Process Serving Questions | Milwaukee Process Servers | Southeast Wisconsin Process

Want to Know Something About Process Serving? Get Your Answer Here

We get it. Process serving is an unusual career that has a certain allure to it. People have a lot of questions about process serving and we’ve got answers.

If you have a question that isn’t answered below, please contact us and we’ll see about adding it to our list.

Do Process Servers Ask for ID?

In general, no. Most people are honest about who they are and it is rare to have to confirm identity by asking to see your driver’s license. There are situations, though, where seeing an ID can clear up any confusion if you are not the person being served such as defendants with similar names.
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Do Process Servers Call You?

Sometimes. When we receive legal documents, the person giving them to us will often give us the defendant’s phone number. Our servers will call the defendant to see if we can arrange a time to meet for service. Remember, process servers are just alerting you about a legal action you are involved in. It’s often in your best interests to get the papers so you can respond to the situation. Not returning process server’s phone calls can result in additional costs that you may ultimately be responsible for. Don’t ignore process servers!
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Do Process Servers Dress Up or Wear Disguises?

Not normally. Process servers generally dress in normal street clothes. We do not disguise ourselves as doctors, couriers or the Police. We may change how we are dressed to fit in better, like the time we served child support papers at a wedding reception, but we do not wear disguises.
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Do Process Servers Have to Identify Themselves?

When serving the documents, the server will let you know he has legal documents to give you. Most people figure out this means we’re a process server. But we generally do not state, “I am a process server,” unless we feel there’s a reason. Process servers will provide their name if the recipient asks.
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Do Process Servers Have to Say, “You’re Served?”

Not in Wisconsin. As with most legal matters, each state is slightly different. In Wisconsin, process servers just need to make you aware of the nature of the documents – that they are legal documents and leave them with you (or somebody who lives with you). We do often inform the person being served what kind of legal documents are being delivered and if their is a court date coming up. We can say something to the effect of “You have been served,” but it is not necessary.
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Do Process Servers Leave Notes?

Yes. Our process servers will make attempts to contact you at your home. If, after several attempts, they have been unable to contact you, they will often leave a business card or note. Please call the number on the card and hopefully we can arrange a time to get you your documents. Remember, ignoring a legal document will not make it go away and will often increase costs for yourself.
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Do Process Servers Need to Be Licensed?

It varies by state. In Wisconsin, process servers do not need to be licensed. This does not mean there are no requirements to becoming a process server in Wisconsin. The state statutes lay out age and residency restrictions which must be obeyed. Additionally, you cannot be a party to the action being served.
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Do Process Servers Wear Badges?

Again, the answer is sometimes. In Wisconsin, servers are not required to wear badges and most servers do not. When worn the badge will clearly state they are a process server. It is not intended to impersonate a Law Enforcement Officer. Many servers also carry an ID as some business and government entities require this prior to serving.
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Do Process Servers Work at Night?

Absolutely. This may be the best time to attempt as people are home in the evening eating dinner, watching TV, etc. Some states do place restrictions on the hours when a server may attempt service, though. Wisconsin does not. Process servers in Wisconsin are free to attempt service at any time of day or night. In general, our servers do not attempt after 9:00pm, but unique situations have occurred where our servers will make attempts very late at night or early in the morning.
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Do Process Servers Work on Holidays?

It depends on the server and the state. Wisconsin does allow service on holidays. Whether our servers want to go out on Christmas, the Fourth of July or other holiday is a matter for them to decide. In general, though, no, process servers don’t usually work on holidays. Generally, unless there is a special request, we won’t attempt these days – we like to enjoy the holidays, too!
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Do Process Servers Work on Sunday?

This depends on the state. In Wisconsin, servers are allowed to serve on Sunday. Other states, such as Florida, do not allow this. In many ways, it’s up to our individual process server to decide if he wants to attempt service on a Sunday. When serving out of state papers, we respect the issuing state’s statutes with regards to serving on Sunday.
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How Do Process Servers Get Your Address?

The addresses process servers use are normally provided by the client. In most situations, these addresses come from an address you supplied at some time in the past (e.g. when signing up for a new credit card). This is why servers sometimes attempt to serve defendants at a relatives’ home. If you lived there at one point, the address is on file somewhere and it just might be the one the plaintiff gives us. If the address is deemed bad, the client may provide us with a new address to attempt.
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How Long Do Process Servers Have to Serve Papers?

It depends on the state Statutes, case type and when it was filed. It’s not unusual for an attorney to file a case and immediately send it out for service. This could give us up to three months to serve. Of course, it rarely takes more than a week or two to complete service on a routine basis. On the other hand, a case may have a very close court date and we could only have days or even hours to serve the papers. The amount of time we have to serve any given paper varies greatly by service.
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What Do Process Servers Do?

We deliver legal documents. If you are sued or are in some way connected to legal action, you need to be notified. The normal way of notifying you of the lawsuit is having somebody who has no connection to the case give you a copy of the papers filed by the plaintiff. A process server is just an uninterested person for hire to deliver the papers. As for the day-to-day stuff, it’s a lot of driving and knocking on doors. It is normally uneventful until you run into the occasional hostile defendant.
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