France Process Service

France 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 in an effort to exercise jurisdiction over that person so as 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 France Process Service.  Click Here for information on the Code of Civil Procedure in France.

France PROCESS SERVERs

France 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 provisions of the convention 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.

Methods of Service

Articles 688-1 to 688-8 of the Code of Civil Procedure provide two possible modes of notification for documents originating in a foreign state whose notification is requested by the state's authorities: simple delivery or service. Click here for information on How The Central Authority Works in France.

Formal service (Art. 5 (1) (a))
Formal notification (secondary mode, linked to an express request from the applicant): at the request of a party, or ex officio, it is possible to have the document served by service carried out by a bailiff. In this case, the Ministry of Justice transmits the document sent to the National Chamber of Judicial Officers, which, in turn, addresses it to a judicial officer with territorial jurisdiction to serve it.

In practice, the process of service by a bailiff is only resorted to at the express request of the applicant.

Indeed, once the intervention of a judicial officer has been expressly requested, it is the applicant's responsibility to bear the costs incurred by the intervention of this judicial officer.

Informal delivery (Art. 5 (2))
In the case of notification by simple delivery (main mode), the document is sent to the public prosecutor at the high court in whose jurisdiction it must be notified. It is then delivered to the recipient by the care of a police officer or a member of the National Gendarmerie, requested for this purpose by the prosecution. This notification is made free of charge.

Translation requirements

Article 688-6 of the Code of Civil Procedure: “The act is notified in the language of the State of origin. However, the addressee who does not know the language in which the document is drawn up may refuse notification of it and request that it be translated or accompanied by a translation into French, at the diligence and the expense of the requesting party ”.

Procedure

The Hague Service Convention established a more simplified means for parties to effect service in other contracting states. Under the convention, each contracting state is required to designate a central authority to accept incoming requests for service. A judicial officer competent to serve process in the state of origin is permitted to send a request for service 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 of process service of 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 gives relief to 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.

TIMELINE FOR EXECUTION

In France, the time that elapses between a request for notification by delivery and the actual delivery is rarely less than three months.

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 200, Washington DC 20004

for assistance serving legal papers in France

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 France 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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