HOW TO SERVE LEGAL PAPERS IN ARIZONA

This article will provide guidance on How To Serve legal papers in Arizona. Arizona has a state-wide registration of process servers in compliance with procedures set forth by the Arizona Supreme Court. There is no necessity for a bond, but Arizona servers need to be twenty-one years old, have a high school diploma or GED, pass their FBI background check, and pay for and pass the state licensing test given in the county of their residence. An affidavit and a criminal background check are also required to qualify as a process server.

In order to be eligible to act as a private process server in Arizona, all persons must be certified and comply with the requirements of the Arizona Revised Statutes, Title 11, the Arizona Rules of Civil Procedure, administrative orders, and the administrative rules adopted by the Arizona Supreme Courts.

BACKGROUND AND WHO CAN SERVE PROCESS

Arizona has a statewide registration of process servers in compliance with procedures set forth by the Arizona Supreme Court. Applicants must pass a written examination to qualify for Arizona Process Service.

Subpoenas may only be served by the clerk of the court, the sheriff, a sheriff’s deputy, a private process server registered, or any other person designated by the court. Service of process may also be made by a person specifically authorized by these rules. A private process server or a specifically designated individual to serve Arizona Process Service must not be a party or an attorney in the case at hand; they must also be at least twenty-one years old. A special appointment may be granted without charge. However, it cannot be used as an appointment as a registered private process server since it solely serves the purpose of the motion.

If an application approved by the Supreme Court is submitted to a court clerk stating that the applicant has lived in Arizona for at least one year and will faithfully serve the process by the law, the application will be granted. Maintaining a log, for this reason, is required by the clerk. Any state court may use a private process server like this one.

ACCEPTANCE OF SERVICE

Upon receiving a summons or other process, the party to whom it is addressed may either accept Arizona Process Service or waive service in writing. Such acceptance or waiver must be filed in action. In open court, the person on whose service is sought may enter an appearance in person or via an attorney or authorized representative. The clerk must mark the appearance on the docket and enter the minutes. This waiver, acceptance, or attendance must have the same force and effect as if a summons had been issued and served.

RETURN OF SERVICE

To establish that Arizona Process Service was not accepted or waived, the person who served the document must provide a copy to the judge. An official endorsement or attachment to the return is required when a sheriff’s deputy serves the process, and the return must be returned as quickly as possible. For non-deputy sheriffs, return and verification of service must be done quickly by means of an affidavit of service.

There must be an obvious reference to the county where the private process server is registered in each affidavit. It is required that proof of service be made in accordance with the relevant treaty or convention, and if necessary, a receipt signed by the recipient of the document be provided. In any case, the person served must react to the procedure before the return may be made. The absence of evidence of it does not diminish the legitimacy of the service.

AMENDMENT OF PROCESS

The court may allow any process or evidence of service to be changed at any time and on any reasonable conditions unless it seems that considerable harm will be caused to the party’s substantial rights against whom the process was issued.

SERVING A SUMMONS IN ARIZONA

If service of the summons and complaint is not made upon a defendant within a hundred and twenty days after filing the complaint, the court, upon motion or on its own initiative after notice to the plaintiff, would dismiss the action without prejudice.

All Arizona Process Service may be served anywhere within the territorial limits of the state. The summons and pleading being served must be served together. If a defendant refuses to accept a summons, they do not waive any challenge to the court’s jurisdiction over the defendant’s person.

In order to prevent needless expenditures of serving a summons, a person that gets notice of action has a responsibility to return to Arizona Process Service. The notice and request must be in writing and addressed directly to the defendant. It should be dispatched through first-class mail or other reliable means, accompanied by a copy of the complaint, and shall identify the court in which it has been filed.

WAIVER OF SERVICE

Suppose a defendant fails to comply with a request for waiver made by a plaintiff in the United States. In that case, the court will impose the costs subsequently incurred in effecting Arizona Process Service on the defendant unless good cause for the failure is shown.

A defendant that, before being served with Arizona Process Service, returns a waiver so requested on time is not required to serve an answer to the complaint until sixty days after the request for waiver of service was sent.

When the plaintiff files a waiver of service with the court, the action will still go on as if a summons and the complaint had been served at the time of filing the waiver, and no proof of service shall be required.

PERSONAL SERVICE  FOR EXTRATERRITORIAL JURISDICTION

To the full extent authorized by the Constitutions of Arizona and the United States, a court may exercise personal jurisdiction over parties inside or outside Arizona.  The second option is a direct service.  Arizona Process Service may be made outside the state, but within the United States, by a person authorized to serve Arizona Process Service under the law of the state where such Arizona Process Service is performed.

