Canada Process Service

Canada Process service, also known as "service of process,” is the procedure employed to give appropriate notice of initial legal action to another party (such as a defendant), court, or administrative body to exercise jurisdiction over that person to enable that person to respond to the proceeding before the court, body, or other tribunals. Notice is furnished by delivering a set of court documents (called "process") to the person to be served; a process server performs Canada process service.  Click Here for information on the Code of Civil Procedure in Canada!

Canada PROCESS SERVERs

Canada process servers serve civil and commercial matters pursuant to the Hague Service Convention, a multilateral treaty adopted in Hague, Netherlands, on November 15, 1965, by member states of the Hague Conference on Private International Law.  It came into existence to give litigants a reliable and efficient means of serving the documents on parties living, operating, or based in another country. The convention's provisions apply to the service of process in civil and commercial matters but not criminal matters. Also, the Convention shall not apply if the address of the person served with the document is unknown. Click here for a video on International Process Service

Method of Service

In all provinces and territories in Canada, except the province of Québec, the term "service" covers both service and “notification."

Service requests transmitted to a Canadian Central Authority under Article 5(1)(a) will be effected using the same methods used to serve judicial documents for proceedings in the Central Authority's jurisdiction.

The normal procedure for service in Canada is personal service made by a process server in Alberta, a huissier in Québec, an enforcement officer of the Ministry of the Attorney General in Ontario, or a sheriff or deputy sheriff elsewhere in Canada on an individual or a corporation by handing a copy of the document to the individual, or an officer, director or agent of the corporation at its place of business.

Notification in Québec may be made by delivering the original or certified copy or abstract of the act, document, or notice to the person to be notified and obtaining a receipt. It can also be made by registered or certified mail. Notification may be made by regular mail or any other means of communication where the context does not require the sender to obtain proof of sending.

Federal Court and Court of Appeal: Federal Courts Rules, SOR/98-106.
Alberta: Alberta Rules of Court, Alta. Reg. 124/2010.
British Columbia: Supreme Court Civil Rules, B.C. Reg. 168/2009.
Manitoba: Court of Queen's Bench Rules, Man. Reg. 553/88.
New Brunswick: Rules of Court, N.B. Reg. 82-73.
Newfoundland and Labrador: Rules of the Supreme Court, 1986, S.N.L. 1986, c 42, Sch D.
Northwest Territories: Rules of the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories, N.W.T. Reg. 010-96.
Nova Scotia: Nova Scotia Civil Procedure Rules.
Nunavut: Rules of the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories, N.W.T. Reg. 010-96.
Ontario: Rules of Civil Procedure, R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 194.
Prince Edward Island: Rules of Civil Procedure.
Québec:
Service: Code of Civil Procedure, R.S.Q., chapter C-25.
Notification: Code of Civil Procedure, R.S.Q., chapter C-25.
Saskatchewan: Queen's Bench Rules.
Yukon: Rules of Court, Y.O.I.C. 2009/65.  Service by a particular method (Art. 5 (1)(b))

Central Authorities in Canada will consider requests for service by a particular method requested by the applicant under 5(1)(b) to the extent that such a method is not inconsistent with the law of their jurisdiction. Informal delivery (Art. 5(2)) The practice of informal delivery ("par simple remise") of judicial or extrajudicial documents is not known in Canada. Click here for information on How The Central Authority Works in Canada.

Timeline for Execution

The average time for performance of service is:

Alberta: 4 weeks
British Columbia: 3-6 weeks
Manitoba: 3-4 weeks
New Brunswick: 2-4 weeks
Newfoundland and Labrador: 4 - 6 weeks
Northwest Territories:3-6 weeks
Nova Scotia: 2-4 weeks
Nunavut: 4-6 weeks
Ontario: 4-6 weeks
Prince Edward Island: 2-3 weeks
Québec: 4 weeks (service); 3 weeks (notification)
Saskatchewan: 2-4 weeks

Translation Requirements

Translation requirements will depend on the province or territory concerned for both formal service and service by a particular method.

All documents must be written in or translated into English for Alberta, British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island.

All documents must be written in or translated into English or French for Manitoba, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Ontario, and Saskatchewan.

All documents must be written in or translated into English or French for New Brunswick and the Yukon. The Central Authority of New Brunswick or the Yukon may reserve the right to require documents to be translated into English or French, depending on the language understood by the addressee.

For Québec, translation will be required in all cases where the recipient does not understand the language in which the document is written. All documents which commence actions must be translated. Summary translation of all other documents is acceptable if the recipient agrees. The translation is to be done into French; however, upon request, the Québec Central Authority may allow a translation into English if the recipient understands this language.

Procedure

The Hague Service Convention established a simpler means for parties to effect service in other contracting states. Under the convention, each contracting state must designate a central authority to accept incoming service requests. A judicial officer competent to serve process in the state of origin is permitted to send a service request directly to the central authority of the state where service is to be made. Upon receiving the request, the central authority in the receiving state arranges for service in a manner permitted within the receiving state, typically through a local court. Once service is effected, the central authority sends a certificate of service to the judicial officer who made the request.

