WHAT DO PROCESS SERVERS IN OKLAHOMA DO?

This article will provide guidance on What Do Process Servers in Oklahoma Do? An Oklahoma process server has the same power as a sheriff’s deputy to deliver civil court papers. After being vetted by a judge and granted a license, a process server in Oklahoma City is tasked with delivering legal notices from the civil court system to the appropriate persons, organizations, and authorities. In addition to being required to carry their license at all times, process servers in Oklahoma are also required to purchase a bond from a private corporation.

A private process service agency like Undisputed Legal employs servers who are up to date on their licensing and bonding requirements. We assure complete accountability to our clients and update them as to the status of their documents at all times. We have an in-depth verification process for our servers to comply with the extensive Oklahoma process server requirements. 

BACKGROUND

After completing the Oklahoma process server application, would-be process servers must issue a formal notice of their desire to seek an Oklahoma process server license. In Oklahoma, the Journal Record and other legal newspapers provide convenient dedicated sections where a process server may simply pay to have this information published. A court date will then be issued for the foreseeable future Oklahoma process server.  After that, for an annual fee of about fifty dollars (USD50), Oklahoma process servers must go out and get a USD 5,000 bond. A copy of the bond must be returned to the Oklahoma court clerk’s office before the process server’s court date.

An application for a license must be filed with the court clerk on a validated form established by the Administrative Office of the Courts by any individual eighteen years of age or older who is of good moral character and judged morally and mentally competent. The clerk of court is required to publish a notice of hearing at the courtroom five days after a license application is filed. The notice must include the name of the applicant as well as the time and location where the presiding judge or the associate district judge or district judge designated by the presiding judge will act upon the application.

It is crucial to differentiate between the Statewide license and the Countrywide license before applying for any process server license in Oklahoma. Oklahoma City process servers may choose between two different licenses, each with its benefits and drawbacks. How the license will be used is a key factor in deciding which license is best for the application. When a process server in Oklahoma City obtains a statewide license, they are authorized to serve documents to anybody in Oklahoma. This license is the gold standard since it provides the process server in OKC with the most latitude and power. The ability to track down fugitives across many counties is only one benefit of hiring a process server licensed on a state level. One drawback is the increased cost of acquisition.

Summonses, complaints, divorce papers, family court paperwork, subpoenas, citations, small claims court cases, orders to show cause, petitions, discovery documents, evictions, landlord/tenant notifications, motions, and any other legal document may all be served by our Oklahoma process servers. We are a comprehensive process-serving agency with a broad range of facilities in Oklahoma, offering our services to government entities on all levels (federal, state, and local), as well as to private businesses and individuals (law firms, lawyers, and the general public). Please visit our rules and laws page, Oklahoma Rules of Civil Procedure.  For instructions on How To Serve Legal Papers in Oklahoma, Click Here!

ISSUANCE OF A SUMMONS IN OKLAHOMA

A summons will be issued immediately once the petition is filed with the clerk. Separate or supplemental summonses may be issued against any defendants at the plaintiff’s request. A default judgment must be in the same form and amount as what was requested in demand for judgment or, in the absence of a contractual basis, in a notification sent to the person against whom judgment is being sought. Every final judgment should award the relief to which the party in whose favor it is delivered is entitled, even if the party has not asked such relief in his or her pleadings, save as to a party against whom a judgment is made by default.

The plaintiff may opt to have summonses and other processes other than subpoenas served by the sheriff or deputy sheriff, a person authorized to perform service of process in civil matters, or a person expressly designated for that purpose.  The sheriff or a deputy sheriff will be given the summons to serve by the court clerk or a plaintiff’s attorney on file with the court. 

Process service is an extensive and sometimes complicated procedure. It is always preferable to avail oneself of the assistance of a private process service agency like Undisputed Legal, as we offer complete accountability to every one of our clients. A sheriff’s office often is inundated with other law enforcement services. Additionally, the sheriff’s office also adheres to a narrower window of function, and the service of documents often gets pushed to the next business day. In contrast, at a private process service agency like Undisputed Legal, we ensure that service is conducted as soon as possible. 

service of PROCESS IN OKLAHOMA

Service of process may be made upon any person, other than a minor under the age of fifteen or an incompetent person, by leaving a copy of the summons and of the petition at the person’s dwelling house or usual place of abode with some person then residing therein who is fifteen (15) years of age or older, or by delivering a copy of the summons and of the petition to an agent authorized by appointment or by law to receive service of process.

Similarly, the petition must be served with the summons. The party seeking service is expected to provide any copies requested by the server. An insufficient serving of process, such as failing to include a copy of the petition with the summons, will not result in the dismissal of the action. Still, the court will grant a party’s application to extend the time to file a response or other pleading. If a summons and petition are personally delivered, the date of service must be noted on the copy left with the recipient. If the defendant is under fifteen (15), the summons and petition must be served personally on the defendant and the defendant’s parent or guardian. 

Trained professionals provide our three (3) tiers of Oklahoma Process Service that we recruit and retain only from the state of Oklahoma. We offer Routine Service, wherein the process server will make the first attempt within five to seven business days; Rush Service, wherein the process server will make their first attempt within forty-eight hours and service by mail, where documents are ensured to be sent within twenty-four hours.  

