Maria: A process server receives legal documentation from an attorney. You can also receive it from a private client, from corporations, or from banks. You receive a legal document and this legal document tells you whom you need to serve. It gives you the name of a person, the name of a corporation, and you go to the address that is indicated on this legal document. You introduce yourself as a certified process server. In some cases, you may be appointed via a sheriff. You introduce yourself to the person you are serving the documents and you tell them you have legal documents for them. You explain that either they have been sued in a particular matter, or you are giving them notice that they have to appear in court. For example, as they would do in a subpoena, you explain that they need to appear in court, or they need to respond to a complaint within twenty days.
Chris: You said some words, such as subpoena and complaint. I’m sure we will get into those later, but basically, from what you are saying, a process server receives the documents and then takes them to different places and delivers the document and certifies that the document was delivered. Is that correct?
Maria: Yes, that is correct. We are certifying to the court that this particular legal document, which has gone through the court, has been personally handed to someone. Now, they have been informed either that a legal action has been taken against them, or that they have to appear in court, or there are other legal documents that we will discuss at a later point in time.
Chris: That’s great. Before the document gets to the process server, what is the process? How does it get into the process server’s hands?
Maria: It can be a lengthy process. First, there has to be a viable case. For instance, you may have an individual that may be divorcing. They decide they want a divorce so they go to an attorney. The attorney draws up all the documentation and files it with the court system. If it’s a family court-related case, they file it in the family division. The court gives them a summons that has been sealed by the court. Once all the documentation has been filed, all of the documents are handed to the process server. The process server returns to his office, logs everything into the system, and then goes to the particular address to serve this particular person, who needs to receive notice that they are actually going to be divorcing.
Chris: It’s not only for divorces. It’s for other types of cases, as well, right?
Maria: Certainly, you have litigation matters. For instance, it may be company ABC versus Gutierrez Corporation. There may be a dispute as to a contract. There may be a dispute that the plaintiff says they were supposed to receive certain commissions on a case. Now, they haven’t received those commissions.
They go visit an attorney. The attorney sees whether or not there is an actual lawsuit to be filed, reviews all the documentation, and all the contracts, and decides, “Yes, we are going for it”. This is called “litigation”. You file it with your particular court, in the particular county in which the defendant resides. They again, prepare a summons. The summons says it has to be served.
Once the summons is given to the process server, the process server reads the person he needs to serve. For instance, if it is Gutierrez Corporation, you may be serving a registered agent. You go to that particular address, introduce yourself as a certified process server, or that you have been appointed by the sheriff, and you introduce yourself saying you have legal documentation for them. They have been sued and they have twenty days to respond to the particular complaint.
It could be an individual; it could be someone suing another corporation. For instance, you could have Writ of Garnishment, where a judgment has already been entered and now you’ve been told, and you have legal documentation, as a Writ of Garnishment, that says you need to go to a particular bank and serve that document at the bank so they can freeze certain accounts.
You have orders that are entered, ranging from contempt orders, or orders requiring someone to appear in court, or someone to appear for a trial. Those are some of the legal documents we serve. Or, you may have notices of hearing requesting that someone come to a hearing on a specific date and time.
Chris: Okay, so there are a lot of different types of situations. Maria, are law firms usually the companies that have these documents to give to process servers?
Maria: Most of the clients could be attorneys or law firms. They also could be corporations, where they have in-house council. They could be banks. They could be simple corporations that do their own paperwork and don’t have in-house council, per se, and they are just filing documents on their own behalf. The documents may also come from private citizens. They are also preparing their own documentation, preparing their own small claims, or their own divorces. These documents may come from a host of different sources. They could come from the government, the child support industry, the Department of Justice, or private clients. You have a whole array of documents coming in from different areas. You may also have documents coming from different countries that need to be served here, in a particular area. There are plenty of areas.
Chris: For a process server who is just starting out, what would be the best way for them to start getting immediate work?
Maria: If you are a new process server, the best way to find work is to get a local listing of all the different process servers who are approved in a district. For example, in Dade County, a list is printed by the courthouse. All the courthouses have these lists of certified process servers. Also, the sheriffs, in certain counties where the program is approved by the sheriff, they have their own lists. You obtain the list and then begin calling these different people on the list. Some of them, you will see, have companies.
