By using this website, submitting an assignment, authorizing work, or paying for services, you agree to these Terms & Conditions. If you are ordering on behalf of a law firm, business, organization, or other person, you represent that you have authority to place the order and provide instructions on that party's behalf.
1. Acceptance of Terms
These Terms apply to services provided by Elite Legal Services (“ELS,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) and to use of elslegalsupport.com and related ELS ordering systems. An order, payment, written authorization, or continued use of our services constitutes acceptance of the version of these Terms in effect when the service is ordered.
2. Scope of Services
ELS provides legal-support services that may include process serving, corporate and registered-agent process serving, court filing and delivery, document retrieval, skip tracing and related support. The exact scope of each assignment is determined by the order, service level selected, documents supplied, written instructions, and any later changes accepted by ELS.
3. ELS Is Not a Law Firm; No Legal Advice
ELS is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice, legal representation, or opinions regarding legal rights, deadlines, jurisdiction, the sufficiency of a pleading, or which method of service is legally required. The client is responsible for obtaining legal advice when needed and for determining the legally appropriate method of service, filing, or other action.
4. Client Responsibilities
The client is responsible for providing complete, accurate, lawful, and timely information and instructions, including the correct documents, names, addresses, court information, case number, service deadline, hearing date, and any special instructions. The client represents that it has a lawful purpose and authority to provide all documents and personal information submitted to ELS.
ELS may reasonably rely on information and instructions supplied by the client and is not responsible for errors, delays, additional costs, or unsuccessful service caused by inaccurate, incomplete, outdated, or late information.
5. Process-Service Attempts
Unless a different arrangement is stated in writing, ELS standard process-serving service includes up to three strategically timed attempts at the service address included in the order. Successful service completes the field-attempt obligation for that assignment even if fewer than three attempts were required.
The included number of attempts is an ELS service policy and is not a representation that any court or jurisdiction legally requires three attempts. Applicable service rules vary by matter and jurisdiction.
Fees compensate ELS for professional work performed, including field attempts, travel, research, administration and documentation. Payment is not conditioned solely on successful service, and an unsuccessful assignment does not by itself create a right to a refund.
6. Service Levels, Timing & Deadlines
Routine, Rush, Same Day, Immediate, After-Hours and Weekend designations describe the priority and timing of ELS's efforts. They do not guarantee that a recipient will be located, available, or successfully served by a particular date or time.
Clients are responsible for identifying all legal deadlines when ordering. ELS does not guarantee completion before a statute of limitations, hearing, filing deadline, answer date, or other legal deadline unless a specific commitment is expressly accepted by ELS in writing.
Weather, traffic, court closures, building access, recipient availability, inaccurate addresses, safety conditions, government operations and other circumstances outside ELS's reasonable control may affect performance.
7. Fees, Pricing & Payment
Fees are based on the service selected, address, assignment requirements and any disclosed add-ons. Payment may be required before work begins. ELS may pause or decline work when required payment has not been received.
Prices shown on the website or ordering portal may be changed prospectively. The price accepted for an existing assignment will not be changed solely because published pricing later changes, but additional work outside the original scope may result in additional charges.
8. Addresses, Additional Attempts & Changes in Scope
Quoted process-serving fees generally apply to the address and assignment described in the order. If attempts have begun and the client later provides a different address, additional service fees may apply. Additional defendants, entities, locations, document sets, extended waiting, special access requirements, surveillance-type waiting requested by the client, or other work beyond the original scope may also require an additional fee.
An attempt at an address supplied by the client counts as an attempt even if the address later proves incorrect, outdated, vacant, or unrelated to the subject, provided ELS made the attempt in good faith based on the information supplied.
9. Cancellation & Refunds
Cancellation and refund eligibility depends on the status of the assignment and work already performed. Once field work, research, filing activity, retrieval activity, travel, or other substantive work has begun, fees may be partially or fully earned. ELS's separate Cancellation & Refund Policy is incorporated into these Terms.
View the Cancellation & Refund Policy →
10. Proof, Affidavits & Returns of Service
ELS will prepare or provide appropriate service documentation based on the facts reported by the server and the requirements known to ELS for the assignment. The client remains responsible for determining whether a particular proof, affidavit, return, notarization, filing, or original document is required by the court or issuing authority.
ELS will not knowingly alter field facts or execute a false affidavit, proof, return, or declaration.
11. Court Filing & Delivery Services
For court filing assignments, the client is responsible for providing documents in filing-ready form and identifying the correct court, case, filing instructions and deadline. ELS does not guarantee that a clerk or court will accept a document. Courts may reject filings for reasons outside ELS's control, including formatting, fees, missing information, local rules, filing restrictions or substantive defects.