There is no variation in the number of attempts made by the process server between the two tiers of service. The major difference between the tiers is the time of day they begin. For both Routine and Rush Service, our process server will make the requisite three attempts at service during the morning, afternoon, and evening. 

SERVICE OF AN OUT-OF-STATE SUMMONS IN OKLAHOMA

A summons and petition may be served outside of Oklahoma by personal delivery in the manner prescribed for service within Oklahoma and in the manner prescribed by the law of the place where the service is made for service in that place in an action in any of its courts of general jurisdiction. 

Any person authorized to serve legal documents in Oklahoma or under the law of the jurisdiction in which service is being made may also serve documents outside of this state if ordered by a court. Any document issued in connection with an action before a foreign jurisdiction may be ordered served onto any person who is domiciled or located within this state by a court of this state. The order will prescribe the means of service. It may be made upon the application of any interested person or in response to a letter rogatory issued by a tribunal outside of this state.

Whenever the state or federal constitutions allow it, a court in this state may decide a case on whatever basis it deems appropriate. However, a private process service agency like Undisputed Legal will ensure that service by our process servers is transparent and accessible to our clients. We offer GPS affidavits of service to our clients as our process server makes its attempt.  We also offer personalized ‘Real Time’ email updates and an email copy of the affidavit prior to mailing for our clients. Our new clients also get a free basic skip trace. 

RETURN OF SERVICE IN OKLAHOMA

Within the period, the person served must reply to the process, and evidence of service must be made to the court by the person doing the service. It should be noted. However, the failure to produce such proof will not impact the legality of such a service. Within three (3) days of the filing of a return of service of process in the office of the court clerk, a copy of the return must be sent to the plaintiff’s counsel. The return must include the name of the individual served along with details on the date, place, and mode of service.

The person who mailed the summons and petition must indicate the date and place of mailing, as well as the date on which service was accepted or rejected, on the copy of the summons or order filed in action. They must attach to the copy of the summons or order, if and when received by them, a copy of the return receipt or returned envelope showing whether the mailing was accepted, refused, or otherwise returned. If the mailing was denied, the return must include information about when and where a second attempt was made to deliver the notice. Within three (3) days of receiving the returned card or envelope stating that the summons and petition have been received, the court clerk must inform the plaintiff’s counsel that the summons and petition have been sent. At any time and on such conditions as it considers reasonable, the court may permit any process or evidence of service thereof to be changed unless it seems that serious injury would arise to the substantial rights of the person against whom the process is issued.

Many different entities and people in need of legal services engage process servers in Oklahoma. Financial institutions, public entities, insurance firms, commercial enterprises, law firms, and individual clients might benefit from their expertise. Over time, an Oklahoma process server’s duties expand beyond those originally anticipated. They may now be called upon to serve anything from subpoenas and restraining orders to child custody documents and victim protection orders.

A process server in Oklahoma City who wants to build a long and fruitful career may consider joining forces with a firm like Undisputed Legal. We ensure that Oklahoma Process Service is quick and hassle-free for all the parties involved. 

FOR ASSISTANCE SERVING LEGAL PAPERS IN OKLAHOMA

Simply 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 Oklahoma 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.

“Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction, and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives”– Foster, William A

Sources

1. As outlined in Title 12, Oklahoma Rules of Civil Procedure

2. As a general rule, the court date is set approximately a month after the process server in OKC publishes her notice. Or they plan to apply for a license in a certain publication.

3. In Tulsa, the process server is not required to appear in court, but in Oklahoma City, they always have the option. In Oklahoma City, a judge’s signature is required to get a license to work as a process server.

4. The licensing fee of Thirty-five Dollars ($35.00) plus the standard docketing, posting, mailing, and filing costs required by law is due at the time of filing for a license. The license must include the licensee’s full legal name, street address, a short description, and a current picture of the licensee (at the discretion of the district court clerk). The licensee shall be an officer of the court exclusively for the limited purpose of serving of process within the county for which the license was granted. The licensee must have the license on their person when performing private process serving duties. 

A license is valid for a single calendar year from the day it was issued, and it must be renewed annually afterward. Every year after that, they will need to renew their license. Every time the server needs to renew their license, they have to pay Five Dollars ($5.00). By filing a certified copy of a license issued pursuant to this paragraph with the court clerk of any county within this state once per year and paying a filing fee of Ten Dollars ($10.00), a licensed process server may serve process in that county for the district court having jurisdiction over that county.

5. The summons must bear the clerk’s signature and official seal, identify the court and the parties, be addressed to the defendant, list the attorney for the plaintiff (if any) or the plaintiff’s address, specify the time limit within which the defendant must appear and defend, and inform the defendant that if he or she fails to do so, judgment by default will be entered against him or her.

6. To have another county’s sheriff or deputy sheriff serve a summons, subpoena, or other processes, the issuing court clerk must send the document to that county’s sheriff in the mail along with a voucher for the money he received for the service. 

7. This rule is not jurisdictional, but if the party served is prejudiced by the failure to comply with it, the court may extend the time to respond or otherwise plead upon the party served’s application.

8. Upon a domestic or foreign corporation or upon a partnership or other unincorporated association which is subject to suit under a common name, by delivering a copy of the summons and the petition to an officer, a managing or general agent, or to any other agent authorized by appointment or by law to receive service of process, and, if the agent is one authorized to receive service of process and the statute so requires, by also mailing a copy to the defendant;