You may also go online, you may go to your Yellow Pages, and you may go to different resources, organizations, and memberships where people have joined as members. You will find out that many hundreds of companies, all over the United States, and locally, you have a handful of companies. All of these companies have thousands of thousands of papers that need to be served.
If you simply want to work for a company, there is plenty of work out there for everybody. There are thousands of documents being filed, daily. Nationally, hundreds of thousands of documents are being filed. There is plenty of work and there is always need for good process servers. It’s an industry that is always growing, and continues to grow.
Chris: That sounds great, Maria. Let me ask you a question because I am a little curious. I want to know what happens if you serve the documents to someone, as the process server, and the person says they didn’t get the documents? What happens in a situation like that?
Maria: That situation often happens, and this is why it is important to hire certified process servers when you are serving legal documents. You go to court. The opposing party will subpoena the process server to come to court to give his or her part of the story.
Every service that we do has a story to it. Most of the time, when you knock on somebody’s door, you are looking at the person and actually making notes as to what the person said, what they were wearing, how they looked, what was their description, maybe what vehicles were at the home. You have important information that if you would not have been at the site, you would never have received.
Also, as a certified or appointed process server, the courts are more inclined to understand and believe the process server, and to be more on their side, if they have documentation that can substantiate their claim to have delivered the documentation. That is why it’s very important that you understand every bit of information you get when you do a service.
For instance, if you could see into the house and you could see what furniture is visible, or what was distinctive about the property; every property has something that is always different and unusual, whether they have cameras, whether they have a dog, whether you saw children, or whether you saw vehicles. You write down those tag numbers. All this information can later be used. The person saying they were never serve would never guess that you were observing all of this and were writing all of this information.
Chris: Are there different ways to serve someone? Is there a different way to serve each document?
Maria: Yes, there are different ways to serve a document. For instance, if you have an individual that has been sued, “John Doe”, and you go to his residence and John Doe is not there, the wife may come out. You introduce yourself, as you always should, as a certified process server or a server that has been appointed by the sheriff; demonstrate your identification to the person who has opened the door. They may say, “I am the wife, but Mr. Doe is not in”. Your next question would be, “Do you reside here?” This person may say, “Yes, I do reside here”. You see that the person is fifteen years or older, and you may say, “I am going to leave these papers with you, and when your husband returns, please give it to him. He has been sued and he has twenty days to respond. It is very important for him to respond, otherwise, a judgment will be entered against him.” That’s called “substitute service”.
Also, if you are serving a corporation, you may also substitute serve at a corporation. For instance, you do not necessarily need to serve the president or the vice president, or any officer. There are rules that we will discuss in later CDs that detail what you need to do to serve a corporation. You may also substitute serve a corporation.
In all instances, at the end, you may also serve through Tallahassee. That is very important. A lot of people do not know about the procedure to serve through Tallahassee. It’s a great statute that we have here, in Florida, at least. We automatically appoint a Secretary of State, in the event that we are unable to locate the person. In Florida, our laws regarding service of process are very good. We have different methods of serving people or corporations.
Finally, we can also do “constructive service”. Constructive service is service through a newspaper and publication. There is a whole procedure on that. The courts also accept service through publication.
Chris: So there are various ways to serve someone. That obviously makes the life of a process server a little bit easier. Maria, what are the different types of places you visit to serve people, and are there any that are more common than others are?
Maria: We deliver at all sorts of places. We go to hospitals and serve subpoenas. We visit peoples’ homes, but always remember never to go inside a house. We visit different corporations, government buildings, offices; you can serve anywhere, at any place, at any time. Wherever this person can be found, or wherever an officer can be found, or a particular individual that we are trying to locate, we can server people at their jobs, by making appointments. There are a host of different ways and different places that we serve people. There are always places you go to that are not desirable. When you have those types of situations, there are ways of dealing with those, and we will discuss those, further on, during our CD presentation.
Chris: You mentioned a couple of different types of places. Let me start with residential. What are the best times to serve residential locations?