Court processing times, file-stamp availability and clerk actions are outside ELS's control. ELS is not responsible for court system outages, closures or processing delays.
12. Document Retrieval
Document retrieval depends on the availability, accessibility and policies of the court, agency, records custodian or other source. ELS does not guarantee that a requested record exists, is public, is immediately available, or can be obtained within a particular timeframe. Copy charges, certification fees and other third-party costs may apply.
13. Skip Tracing & Location Research
Skip-trace and location-research results are compiled from available data sources and may contain incomplete, outdated or inaccurate information. ELS does not guarantee that a reported address, phone number or other data point is current or that a person will be located or served using the information provided.
Skip-trace services may be used only for lawful purposes. The client is responsible for ensuring its use of any information complies with applicable law.
14. Electronic Communications
By providing an email address or telephone number, the client authorizes ELS to communicate regarding assignments, status updates, invoices, documents and customer service by email, telephone, text message and/or the assignment-management portal. Clients are responsible for maintaining accurate contact information and monitoring communications concerning active assignments.
15. GPS, Photographs & Field Documentation
ELS may use assignment-management technology, GPS records, timestamps, photographs, notes and other electronic records to document attempts, locations and assignment activity when appropriate and lawful. Such records are maintained for operational and evidentiary purposes and may be provided to the client or used to prepare service documentation.
ELS does not promise that photographs or GPS records will be available for every assignment or every attempt.
16. Safety; Right to Decline or Discontinue Service
ELS may refuse, suspend or terminate an assignment when instructions appear unlawful, misleading or unethical; when a location or person presents a threat or unreasonable safety risk; when the client requests conduct outside the lawful role of a process server or legal-support provider; or when circumstances otherwise make continued performance unreasonable.
ELS personnel are not required to trespass, force entry, engage in physical confrontation, misrepresent legal authority, or remain in a situation reasonably believed to be unsafe.
17. Court Fees & Third-Party Costs
Court filing fees, certified-copy fees, records charges, postage, courier expenses, tolls, parking, governmental fees and other third-party charges are not included unless expressly stated. When ELS advances or incurs approved third-party expenses for an assignment, the client is responsible for reimbursement.
18. No Warranties or Guaranteed Outcomes
ELS will perform services in a professional and commercially reasonable manner. Except for that commitment and any express written promise made for a particular assignment, services and website information are provided without guarantees regarding successful service, location of a subject, court acceptance, legal sufficiency, case outcome, recovery, or any other result controlled by a third party or legal authority.
19. Limitation of Liability
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, ELS will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, exemplary, punitive or consequential damages, including lost profits, lost business, loss of a legal claim or other consequential loss arising from use of the website or services.
To the fullest extent permitted by law, ELS's aggregate liability arising from a particular paid assignment will not exceed the fees actually paid to ELS for that assignment, except to the extent a greater limitation is prohibited by law or the loss results from conduct for which liability cannot legally be limited.
20. Client Indemnification
To the extent permitted by law, the client agrees to defend, indemnify and hold ELS and its owners, employees, contractors and agents harmless from third-party claims, losses, liabilities and reasonable costs arising from documents, information, instructions or representations supplied by the client; the client's unlawful use of ELS services or information; or the client's lack of authority to order the requested work, except to the extent caused by ELS's own actionable misconduct.
21. Privacy & Confidential Information
ELS handles website and service information in accordance with its Privacy Policy. Clients should avoid submitting unnecessary sensitive information and are responsible for appropriately redacting documents when required by law, court rule or applicable filing procedure.
22. Governing Law & Venue
Except where applicable law requires otherwise, these Terms and disputes arising from the relationship between the client and ELS are governed by the laws of the State of Ohio, without regard to conflict-of-law principles. Any action concerning these Terms shall be brought in a court of competent jurisdiction serving the Cincinnati, Ohio area, unless the parties agree otherwise in writing or applicable law requires a different venue.
23. General Terms
If any provision of these Terms is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in effect to the fullest extent permitted by law. Failure by ELS to enforce a provision on one occasion does not waive future enforcement. These Terms, the applicable order, written assignment instructions, Privacy Policy and Cancellation & Refund Policy constitute the agreement governing the service unless ELS expressly agrees to different terms in writing.
ELS may update these Terms prospectively. The effective date shown at the top of this page identifies the current version.
24. Contact Elite Legal Services
Questions concerning these Terms or an ELS assignment may be directed to Elite Legal Services.
Phone: 859-444-7777
Email: [email protected]
Website: elslegalsupport.com