Alternate Methods of Service

The Hague Convention provides various modes for Canada to process the service documents, such as by postal channel or by diplomatic/consular agents, judicial officers, officials, or other competent persons. These provisions are covered under Articles 8 to 10 and may or not be allowed by member countries as a valid mode of serving the documents in their territory. The method of serving the documents through the Central Agency (Article 5) is not optional but is binding on all the member countries. The services done by the Central Agency usually take a long time: 4 to 12 months. The convention relieves the litigants if they have not received a certificate of service or delivery from the Central Agency even after waiting for six months. In such cases, the Court may give its judgment if it considers that a reasonable time has elapsed. Also, the court may issue a provisional order or protective measure in case of urgency, even before the six-month waiting period.

Service by Mail

Service by mail is possible only in states that have not objected to that method under Article 10(a) of the convention and if the jurisdiction where the court case takes place allows it under its applicable law.

Our Process

Documents can be faxed at (800)-296-0115, emailed to ps@undisputedlegal.com, mailed to 590 Madison Avenue, 21 Floor, New York, New York 10022, or dropped off at any of our locations. We do require pre-payment and accept all major credit and debit cards. Once payment is processed, your sales receipt is immediately emailed for your records.

Drop-offs must call and make an appointment first to be added to building security to permit access to our office. Documents for service must be in a sealed envelope with payment in the form of a money order or attorney check (WE DO NOT ACCEPT CASH) payable to UNDISPUTED LEGAL INC.; Our receptionist receives all documents.

DOMESTIC COVERAGE AREAS:

Alaska | Alabama | Arkansas | Arizona | California | Colorado | Connecticut | District of Columbia | Delaware | Florida | Georgia | Hawaii | Iowa | Idaho | Illinois | Indiana | Kansas | Kentucky | Louisiana | Maryland | Massachusetts | Maine| Michigan | Minnesota | Mississippi | Missouri | Montana | North Carolina | North Dakota | Nebraska | New Hampshire | New Jersey | New Mexico | Nevada | New York | Ohio | Oklahoma | Oregon | Pennsylvania | Rhode Island| South Carolina | South Dakota | Tennessee | Texas | Utah | Virginia | Vermont | Washington | West Virginia | Wisconsin | Wyoming

INTERNATIONAL COVERAGE AREAS:

Albania | Andorra | Anguilla | Antigua | Argentina | Armenia | Australia | Austria | Azerbaijan | Bahamas | Barbados | Belarus | Belgium | Belize | Bermuda | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Botswana | Brazil | British Honduras | British Virgin Islands | Bulgaria | Canada | Cayman Islands | Central and Southern Line Islands | Chile|China (Macao) | China People's Republic | Colombia | Costa Rica | Country of Georgia | Croatia | Cyprus | Czech Republic | Denmark | Dominican Republic | Ecuador | Egypt | Estonia | Falkland Islands and Dependences | Fiji | Finland | France | Germany | Gibraltar | Gilbert and Ellice Islands | Greece | Guernsey | Hong Kong | Hungary | Iceland | India | Ireland | Isle of Man | Israel | Italy | Jamaica | Japan | Jersey Channel Islands | Jordan | Kazakhstan | Korea | Kuwait | Latvia | Lithuania | Luxembourg| Malawi | Malaysia | Malta | Mauritius | Mexico| MonacoMontenegro | Montserrat | Morocco | Namibia | Netherlands | New Zealand |Nicaragua | Norway | Pakistan | Panama | Paraguay | Peru | Philippines | Pitcairn |Poland| Portugal | Republic of Moldova | Republic of North Macedonia | Romania |Russian Federation | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | San Marino | Saudi Arabia | Serbia | Seychelles | Singapore| Slovakia | Slovenia | South Africa | Spain | Sri Lanka | St. Helena and Dependencies | St. Lucia | Sweden | Switzerland | Taiwan | Thailand | Tunisia | Turkey | Turks and Caicos Islands| UkraineUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | Uruguay | US Virgin Islands | Uzbekistan | Venezuela | Vietnam

OFFICE LOCATIONS

New York: (212) 203-8001 – 590 Madison Avenue, 21st Floor, New York, New York 10022
Brooklyn: (347) 983-5436 – 300 Cadman Plaza West, 12th Floor, Brooklyn, New York 11201
Queens: (646) 357-3005 – 118-35 Queens Blvd, Suite 400, Forest Hills, New York 11375
Long Island: (516) 208-4577 – 626 RXR Plaza, 6th Floor, Uniondale, New York 11556
Westchester: (914) 414-0877 – 50 Main Street, 10th Floor, White Plains, New York 10606
Connecticut: (203) 489-2940 – 500 West Putnam Avenue, Suite 400, Greenwich, Connecticut 06830
New Jersey: (201) 630-0114 - 101 Hudson Street, 21 Floor, Jersey City, New Jersey 07302
Washington DC: (202) 655-4450 - 1101 Pennsylvania Avenue, Suite 300, Washington DC 20004

for assistance serving legal papers in Canada

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!

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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