Maria: Obviously, the best time to serve a residential location is very early in the morning. If you can get up early, or you want to work late, those are actually the best times. Let’s say you knock on somebody’s door at 6:00 a.m. If they’re not home at 6:00 a.m., it’s because it may be a nurse or may be someone who works very late. Generally speaking, people are home at that time.
If you see the person is not coming out at that time, you can always do a stake out. Generally, 6:00 a.m. is a great time to serve people. It’s very early in the morning. I know it is very hard to get up, but if you want to get your services done and done quickly, this is the most effective way.
Also, wait until people return home after work. Sometime between 7:30 p.m., 8:30 p.m., 9:30 p.m. – 10:30 p.m. or 11:00 p.m. being the latest, we don’t generally like to knock on peoples’ doors after 11:00 p.m. because we might frighten them. It’s not really a good practice. The later or the earlier you go is the best time.
When you see you are not getting them either very early or late at night, they must have some sort of late schedule and would be home during the day. You also go during the day. If you are going to try the first and second time, try to do it very early in the morning or late in the evening.
Chris: As a process server, since you are mostly working as an independent contractor, or you have your own business, do you see that process servers will work a lot of hours in the morning and then take a break during the day, and then go back out to serve again? Does that apply at all?
Maria: Yes certainly, you can serve very early in the morning, then after one or two hours you are done, by 8:30 a.m. You can then go to the office, do some paperwork, do some returns, return some calls, and do a lot of the returns you need to do and prepare the returns of services for your clients. Then, in the evening, you go back and attempt evening services.
Many times, people will work certain days of the week, in the evenings. That way, you are not working every day, very early in the morning and very late at night. That will obviously burn you out. If you are starting in this industry, you have to prove yourself. You have to prove you are going to pick up the documentation and will serve them as quickly as possible, so the earlier you go, the more you work in the office, get your services and affidavits out, and then go out in the evening; that is very beneficial.
Chris: Obviously, the more you are working the more money you are making. That is obviously a good thing. Let’s step back again. We are talking about the best times to serve residential locations. What is the best time to serve commercial locations?
Maria: For commercial locations, you have to go during business hours. Generally, business hours are anywhere between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Obviously, if you are serving a discotheque, you will go in the evening hours because they don’t open until after 10:00 p.m. or 11:00 p.m. Generally, you have corporate documents, with corporate addresses where you will serve people between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., when someone will be there. If you go too early, you will probably not be able to find the actual officer you are looking for, or the registered agent you are looking for. You also don’t want to go too close to 5:00 p.m. because sometimes people leave before 5:00 p.m.
There is a statute that is very important that regulates our industry; it allows us to serve a registered agent between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. We are going to get into the corporate service and how it is done effectively, but if you attempt to serve a registered agent between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. and the registered agent is not there, you may go ahead and serve an employee at the corporate place of doing business, at any time. That is very important when you are serving corporate documents. That is something we will definitely come back to and highlight.
Chris: Yes, on the Advanced Service of Process CD. How about medical facilities? What is the best time to serve medical facilities?
Maria: For medical facilities, you can generally go anytime between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. There is always a receptionist or secretary there to accept your documents. Generally, when you have a subpoena for a doctor, it’s not a problem; they take these every day. They take a number of them. It could be five, ten, or fifteen, depending on how popular the doctor is.
They’ve designated someone as a front desk clerk or somebody as a receptionist, to accept documentation. They usually do not give you a hard time. They give you their first name, last initial, and you just leave the documents and document everything on your side and prepare the documentation. When you are serving medical record subpoenas at doctors’ offices, it’s a good job. It’s not hectic, at all, and it’s non-confrontational.
Chris: So, medical facilities are at the top of your list of favorite places to serve, I would say.
Maria: Definitely
Chris: Let me ask you; have you ever had anyone you had to serve in jail?
Maria: Yes, we serve a lot of people in jail, famous people who have also been arrested for different things. The attorneys do find out where they are and we go. Different jail facilities have different rules on serving prisoners.
