How to
How do you serve a summons and complaint in a federal case?
Key points
- Who serves
- Any person who is at least 18 years old and not a party. Not the plaintiff.
- Time limit
- Each defendant must be served within 90 days after the complaint is filed, or the court must dismiss without prejudice or order service within a set time (Rule 4(m)).
- Cheaper way
- Mail a waiver request. The defendant gets at least 30 days to return it, then 60 days from the date it was sent to answer.
- Proof
- Unless service is waived, prove it to the court, usually with the server's affidavit (Rule 4(l)).
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Service of process is how a defendant is formally given the summons and the complaint. The plaintiff is responsible for having them served within the time Rule 4(m) allows, and must give the person who serves them the necessary copies (Rule 4(c)(1)). Service is what starts the defendant's time to respond.
Below: who may serve, how to serve an individual, a company, the United States and state or local governments, how to ask for a waiver instead, how to prove service, the 90-day limit, and how papers are served later in the case.
At a glance
- Who can serve
- 18 or olderAnd not a party, Rule 4(c)(2)
- Time limit
- 90 daysAfter the complaint is filed, Rule 4(m)
- Waiver return
- 30 daysAt least; 60 if sent outside the United States
- Proof
- AffidavitThe server's, unless service is waived, Rule 4(l)
Who can serve a summons
Any person who is at least 18 years old and not a party may serve a summons and complaint (Rule 4(c)(2)). The Northern District of California's handbook for people without lawyers puts it directly: you may not serve the defendant yourself.
At the plaintiff's request, the court may order service by a United States marshal or deputy marshal, or by a person it specially appoints. It must do so if the plaintiff is allowed to proceed in forma pauperis under 28 U.S.C. § 1915 (Rule 4(c)(3)).
What to serve: the summons, issued by the clerk, with a copy of the complaint (Rule 4(c)(1)). Some courts add their own papers; in the Northern District of California, for example, you also serve the order setting the initial case management conference and ADR deadlines, and the judge's standing orders.
How to serve individuals, companies and governments
| Who you are serving | How Rule 4 allows it |
|---|---|
| An individual in the United States | Deliver the summons and complaint to the person personally; leave a copy at the person's dwelling or usual place of abode with someone of suitable age and discretion who resides there; deliver it to an agent authorized to receive service; or follow the state law for serving a summons where the court is or where service is made. Rule 4(e) |
| A corporation, partnership or association | Deliver it to an officer, a managing or general agent, or an agent authorized to receive service, or use the state-law method allowed for individuals. Rule 4(h) |
| The United States | Deliver it to the U.S. attorney for the district, or send it by registered or certified mail to the civil-process clerk at that office, and send it by registered or certified mail to the Attorney General in Washington, D.C. Rule 4(i)(1) |
| A federal agency, or a federal officer or employee sued in an official capacity | Serve the United States, and also send a copy by registered or certified mail to the agency, officer or employee. Rule 4(i)(2) |
| A state or local government | Deliver it to its chief executive officer, or serve it the way that state's law prescribes. Rule 4(j)(2) |
| A minor or an incompetent person in the United States | Follow the law of the state where service is made. Rule 4(g) |
| Someone in another country | Use an internationally agreed means, such as the Hague Service Convention, or another method Rule 4(f) allows. Rule 4(f) |
Asking the defendant to waive service
An individual, corporation or association that can be served under Rule 4(e), (f) or (h) has a duty to avoid unnecessary expenses of serving the summons, so you may mail a request that the defendant waive service (Rule 4(d)(1)). You can't ask for a waiver from the United States, its agencies, corporations, officers or employees, from a foreign, state or local government, or from a minor or incompetent person in the United States. The request must:
- Be in writing, addressed to the defendant, or for a company to an officer or an agent authorized to receive service.
- Name the court where the complaint was filed.
- Enclose the papers: a copy of the complaint, 2 copies of the waiver form (AO 399) and a prepaid means for returning one.
- Use the official notice form, AO 398, which tells the defendant the consequences of waiving and not waiving service.
- State the date when the request is sent.
- Give at least 30 days after the request was sent to return the waiver, or at least 60 days if it is sent outside any judicial district of the United States.
- Go by first-class mail or other reliable means.
When the signed waiver comes back, file it with the court. Proof of service is then not required, and the case proceeds as if the summons and complaint had been served when the waiver was filed (Rule 4(d)(4)). The defendant's answer is due 60 days after the request was sent, or 90 days if it was sent outside any judicial district of the United States (Rule 4(d)(3)).
