Steps Required To Serve Someone

If you need to make a legal claim against a person or entity in Texas, you’ll need to have them “served” before the case can proceed. To serve someone simply means that they are provided with the official court documents detailing the case against them and the actions they must take next. All of those court documents together are referred to as process, and process in Texas can be served by a constable, sheriff, or private process server. In this post, we’ll outline the steps involved in serving process to someone in the state of Texas.

File Your Court Case

The first step is to file a petition to start your court case with the appropriate Texas court. Different types of cases will need to be filed with different courts, with possibilities including municipal courts, county courts, district courts, supreme court, or a court of appeals. To file, you’ll need information and documents to substantiate your claim along with information about the defendant(s). Consult with an attorney experienced in the type of case you are filing with any questions about filing your case.

Receive Citation & Petition

Once you’ve filed a petition with the appropriate court, the court clerk will issue a citation with an official case number and further information. The petition, citation, and any other documents you filed along with your petition will need to be served to the defendant(s).

Hire a Private Process Server

We mentioned earlier that process in Texas must be served by a constable, sheriff, or private process server. With everything law enforcement already has to deal with on a daily basis, opt for a private process server instead. In Texas, private process servers must be certified by a program approved by the Texas Judicial Branch Certification Commission. Use their handy certified process server lookup tool to find a qualified process server in your area.

Sit Back & Relax

Now that you’ve hired a reputable and experienced private process server, like Accurate Serve of Dallas, you’re on easy street from here on. They’ll handle all the details behind the scenes, getting your process served quickly and efficiently. Once the process is served, proof of service will be completed and filed with the appropriate court. Accurate Serve takes it a step further by allowing our clients access to track the status of their service online via our client account portal.

Let Accurate Serve of Dallas Do All the Work

Don’t let service of process stress you out! If you’re in the Dallas area, you have some of the most talented process servers in the industry at your disposal – Accurate Serve! With offices all over the U.S., Accurate Serve knows how to get the job done. If you need process service, document retrieval, skip tracing, or diligent search services in Texas, call us at 469-225-0451 or send us a work request online.