For instance, they may require you to send a letter listing your documents, what you’re going to be serving, letting them know your ID number, giving them a copy of your identification as a process server, and letting them know that you want to serve this particular inmate. They will make the arrangements so that when they give you a date and time, you come in and this inmate is already sitting in the lobby or in a room, and you just hand him the documents. Those services are very easy; they’re monitored. It’s a little bit more time-consuming, of course, because you have to go through clearance at a particular jail facility.
If you are coming into a federal prison, you cannot bring in a cell phone; you have to leave it in the car. If you are a woman, you have to be wearing a long-sleeve shirt, no shorts, and no short pants. They have to be long pants; they have a dress code requirement. Generally, they are very easy. They will tell you if the inmate is there and you are able to serve him, it’s a go. It’s very easy, but time consuming. We’re going to be discussing rates as to how much you should charge for certain things. One of the things you charge extra for is when you are serving an inmate, because it does take time.
Chris: Yes, more time, more money; I like that. If the documents were served; we covered the best times, we covered the different types of documents that people serve; we covered a lot of bases already. Let’s move forward, now, and let’s say the documents were served. What happens, at that point, for the person who was served?
Maria: Once a document was served, you indicate to the person, “You have twenty days to respond; please give it to your attorney,” or “If you don’t have an attorney, please contact the attorney who is on the pleadings”. It is very important for that particular person or that corporation to file an Answer.
An Answer is a legal document that says whether you agree with what they are saying, or whether you disagree with what they are saying. It’s always good to give it to an attorney. The process server is not an attorney and the process server cannot give you any legal advice. It’s very important, once you receive that documentation, that you see an attorney or file an Answer with the court, yourself. Let the judge know you will be representing yourself, and what your side of the story is.
Generally, you have twenty days, if it is a summons. If you have been served with a subpoena, the subpoena will tell you that you have to appear on this date, for example a deposition.
A deposition is when they are calling you in as a witness to give legal testimony as to certain things that transpired within the case. You may have been a witness at an accident; you may have been a witness at someone’s home, where a fight may have broken out; perhaps you were a witness at a particular scene where someone died. There are a host of things you could be a witness to.
If they are requiring you to appear, you have to appear on a given date and time. If they are giving you a summons, it is because you have to respond within twenty days. Those are the two documents we serve a lot. We do serve other documents, and what you have to do is stated within the document.
Chris: Obviously, you can’t serve everyone. I’m sure you can’t find every single person out there. What happens if you can’t serve someone? What happens, at that point?
Maria: Sometimes, you do get papers for which you can’t find the person or the person is becoming very evasive, meaning they will refuse to open the door; will lie at work and say they aren’t there. They may even open the door to you and say, “That person has moved out of the country,” and yet you are speaking with the person you are trying to find.
You do get those types of papers. That’s why it is very important that every time you go to a particular service, that you are aware and alert regarding everything that transpires, the conversations you have with the person, write down everything, and then put all that information into an affidavit.
In the event you are unable to serve someone, go back to what we mentioned before, on constructive service. For instance, if it is a divorce, they can publish it in a local newspaper, once a judge has approved it. For instance, if it’s some sort of litigation and you are in Florida, you can serve the Secretary of State.
There are many ways of trying to find someone, as well. We try to locate people by doing “skip tracing”. That is a term we use in the legal field to kind of run different databases that investigators use to locate people and their last known address. By skip tracing, we find people’s last known address or their parents, and we can interview them and ask them questions. We find people’s old telephone numbers that we can call.
There is also something we can do through the post office, which is called a “postal request”. That is based on the Freedom of Information Act, which is a federal act allowing us, as process servers, to write letters to the post office and request forwarding information. That has been very helpful. We use many different types of sources to find different people, all over the United States, not only in certain areas, but also all over.
Chris: Is there usually a deadline to serve someone, after you receive the documentation? I think that is important, if there is a deadline, I guess we should know it.