Proof of service
Unless service is waived, proof of service must be made to the court. Except for service by a United States marshal or deputy marshal, proof must be by the server's affidavit (Rule 4(l)(1)). Page 2 of the summons form, AO 440, is a proof-of-service form: the server fills in how, where and when the summons was served, and declares under penalty of perjury that the information is true.
- Failure to prove service does not affect the validity of service, and the court may permit proof of service to be amended (Rule 4(l)(3)).
- Service outside the United States is proved as the applicable treaty or convention provides, or by a receipt signed by the addressee or other evidence that satisfies the court (Rule 4(l)(2)).
The 90-day limit: Rule 4(m)
If a defendant is not served within 90 days after the complaint is filed, the court, on motion or on its own after notice to the plaintiff, must dismiss the action without prejudice against that defendant, or order that service be made within a specified time. If the plaintiff shows good cause for the failure, the court must extend the time for service for an appropriate period (Rule 4(m)).
- The 90 days start the day the complaint is filed. Count them under Rule 6(a): leave out the day of filing and count every day after it. If the last day falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, it moves to the next day that is not one.
- Rule 4(m) does not apply to service in a foreign country under Rule 4(f), 4(h)(2) or 4(j)(1).
- A waiver request gives the defendant at least 30 days to return it. If it isn't returned, you still need to serve that defendant within the same 90 days, or show good cause.
Serving papers after the complaint
After the summons and complaint, papers such as written motions, discovery papers and later pleadings must be served on every party under Rule 5. If a party has a lawyer, you serve the lawyer (Rule 5(b)(1)). A paper is served by handing it to the person; leaving it at the person's office or, if the person has no office or the office is closed, at the person's home with someone of suitable age and discretion who resides there; mailing it to the person's last known address, in which case service is complete upon mailing; or filing it in the court's electronic-filing system for a registered user (Rule 5(b)(2)).
A person without a lawyer may file electronically only if allowed by court order or by local rule (Rule 5(d)(3)(B)). In the Southern District of New York, for example, when the Pro Se Intake Unit dockets a document you submit on the court's electronic system, that is deemed to be service under Rule 5(b) on the parties who have lawyers.
Free help
Clerk's office staff can answer general questions, but they cannot give you legal advice or tell you when documents are due. Court help desks can: the Northern District of California's Legal Help Centers give limited legal advice, and the Southern District of New York's Pro Se Intake Unit answers procedural questions.
Common questions
What is service of process?
Formally delivering the summons and a copy of the complaint to the defendant in a way Rule 4 allows, so the case can go forward against that defendant.
Can I serve the papers myself?
Not if you are a party. Any person who is at least 18 years old and not a party may serve a summons and complaint (Rule 4(c)(2)). If you proceed in forma pauperis, the court orders service by a U.S. marshal or a person it appoints.
How long do I have to serve a federal complaint?
90 days after the complaint is filed (Rule 4(m)). After that, the court must dismiss the action without prejudice against an unserved defendant, or order service within a specified time; good cause extends the time.
Can a summons be served by mail?
Rule 4(e)(2) lists delivery methods for individuals, not mail. You can mail a request to waive service (Rule 4(d)), and Rule 4(e)(1) lets you follow the state's own rules for serving a summons, which you need to check. The United States and its agencies are served partly by registered or certified mail (Rule 4(i)).
What is proof of service?
The record that tells the court how, where and when each defendant was served. Except for service by a U.S. marshal, it is the server's affidavit (Rule 4(l)(1)); page 2 of form AO 440 is one. No proof is needed when a signed waiver is filed.
Who can be asked to waive service?
Individuals, corporations and associations that can be served under Rule 4(e), (f) or (h). Not the United States or its agencies, officers or employees, not a state, local or foreign government, and not a minor or incompetent person in the United States.
Official sources
- Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, as amended to December 1, 2025 (PDF) uscourts.gov
- Form AO 398: Notice of a Lawsuit and Request to Waive Service of a Summons (PDF) uscourts.gov
- Form AO 399: Waiver of the Service of Summons (PDF) uscourts.gov
- Form AO 440: Summons in a Civil Action (PDF) uscourts.gov
- N.D. Cal.: Representing Yourself in Federal Court, a handbook for pro se litigants (PDF, 2024) cand.uscourts.gov
- S.D.N.Y.: Representing yourself in federal court (pro se) nysd.uscourts.gov
- S.D.N.Y.: What happens if you are a named defendant nysd.uscourts.gov
- 28 U.S.C. § 1915: Proceedings in forma pauperis govinfo.gov
- U.S. Courts: Court website links uscourts.gov
- U.S. Courts: Federal Rules of Civil Procedure uscourts.gov
Related
This page explains the law in general terms. It is not legal advice about your situation. Justice is not a law firm and is not affiliated with any court or government agency.