served. If you both agree from the start of the case, then service isn't required.
A respondent who does not agree with all the statements in the stipulation shouldn't sign the stipulation.
You can use a a stipulation at any time in the case if you and the respondent agree about how to finish your case.
You can serve someone outside of Utah the same way as someone in Utah. If you need to serve a summons with your papers, be sure to use the Out-of-State summons.
Serving someone outside the United States can be difficult. You might want to contact a lawyer for help. See our Finding Legal Help page for more information.
Someone outside the United States can be served by "any internationally agreed means reasonably calculated to give notice, such as ... the Hague Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents."
- If there is no internationally agreed means, Utah Rule of Civil Procedure 4(d)(3)(B) describes other acceptable methods.
- All papers must be translated into the official language of the foreign country, and must be served along with the English version.
The Hague Convention generally provides for service of process through a request submitted on form USM-94, U.S. Marshals Service. The Convention also permits service of process by international registered mail.
Countries may object to service by international registered mail, and many have. Service by registered mail should not be used in these countries.
- Argentina
- Bulgaria
- China
- Czech Republic
- Egypt
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Japan
- Korea
- Kuwait
- Lithuania
- Mexico
- Norway
- Poland
- Russian Federation
- San Marino
- Slovak Republic
- Sri Lanka
- Switzerland
- Turkey
- Ukraine
- Venezuela
More information about service of process abroad is also available on the Department of State website. The full text of the Convention is also available on that website.
If you are involved in a divorce or custody case with someone who is or may be in Mexico, please see our Service of Divorce/Custody Papers in Mexico page. For all other types of cases, please see the Department of State's Service of Process page.
Serving someone on active military duty, especially if they are not in the United States, can be difficult. Consider contacting a lawyer for help.
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) allows those on active military duty to postpone or suspend certain civil judicial proceedings. 50 U.S.C. App. §501 - §596. The SCRA also provides protection in the areas of financial management such as rental agreements, security deposits, eviction, installment contracts, credit card interest rates, mortgages, and income tax payments.
Some case types require verification that you have checked to see whether the opposing party in your case is on active military duty. Use the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act website at https://www.dmdc.osd.mil/appj/scra/ to determine if someone is on active military duty.
Serve Other Papers (case already open)
If your case has already started, you need to send copies of everything you file to everyone involved.
You must send copies the same day you file papers with the court. If you do not, the court might reject your papers.
How do you serve other papers? Follow these 3 steps.
Step 1: Know who gets copies.
- Everyone involved in the case.
- If someone has a lawyer: send it to their lawyer instead.
- If someone as an LPP (licensed paralegal practitioner): send it to their LPP instead.
Step 2: Choose ONE way to send the papers.
- Common ways:
- Mail: last known address.
- Hand delivery: give directly to the person.
- Email: last known email.
- Use eFilng (online): use My Court Case to automatically serve anyone with a My Court Case account, a lawyer, or an LPP (see the My Court Case page).
- Other ways: you can also leave it at their office or home (as allowed by court rules).
Step 3: Fill out a Certificate of Service form and file.
This proves you sent the papers. You must complete this step!
- Most court forms have this form on the last page.
- Need a blank form? See the Forms section below to find the right one for your case.
- Fill it out right after you send the papers.
- File it with the other court papers you are filing.
What information goes on the form?
You need to include:
- Who you sent papers to (name of person)
- How you sent the papers (check ONE box)
- Where you sent them (address, email, etc.)
- When you sent them (date)
This example shows the basic information needed. The defendant sent Larry Landlord a copy of the form to his email address on March 3, 2025.
You can always serve papers like you are starting a case
In some situations you might want serve someone like you are serving your first papers.
For example, you can serve the judgment debtor with a notice to attend a hearing to identify property any service method. But if the debtor does not attend the hearing, you might want to ask the court to issue an arrest warrant to force attendance. You can only do that if you served them the notice of hearing by personal service.
Finding People for Service of Process
Forms
The forms you need depend on your case. What is your case about?
- 1020GE
Used to prove a party was properly served following the requirements of Utah Rule of Civil Procedure 4. - 1021GE
Used to prove a party was properly served following the requirements of Utah Rule of Civil Procedure 5. - 1022GE
See description above for information about when this form is used. - 1049XX
Used to provide law enforcement with information that may help them serve someone.