The individual making Arizona Process Service will file an affidavit showing the manner and dates of publication and mailing and the circumstances warranting utilization of the procedure authorized, which will be prima facie evidence of compliance. A printed copy of the publication will accompany the affidavit. If the residence of the person to be served is unknown, and for that reason, no mailing was made, the affidavit must state the same.

SERVICE AND FILING OF PLEADINGS AND OTHER PAPERS

All orders, pleadings etc, should be served upon the parties unless the court orders otherwise. Unless new or additional claims for relief against them are asserted in pleadings and filed in the manner provided for service of summons, no Arizona Process Service is required on parties in default for failing to attend.

When several defendants are served with a summons, and others are not, the plaintiff may proceed against those served or continue the action. The court may order the plaintiff to proceed against those served.

SERVICE AFTER APPEARANCE

A party’s attorney must be served if service is needed or permitted under these rules unless a court directs service to be made on the party. Attorneys and parties may be served by either handing over or sending copies of an order or leaving it with a court clerk if an address has not been found for the party.

Regarding serving a summons under this rule, delivery means handing it to the attorney or the party or putting it somewhere obvious where the attorney or party can find it. Suppose no one is available to take responsibility for it. In that case, the summons may be left at the attorney or party’s office or the person’s usual place of abode if the office is closed or no one is available to take responsibility for it.

Delivery does not include communication by facsimile unless the parties agree otherwise in a court order. If a second certificate is filed with the court, the date and method of service should be stated on the original document served.

A summons and complaint must be served on a motion for modification, vacation, or enforcement after the appeal period has elapsed or a final decision has been entered.

FILING OF PAPERS

If a party is obliged to submit a document to the court or serve it on a party, the document must be filed and served within the stipulated time to comply with Arizona Process Service.  Some documents do not need to be submitted individually for Arizona Process Service. Documents may only be submitted as exhibits or attachments if relevant to a case before the court. This includes a subpoena. Any praecipe used solely to issue a subpoena or subpoena duces tecum, and subpoena or subpoena duces tecum, and any affidavit of service of a subpoena, except for post-judgment proceedings.

Discovery papers, proposed pleadings, and prior filings must not be submitted individually. Any proposed pleading may be filed after a ruling by the Court if necessary to preserve the record on appeal. For prior filings, this refers to any paper previously filed in the case. If a party desires to call the Court’s attention to anything contained in a previously filed paper, the party will do so by incorporation by reference.

Except for proposed orders and proposed judgments, a party may attach copies of papers not otherwise filed to a copy of a motion or memorandum of points and authorities delivered to the judge to whom the case has been assigned. All other parties must also provide such papers to the judge.

PENALTIES

The Clerk’s filing, preservation, or storage expenses may be borne by the party or counsel who is in violation. Furthermore, the Court may order the removal of the document and charge the party or counsel such costs or fees as may be required

These procedures mandate the submission of pleadings and other documents to the court. It is the judge’s prerogative to authorize documents to be filed with the judge instead of the court clerk if the judge so permits. If this is the case, the judge should make a note of the filing date and forward it to the clerk’s office right once:

SUBPOENA

Non-party witnesses may serve subpoenas if they are at least eighteen and not a party to the case. If the individual’s presence is required, the pay for one day’s attendance and the permitted miles should be given to the person. Subpoenas issued by the state or an official agency do not require payment of fees or mileage.

By submitting a declaration with the clerk of the county’s court in which the matter is pending, the person who performed service should certify the date and mode of service and the names of the people served.

No excessive difficulty or cost must be placed on a subpoenaed individual by anybody responsible for delivering a summons. Any party or attorney who fails to comply with a subpoena’s terms may face an appropriate penalty from a superior court in the county where it was issued. This penalty may include lost wages and reasonable lawyers’ fees.

Within fourteen days of service the subpoenaed person commanded to produce and permit inspection and copying may serve upon the party or attorney designated in the subpoena written objection to inspection or copying of any or all of the designated materials or the premises, provided that the time is less than fourteen days after service. Subpoenaed documents may only be seen and copied by the party serving the subpoena under the court’s order issued when the subpoena was issued.

The party issuing the subpoena may, upon notice to the person ordered to produce, seek an order to compel the production of the requested information at any time. Any non-party or officer of a party may be protected against substantial costs arising from the examination and copying mandated by such an order to compel production. The superior court of the county where the matter is ongoing or from which the subpoena was issued may quash or amend the subpoena on a timely request if the subpoena is unconstitutional.

how to domesticate an OUT-OF-STATE SUBPOENA in arizona

Issuing an out-of-state subpoena pursuant to the Uniform Interstate Deposition and Discovery Act (UIDDA)-Arizona, the clerk of the court in the county where discovery is to be performed in this state must be presented with a foreign subpoena before it may be requested that a subpoena be issued under this section. Subpoenas issued under this law do not obligate a person to appear in court in Arizona.

