SERVICE OF PROCESS · 51 STATES
Did I get served correctly?
If you found a lawsuit at your door, in the mail, or on your social media — the validity of that service depends on which state's rules govern. Pick your state below.
Pick a state
Alaska
AK
Alaska R. Civ. P. 4
20 days to respond
Alabama
AL
Ala. R. Civ. P. 4
Sheriff only
30 days to respond
Arkansas
AR
Ark. R. Civ. P. 4
Sheriff only
30 days to respond
Arizona
AZ
Ariz. R. Civ. P. 4 & 4.1
20 days to respond
California
CA
Cal. Code Civ. Proc. §§ 415.10 – 415.50
30 days to respond
Colorado
CO
Colo. R. Civ. P. 4
No mail svc
21 days to respond
Connecticut
CT
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-57
No mail svc
30 days to respond
District of Columbia
DC
D.C. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 4
21 days to respond
Delaware
DE
Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 4
Sheriff only
20 days to respond
Florida
FL
Fla. Stat. §§ 48.031, 48.062
No mail svc
Sheriff only
20 days to respond
Georgia
GA
O.C.G.A. § 9-11-4
No mail svc
Sheriff only
30 days to respond
Hawaii
HI
Haw. R. Civ. P. 4
No mail svc
20 days to respond
Iowa
IA
Iowa R. Civ. P. 1.302 - 1.314
No mail svc
20 days to respond
Idaho
ID
Idaho R. Civ. P. 4
21 days to respond
Illinois
IL
735 ILCS 5/2-203, 5/2-204
No mail svc
Sheriff only
30 days to respond
Indiana
IN
Ind. R. Trial P. 4 - 4.17
20 days to respond
Kansas
KS
Kan. Stat. § 60-303 to § 60-305
21 days to respond
Kentucky
KY
Ky. R. Civ. P. 4
Sheriff only
20 days to respond
Louisiana
LA
La. Code Civ. Proc. arts. 1231 - 1265
No mail svc
Sheriff only
15 days to respond
Massachusetts
MA
Mass. R. Civ. P. 4
No mail svc
Sheriff only
20 days to respond
Maryland
MD
Md. R. 2-121 to 2-126
30 days to respond
Maine
ME
Me. R. Civ. P. 4
Sheriff only
20 days to respond
Michigan
MI
Mich. Ct. R. 2.103 - 2.107
21 days to respond
Minnesota
MN
Minn. R. Civ. P. 4
Sheriff only
21 days to respond
Missouri
MO
Mo. R. Civ. P. 54
No mail svc
Sheriff only
30 days to respond
Mississippi
MS
Miss. R. Civ. P. 4
30 days to respond
Montana
MT
Mont. R. Civ. P. 4
21 days to respond
North Carolina
NC
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1A-1, R. 4
Sheriff only
30 days to respond
North Dakota
ND
N.D. R. Civ. P. 4
21 days to respond
Nebraska
NE
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-505.01 to § 25-517.02
30 days to respond
New Hampshire
NH
N.H. Super. Ct. R. 4
No mail svc
Sheriff only
30 days to respond
New Jersey
NJ
N.J. Ct. R. 4:4
35 days to respond
New Mexico
NM
N.M. R. Civ. P. 1-004
30 days to respond
Nevada
NV
Nev. R. Civ. P. 4 & 4.2
No mail svc
21 days to respond
New York
NY
N.Y. C.P.L.R. §§ 308, 309, 311
No mail svc
20 days to respond
Ohio
OH
Ohio R. Civ. P. 4 - 4.6
28 days to respond
Oklahoma
OK
Okla. Stat. tit. 12, § 2004
20 days to respond
Oregon
OR
Or. R. Civ. P. 7
30 days to respond
Pennsylvania
PA
Pa. R. Civ. P. 400 - 437
No mail svc
Sheriff only
20 days to respond
Rhode Island
RI
R.I. R. Civ. P. 4
No mail svc
Sheriff only
20 days to respond
South Carolina
SC
S.C. R. Civ. P. 4
30 days to respond
South Dakota
SD
S.D. Codified Laws § 15-6-4
30 days to respond
Tennessee
TN
Tenn. R. Civ. P. 4
Sheriff only
30 days to respond
Texas
TX
Tex. R. Civ. P. 103, 106, 107
e-svc allowed
20 days to respond
Utah
UT
Utah R. Civ. P. 4
21 days to respond
Virginia
VA
Va. Code § 8.01-296
Sheriff only
21 days to respond
Vermont
VT
Vt. R. Civ. P. 4
Sheriff only
21 days to respond
Washington
WA
Wash. R. Civ. P. 4
No mail svc
20 days to respond
Wisconsin
WI
Wis. Stat. §§ 801.10 - 801.14
20 days to respond
West Virginia
WV
W. Va. R. Civ. P. 4
Sheriff only
30 days to respond
Wyoming
WY
Wyo. R. Civ. P. 4
Sheriff only
30 days to respond
What "service of process" means
Before a court can render judgment against you, the rules require formal notice — "service of process." The methods vary widely: California requires personal service or a signed mail acknowledgment; Texas was first to allow service via Facebook by court order; Florida is the only major state that lets a process server leave papers with a 15-year-old at the home. If service was defective, your remedy is usually a motion to quash service rather than a defense on the merits.