[Ming the Merciless]

If you know you can serve them, and know they will answer the door just have someone over 18 serve them , maybe give them 20 bucks or whatever and fill out the 'proof of service'

The tricky part is if they try to avoid service.

Ive served a LOT of people.

Pay someone who is over 18 (not with your same last name, unrelated to you) to knock on their door at a couple of different times and try to just hand the party their papers.

If they don't answer...then I would move on to a professional server.

What they SHOULD do is 'due diligence' / 'due process' and make numerous attempts at different times to serve the person. I would say three minimum but every county is different. The have to document that they went there at evening time, morning etc..to show they TRIED to find someone.

Then they fill out a request to be able to 'drop serve' them, (or sub serve them, or constructively serve them......theres some different ways but basically a pro will know which way is fastest and best) if the judge agrees that they did try hard enough and did the due process..they will allow the seerver to go back and POST it on the door and mail a copy.

This will extend the time they have to 'answer' the service.

For example they may have 5 business days to answer if you hand it to them, but they might get 19 days if you cant find them and have to post it.

Its ALWAYS better to have someone hand it to them. But sometimes its just not in the cards.


Professional service shouldn't cost much more than 100$ and probably less.

My advice would be to offer extra for them to 'stake out' the place by their car and serve them at their car. Ive done it alot. Its better if you hand them the papers than posting so they can't ever argue they didn't get the shit.

(use yelp maybe to find a good 'process server', you want someone who knows how to satisfy the judge's requirements to do a drop serve...its also possible the sheriiff's office will do it for a fee)