Finding someone for service of process is often less dramatic than television makes it look. Good process serving usually starts with accurate information, careful observation and documentation. When the original address stops being useful, additional research may be needed to identify a better location.
Where Does a Process Server Start?
In most assignments, the process server begins with information supplied by the law firm, business, government entity or individual requesting service. That normally includes the recipient's name and at least one address.
Useful identifying information can also include a phone number, date of birth when appropriately available, employer information, vehicle information, a physical description, known relatives, prior addresses or other details that help distinguish the correct person from someone with a similar name.
The quality of the information matters. A complete and accurate assignment gives the server a better starting point and can reduce time spent trying to determine whether the person still has a connection to the address.
What Can a Process Server Learn at the Address?
An unsuccessful attempt can still produce useful information. A professional process server pays attention to circumstances at the location and documents information relevant to the assignment.
Does the location exist, and does the information at the property appear consistent with the address provided?
Information encountered during an attempt may indicate whether the recipient still resides or works there.
A person not being present during one attempt does not necessarily mean the address is wrong. A different time or day may be more productive.
In some assignments, information discovered in the field can indicate that additional address research is appropriate.
This is one reason process serving is more than simply driving to an address and knocking on a door. The server has to evaluate what happened and accurately report it.
What Is Skip Tracing?
Skip tracing is research used to help locate a person when the available contact or address information is incomplete, outdated or uncertain.
Depending on the assignment and the information lawfully available, research may help identify possible current addresses, prior addresses, phone information, property connections, business associations or other leads that can help narrow the search.
ELS offers skip tracing services when a client needs additional location research before or during a process-serving assignment.
Can a Process Server Find Someone Who Moved?
Potentially. A bad original address does not necessarily end the assignment. If there is reason to believe the recipient moved, additional research may identify another possible location.
The next step depends on what is known. Sometimes a corrected apartment number or nearby address resolves the issue. Other cases may require more extensive research before another service attempt makes sense.
What should generally be avoided is repeatedly sending a server to an address after reliable information indicates the person no longer lives there. At that point, better information is usually more valuable than another identical attempt.
Can Process Servers Find Someone Through Their Job?
Employment information can sometimes provide another useful lead. Whether service at a workplace is appropriate depends on the circumstances of the assignment and the applicable rules.
A process server's role is not to create unnecessary embarrassment or disruption. The objective is to complete lawful service professionally and document what occurred.
What If Someone Is Intentionally Avoiding the Process Server?
There is an important difference between not finding someone and concluding that someone is deliberately avoiding service. A person may simply be at work, traveling, using an old address, or unavailable when an attempt occurs.
When circumstances suggest that additional strategically timed attempts may be worthwhile, the server can adjust timing rather than simply repeating the same visit. ELS Routine process service includes up to three strategically timed attempts.
For more on that situation, read What Happens If Someone Avoids Being Served Papers?
What Information Should You Give the Process Server?
Start with everything you know that can help accurately identify and locate the recipient. At minimum, that usually means the full name, service address and the documents to be served.
If you have additional reliable information—such as another known address, employer, phone number, identifying description or useful scheduling information—providing it at the beginning can make the assignment more efficient.
Do not assume a small detail is irrelevant. Information that helps distinguish the correct recipient or explains when they are likely to be available can be useful to the server.
Technology Helps, but Field Work Still Matters
Modern research tools can make locating people more efficient, but databases do not replace professional judgment. Records can be old. Phone numbers are reassigned. People move. An address that appears in a database may represent a former residence rather than a current one.
The strongest approach combines available research with what is actually learned in the field. That is particularly important when the assignment involves an outdated address or a recipient who has been difficult to locate.
Need to Locate Someone Before Service?
If you have legal documents to serve but are uncertain whether the address is current, ELS can help with both the service assignment and, when needed, additional skip-tracing research.
Elite Legal Services serves Greater Cincinnati, including Hamilton, Butler, Warren and Clermont Counties in Ohio, as well as Boone, Kenton and Campbell Counties in Northern Kentucky.
Ready to Start the Assignment?
Submit your documents and the information you have through the ELS online ordering portal. If the address becomes an issue, ELS can help determine whether additional location research is appropriate.
Order Process Service → Learn About Skip Tracing