Maria: There is always a deadline. For instance, if you have a summons, it’s a legal document that tells someone they have been sued. Sometimes, it’s not necessarily that they have been sued, but that someone is giving them legal notice to stop doing something. For example, it may be an injunction stopping you from using someone’s secret trade list, and contacting the opposing party’s clients. That could be an injunction. You generally have one hundred twenty days to serve a summons in a complaint. The person who is initiating the lawsuit, which is the plaintiff, through his attorney, can request an extension of time. He can explain to the court, “These are the addresses we have been to; these are the things we’ve been doing to locate this person and we haven’t been able to do so. We would like to request an extension to try to find this person”. Generally, you have one hundred twenty days, which is four months, to locate and serve your legal documentation.
If you have a subpoena, it already has a date that says, “You have to appear on this date for a trail,” or “You have to appear on this date for a deposition”. You have to go by that date. For instance, if you have a subpoena you need to serve to Mr. Gutierrez, the subpoena may say they’re going to take Mr. Gutierrez’s deposition by February 27. Before February 27, you have to locate Mr. Gutierrez, and serve that document. If the date passes, then you have to actually advise your client that you weren’t able to locate that person and close out that job as a non-serve. We will explain all this terminology at a later point in time, and then they will reissue a subpoena with a different date. You do have deadlines and you have to abide by those deadlines.
Chris: Let’s get into some of the legalities of actually becoming a process server. Is there any specific age? Can you be too young? Can you be too old? Is there any age group you have to fall into to become a process server?
Maria: To become a process server, you have to be at least eighteen years of age. In Florida, we’re a regulated industry, which means we’re regulated by Tallahassee. There are rules we have to go by. Different counties have their own specific rules, as well. The Florida Statute 48 says that you have to be at least eighteen years of age. You have to be a resident. You have to submit yourself to an examination. You also have to submit yourself to a background check. If you have anything criminal in your past, this might hamper your ability to get a license. You would have to discuss that with the director of the program, or with the sheriff of the program. There are guidelines that are used in Florida to serve process. There are guidelines that are used in other states, where they regulate the industry, such as New York as well.
There are states, such as Washington, where it is not a regulated industry; anybody can serve process. You just open up your office, say you’re a process server, and you start getting legal documents and serve them. There are things that happen when you don’t have a regulated industry, such as we do here.
Chris: You mentioned that the courts have the information on the specific requirements, and that each county has its own requirements. I know there are multiple courts, so which court will the prospective process server, or someone who would like to become a process server, which could would they need to contact?
Maria: Going back to what I said, in Florida, there are guidelines. You have certain guidelines you have to follow. You have to be at least eighteen years of age, submit yourself to examination, and some of the other things I just discussed.
With counties, for example, if you live in Miami Dade County, our program is run by the Chief Judge. The Chief Judge has different rules that they’ve come up with. They have their own examination. You first have to apply to become a process server, then they do the background check and then they give you the date the examination is going to take place.
When you are in a county such as Broward County, it’s regulated by the Sheriff, not necessarily by the Chief Judge. When the Sheriff has the program, you have to abide by the Sheriff’s rules. They are generally the same rules as other counties would have, but when you’re working with the Sheriff, I think it’s a little tougher to become a process server. If you have had something criminal in your background, where you’ve been arrested or have had a background that does not check out with them, generally they see that and typically don’t like working with people who have a criminal background.
When the programs are run through the Chief Judge, they look at your background and say, “Okay, when did this occur?” They speak with you about what is happening with what you did in the past. I think it’s less stringent than when you are going through a program with the Sheriff, at least in Florida.
Chris: So, they would need to find out first who runs the program, whether it’s the sheriff or the courthouse. At that point, they would ask what the requirements are.
Maria: Exactly
Chris: Okay, they could do a quick Google search for their county, plus sheriff and get the phone number, call it; that’s simple enough. Do you usually need to be a notary public in order to serve papers?
Maria: No, a notary public is something that is very good to have because as a process server or if you eventually have other servers working for you, you do have to notarize certain affidavits. For instance, the affidavits we do here, for Florida cases, do not require a notary public. When you are serving legal documents for other states, for instance, New York or New Jersey or Washington, when papers go outside of Florida, that affidavit service has to be notarized. It’s very good if you do obtain your notary. It doesn’t cost too much money. It’s renewable every four years and it’s a great source to have in your office when you do have a process serving business. It’s very important to have at least one person who is a notary.
