Process Serving

Process serving or “Service of Process” as it is officially known, is the act of hand-delivering documents to a defendant for their attention as part of court proceedings or as part of a dispute. This dispute might be with an individual or an entity such as a company. In England and Wales, ‘service of process’ falls under Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) which governs civil litigation in these two countries. Service of Process outside of this jurisdiction requires different provisions. 

Officially informing the recipient of action against them is required by the court as part of its due process. A wide range of documents might be served depending on the individual case. Common cases include divorce proceedings, notices of bankruptcy proceedings and statutory demands. The documents may, in some cases, originate from a court or form part of a ‘pre-action protocol’ that requires a claimant to inform a defendant (or respondent) of the action being taken against them.

GDPR is vital in the Service of Process, whether instructed by a commercial or legal client. Ultimately, a client is handling sensitive information concerning personal details and information about another person(s) or business activity. 

The nature of process serving is that the document will most probably be passed from one individual process server in one geographical location to another, who then in turn may pass that document to another individual for service. From instruction that document may have passed through 3 or 4 individuals. 

For this reason, it is essential that your process server is reputable and GDPR compliant to cover you, your employees and subcontractors.

• Claim forms, summons and writs
• Court orders
• Statutory demands
• Bankruptcy and winding-up petitions
• Family and children proceedings
• Witness summons
• Divorce papers
• Non-molestation orders / prohibited steps orders – injunctions
• Section 21 Notices and Break Notices

Regardless of the complexities of your situation, utilising a professional process server can make a world of difference. The primary objective of a process server is to ensure that the due process of the law is upheld, and the defendant is presented with an opportunity to attend court and offer a defence. 

If you don’t follow the due process of the law, your case could be dismissed or you would have to pay a penalty for court delay. A professional process server such as County will not only deliver the documents legally, but will also be on time even when dealing with restrictions or complicated situations.