Second, the clerk of a court in this state must swiftly issue a summons to the person to whom the international subpoena is sent, in line with that court’s process.

A subpoena issued for a foreign defendant must include: [A.]   the terminology appropriate for the subpoena from abroad; and [B.]  part of the subpoena, it must include or be accompanied by the names, addresses, and phone numbers of all counsel of record and of any party that counsel does not represent.

for assistance serving legal papers in arizona

Pick up the phone and call Toll-Free (800) 774-6922 or click the service you want to purchase. Our dedicated team of professionals is ready to assist you. We can handle all your process service needs; no job is too small or too large!  For a complete list of our Arizona Process Service Coverage Areas, Click Here!

Contact us for more information about our process-serving agency. We are ready to provide service of process to all our clients globally from our offices in New York, Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island, Westchester, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Washington, D.C.

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Sources
1. Ariz. R. Civ. P. 4(d): Ariz. Code of Judicial Admin. § 7-204(E)(2)(c)
2. To obtain a special appointment to serve process, file a motion with the sitting Superior Court judge and keep track of the court’s decision in a minute entry.
3. Provided that the clerk of the court is satisfied that all other requirements have been met
4. The filing makes appearance of an answer to a pleading permitted under Rule 7(a) of these Rules
5. Or other evidence of delivery to the recipient acceptable to the court
6. Or a  governmental body, company, partnership, or unincorporated organization
7. It is permitted to serve any party residing outside of the state in accordance with Rule 4.2, and such service will have the same legal effect as if served in person inside the state.
8. Rule 4.2(m) states that time starts running when service is made. That service is complete if an affidavit of service demonstrating the reasons for using this procedure and an affidavit of the process server attesting to the fact and circumstances of service is filed before any default on service is made.
9. This includes papers relating to discovery, motions, and notices, appearances, demands, the offer of judgment, the designation of record on appeal, and other written notices, appearances, demands, and requests for judgment
10. By default, Rule 6(e) of these Rules shall apply to films served by mail if the method of service is not explicitly stated in the film’s submission form. This assumption is only valid if some kind of service has been rendered. Once a letter is sent, the service is complete.
11. Notices of deposition; depositions, interrogatories, and answers; requests for production, inspection or admission, and responses; requests for physical and mental examination; and notices of service of any discovery or discovery response;
12. A motion, stipulation, or other documents cannot incorporate a proposed order or judgment as an intrinsic element. The following information shall be included as single-spaced text on the first page of a proposed order or proposed judgment as required by this paragraph and Rule 10(d)
13. (1) To the left of the center of the page starting at line one, the filing party’s typed or printed name, address, telephone number, State Bar of Arizona attorney identification number, and any State Bar of Arizona law firm identification number, along with an identification of the party being represented by the attorney, e.g., plaintiff, defendant, third-party plaintiff, etc. (Note: If the document is being presented by a litigant representing himself or herself, all of this information shall be included except the State Bar of Arizona identification numbers);
(2) Centered on or below line six (6) of the page, the typed or printed title of the court;
(3) Below the title of the court and to the left of the center of the paper, the typed or printed title of the action proceeding;
(4) Opposite the title, in the space to the right of the center of the page, the typed or printed case number of the action or proceeding; and
(5) Immediately below the case number a brief typed or printed description of the nature of the document. There shall be at least two lines of text on the signature page. Any proposed form of order or proposed form of judgment shall be served upon all parties and counsel simultaneous with its submission to the Court for consideration. Proposed orders and proposed judgments shall not be filed or docketed by the Clerk of the Court until after judicial review and decision to sign, modify, or reject. A party may file an unsigned order or judgment to preserve the record on appeal.
14. (I) fails to allow a reasonable time for compliance;
(II) requires a person who is not a party or an officer of a party to travel to a place other than the county in which the person resides or transacts business in person or is served with a subpoena, or within forty miles from the place of service, or such other convenient place fixed by order of the court, except that, subject to the provisions of clause (c)(3)(B)(iii) of this rule, such a person may attend trial be commanded to travel from any such place within the state, or
(III) requires disclosure of privileged or other protected matter and no exception or waiver applies, or
(IV) subjects a person to undue burden.
(B) If a subpoena
(I) requires disclosure of a trade secret or other confidential research, development, or commercial information, or
(II) requires disclosure of an unretained expert’s opinion or information not describing specific events or occurrences in dispute and resulting from the expert’s study made not at the request of any party, or
(III) requires a person who is not a party or an officer of a party to incur substantial travel expenses. The court may protect a person subject to or affected by the subpoena, quash or modify the subpoena or if the party on whose behalf the subpoena is issued shows a substantial need for the testimony or material that cannot be otherwise met without undue hardship and assures that the person to whom the subpoena is addressed will be reasonably compensated, the court may order appearance or production only upon specified conditions.