Chris: As a process server, are you able to do any detective work, at all?
Maria: Of course, you get to do detective work, as I mentioned before. Every time you go to a site, you’re doing detective work. You always have to be alert as to your surroundings. You always have to see when you are going to a particular home, does this home have a surveillance camera, does this home have a buzzer, does this home have an electric gate that prevents me from knocking at the door, does this home have dogs that prevent me from knocking at the front door, did you see anybody?
It is also very important to go speak with neighbors. You can do all these sorts of things without having a private investigative license. You can speak with the neighbor, say hi, and introduce yourself. You can show them your credentials, and say, “Do you know your neighbor? I’m looking for Mr. Gutierrez. Do you know if Mr. Gutierrez lives here?” The neighbor may say, “No, Mr. Gutierrez moved out two years ago”. The family that lives there are American, and it’s not the Gutierrez’ anymore. It may be the Smiths that live there now. That’s great because now you don’t have to continue going. Now, you have someone who has informed you that the people you are looking for are not at the address that was given to you. Now, you can report that information to the attorney, and either move on to a second address or just return the documents to the attorney.
Chris: Okay, but not in every case would you knock on the neighbor’s door, I would assume.
Maria: No, not on every case, but it’s helpful. Sometimes, you do knock on the neighbor’s door and they can’t provide you with any information. It’s amazing to see how many times I’ve knocked on peoples’ doors and they don’t even know their neighbor; they don’t see their neighbor; they don’t know their neighbor, and these doors are practically next to one another. They may not want to get involved, don’t want to provide you with any information.
The more information you obtain on that first try, the better off you will be. That means that now you have information that is going to help you waste less time. For instance, if you go to a condominium, and go to the front desk and say, “I’m looking for So and So, and I’m a certified process server,” or appointed by the Sheriff, and you show your credentials, they may say that person already moved out, or yes, and confirm that that person does live there.
This way, it is great because you don’t waste any time. Your job is to try to serve this document as quickly as possible. The better you are, the more documents you will get. You have to be very resourceful, or you are just wasting time, money, gas, and going to the same places.
Chris: That’s great and some very useful information, Maria. Moving along, I want to know if this is a career that is normally fulltime, part time, or a combination of both. How would it work in terms of the schedule time you can work it?
Maria: This is a career you can do part time, full time, or a combination. When you actually get enough work, it’s more than full time, called double time. When I first started doing this, eight years ago, I started doing this as a part time career. I was working at a law firm. I was not content with the fact that I was going to have to work for a law firm for the rest of my life. I wanted to use the skills I had learned within the law firm and the skills I had learned in my training at the university, during paralegal school. I wanted to combine that to do something on my own.
I realized that there are process servers out there serving legal documents. You can have your own office, your own hours. I began telling a couple of my legal attorney friends “Give me work; I’m licensed. Let me do your process serving”. For four years, I worked part time at a law firm and then I would leave the law firm in the afternoon and serve papers in the evening hours, afternoon, or I might be late to work and would serve some in the morning. Depending on my caseload, that’s how I did it.
At the beginning, you are just getting one paper at a time, one by one by one. You try to serve those as quickly as possible, trying to establish your name and reputation as a trustworthy person. You just begin serving.
When I first began serving, I had one or two attorney friends that I had known for many years and who trusted me with their work. They gave me a chance. I started from serving two to five papers a month, to serving eight to ten thousand documents a year. I’ve come a long way. It’s very gratifying the things I’ve learned; I’ve been able to put them in place. I am my own boss and I’m able to take control of my own career and of the things that I want to do with my life in the future. It’s a great career opportunity for everybody. There are thousands or hundreds of thousands of documents that need to be served.
Generally, this is not a very popular industry. People do not know a lot about this industry because it’s a very secretive industry. People do not want to share the information, such as the basic information that I am providing you in this CD. That’s what I want to do, now; I want to educate the public and try to bring in good people to come help us serve legal documents being served nationally and throughout the world, hundreds of thousands of documents.
