Serving Papers to Military Members

Our military men and women give more of themselves for us then we can imagine. As a process server, we must always be respectful to these people and their duties.

Service of process consists of the delivery of legal documents to the individual, notifying the person of a claim or charge against them (perhaps a child support claim), or informing the individual of specific acts (such as being subpoena to be a witness).

There are times when it is required to serve papers upon a military person; sometimes this can be done similar to serving a civilian, and other times, there are regulations that must be followed. Before you begin the process of service on a military personal, several details must be verified:

• which state to execute the process of service
• does the person live on base

Members of the military are located all over our country and the world, which can make the service of process even more challenging.

Verify Jurisdiction

The first step in this process is to verify the jurisdiction in which to serve papers. You must first determine where the person’s domicile is as compared to their residence.

• Domicile – the military member retains legal residency in the state in which they entered military service
• Residence – where they are physically living at this time

Jurisdiction is determined by the physical residence for process service. Long-arm jurisdiction provides a means for a court to exercise personals jurisdiction over a military member who is not a resident in the state.

Once you establish the residency of the individual, you can execute the legal documents in that state.

Living On Base or Off Base

Many military people do not live on the military base. Living off base means they can be treated as any other civilian being served.

If the person that is receiving the legal documents lives on base, there are additional procedures that the process server must follow. Military authorities are not responsible for serving process on members of the military – so you cannot drop the papers with an authority figure and considered the person served.

The process server may need to contact the on-site military police, who will then connect the server with Judge Advocate General (JAG). It is JAG who will decide whether or not to grant the process server access to the individual.

Of course, the exact procedure may change depending on what branch of the military you will be working with to serve papers. Following these procedures can mean the time to serve papers can be anywhere from 3 days to 2 weeks.

If the military member is currently overseas, the most common form of service of process is to send the papers via certified mail.

Let One Source Process Handle This for You

At One Source Process, we have servers in all 50 states and have been serving papers to military members for several years.

Let us handle this for you.

We will ensure your papers are professionally served, and there will be no reasons to delay any court dates due to unserved papers. We understand that time is of the utmost importance and will work to have all legal documents served within the allotted time.

To begin, fill out the Order Form here.

We will assign an account representative to work with you, ensuring all information is gathered and served. Contact Us here; we are here 7 days a week to answer any questions you may have. We look forward to establishing a business relationship with you.