It’s a great opportunity for everybody who wants to be in the legal field. If you want to be surrounded by attorneys, judges, and a professional environment, it’s great. It’s very gratifying. We will continue to discuss all the different realms of this career and where it could lead you.
Chris: That’s great. That really is something that is phenomenal, how you started part time and now, you’ve grown it into the empire you have today. That really is phenomenal. It’s obviously a great opportunity for anyone out there, no matter if you are working a full time job, a part time job, or not working at all. There is obviously a place for you in the process serving industry. You can start with a little bit of your time. That is truly great.
Let me ask you; how long does it take to get started? Once you make that final decision, “I’m going to become a process server,” how long does it take to get started?
Maria: Once you decide you are going to become a process server, it’s something you want to do, you want to be actively involved in the legal community, the first thing you need to do is to contact the court or the sheriff’s office. You need to see who runs the program. Speak with the person in charge of the program. They’re very nice. They give you a lot of information.
Secondly, they will tell you this is when the application is going to become available. You write it down on your diary, pick up the application, fill it out completely.
If you’ve been arrested previously, you need to speak to them about your prior arrest and see if it’s something that they can work with. Provide them with all the documentation of your prior criminal history. This documentation has to be certified by the court, in other words, it has to be certified copies, where you are giving them a copy of a document that is called the “Final Disposition”.
You will submit all of these documents, together with a copy of your license, your social security card, and you will provide the packet. You will provide them with the filing fee, which is generally anywhere from $150 to $250 for the initial application fee. You are going to provide all this prior to the deadline. Do not wait until the date of the deadline to turn in your documents; turn it in a couple of days beforehand.
You will wait for the letter to come in the mail that tells you that you have been approved through the background and that this is the date of the examination. Be early to the examination, review and study your manual, Chapter 48, prior to taking the test. It is a small chapter that lists all the rules for serving process. It is not complicated.
The best thing about this industry is that you may not have finished school; you may not have a high school diploma. It doesn’t matter. They’re not asking you for a high school diploma. They’re not asking you for any type of credentials. You don’t need to have been in college. You don’t need any of that. It doesn’t matter if you finished school when you were in eighth or ninth grade, as long as you know how to read and comprehend and understand the statute you need to study for the test. That’s all that matters.
You present yourself for the test; you wait for the results to come out. Different counties have different ranges. Some say you need 70%, some 80%. You see what their requirements are and wait for them to send you the letter that says you’ve been approved and that you’ve passed. Then you go for your ID. They take your picture, you get your ID, and once you get your ID, you can immediately begin working.
Immediately means that prior to you knowing whether you’ve been approved or not, you’ve already contacted different process serving companies, or you may already have friends who are attorneys and you work within your network and try to network and get clients yourself. You can have a combination.
The beauty of having a career in service of process is that it doesn’t matter what background you have. It doesn’t matter whether you were a taxi driver, worked in a restaurant, were a ski instructor, were a teacher, were a bus driver; it doesn’t matter what you’ve done or what you haven’t done. As long as you learn what the rules are for serving process, and you can pass the exam, you can be a process server.
It’s a great field. You meet great people with great backgrounds. We get people who have been FBI agents, CIA, former police officers, former rescue team members, and teachers. We get people from all walks of life. It’s very interesting. It’s a great career.
You can begin making money immediately. All you need to do is to find yourself a good law firm, or align yourself with a good process serving company, that’s solid, that has good work, and you’re ready to go. Just remember, once they’re entrusting you with their documents, make sure to take proper documentation, write the correction information, and that’s it. You’re ready to go.
It’s pretty fast, as long as you know when you have to submit the application and when the examination is going to take place. Once you get that license, you are ready to go. The more quickly you do your research, the more quickly you learn the information, the better you will be.
Chris: That’s great, Maria. I really appreciate you sitting down with me, today. I think we covered all of the basics and all the essentials that someone needs to become a process server. I really appreciate it. This is going to make a difference because you’re the first person who has stepped up to the plate and is now empowering the people with the opportunity to truly change their life with this process-serving career. I thank you for putting this out there for the community. Thank you, Maria, for sitting down with me, today.
Maria: Thank you, Chris.
Chris: Have a great day.