It’s the world’s largest democracy where about 17% of the world’s population lives. It’s also one of the biggest melting pots in the world with over 1.3 billion people. India is the former British colony that has come into its own with technology, medicine, and other innovations.
Millions of people have also migrated out of India into the US, the UK, Canada, and other places for jobs and business ventures. Many may experience a legal issue, whether personal or business related, leading to the need for international process service.
India acceded to Convention of 15 November 1965 on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters, also called the Hague Service Convention, on November 23, 2006. The Convention’s provisions entered into force in India on August 1, 2007.
Judicial Process & Support provides Hague Service Request for law firms and other clients who have a need for process service on an individual or entity in India. Your documents will be prepared according to the Hague Service guidelines so that your final affidavit is accepted by the court.
No matter the circumstances, when you file a lawsuit, you must serve the defendant to notify them of the action.
Our team can prepare all of the associated Hague paperwork. In addition, we will translate and certify the case file, then have it signed by the appropriate party for translation. After the case files are translated, they will be certified, then approved.
For shipment, the files will be packaged to ensure compliance with the Hague Service Convention, approved, then sent to India’s Central Authority in New Delhi.
From there, service will be at least six to twelve months, and possibly longer. After service is made, the agent will sign a Hague affidavit, which is then approved by the Central Authority.
Once the final affidavit is provided, we will translate and certify it into English. You will then be able to file the final affidavit with the court and proceed with your case.
Like a number of countries, India has a very slow turnaround due to the understaffed Central Authority. You can expect to wait at least three to six months for a response. Even with assistance from an in-country attorney, the wait is still considerable.
You also have the option of informal service. Contact us today for a quote for informal.
Technically, India is an English-speaking country due to its long history as a British colony. English is one of 22 official languages, but there are more than 150 languages spoken anywhere in India. Therefore, the documents must be in English for submission to the Central Authority.
However, because so many languages are spoken in India, the defendant may speak any one of them, such as Urdu or Punjabi. If this is the case, you should also have a translation into the defendant’s normally spoken language, even if they speak perfect English. All case documents must be understood by the defendant to comply with US due process requirements.
Request A QuoteWhen you’re serving a defendant in India, it’s imperative to ensure that you have the most accurate and recent address. With such a long response time, the last thing you (and your client) would appreciate is to discover that the service could not be made because of a wrong address.
We can run an Indian skip trace to ensure that you have the most accurate and current address for the defendant. Contact us for a quote.
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Like many countries, India objects to Article 10 services through mail and in-person. Attempting to serve a defendant in India with any other method can result in a service being refused or ruled invalid. If you understand this risk and would still like to serve informally we can assist and use one of our in-country agents.
The second option is having an attorney in the country who understands the system and is able to get through the bureaucracy, this may cut down the waiting time. But it will likely be at least six months before you receive a response. While this can be very unnerving for the plaintiff, going through the understaffed Central Authority is typically the best way to serve a defendant in India.
Contact us if you are interested in serving informally which can usually be accomplished within 2 weeks.
You cannot serve a subpoena using this method but there is another method, Contact Us For More Information.
From skip-tracing the defendant to translating your documents and service under the proper conventions, we are ready to help.
We have the expertise to ensure that your Hague applications are accepted by the Central Authority, and ensure that your final affidavit of service is accepted by your Judge.
Many countries, including India, have special undisclosed requirements. If you ignore them, you could wait a year or more and still have your application denied.
We Take Care of The Whole ProcessJPS has successfully many defendants in the People’s Republic of India. In this video, you will see how the final affidavit of service looks like when returned to us.
When serving internationally one little mistake can cost you a year or more in delays. Don’t allow yourself to lose time and money. Send your documents to us and we will take care of the rest.
Witness fee check is payable to the person being served.
The fee is a flat rate of $7.50 for State Court and $45.00 for Federal Court.
In Florida — Federal Court is $40 flat rate plus .35 cents per mile and Florida State Court is a $5 flat rate plus .06 cents per mile. Non-Florida State Court cases fees vary by state. Consult with the court in that state to determine the fee. In Florida, a typical witness fee check in State Court will be $7.50. A typical witness fee check for a Federal case will be $45.00.
In Florida, if you are not requesting the witness to testify you do not need to put a witness fee check. If you are requesting the witness to produce documents — the person or company producing the documentation may require you to pay for the copies in advance. Contact the company directly and request this information prior to serving the Subpoena.
It varies by State and type of case. Call the court where your case will take place and they will be able to identify the exact amount. Also, we always recommend checking the Court’s website which is full of information.
Checks are payable to “Clerk of Courts”
Yes, as a process serving company we have the ability to file the executed affidavits with the Florida e-portal system. If the matter is a Federal case – then the attorney of record will file the affidavit through the Pacer system directly.
Your legal documents can be emailed to Serve@JudicialSupport.com and you will receive a confirmation email once it has been received and processed.
Please note: Any documents over 30 pages will be invoiced at .10 cents per page
When a case is filed in the United States you can serve that defendant anywhere in the United States. For example, we can serve an individual at his place of employment. We can also serve this defendant at a restaurant or at a business meeting. In addition, we can serve this defendant at a trade show or at Court. As long as the service of process is conducted — Monday through Saturday we can serve anywhere.
In Florida, every State Court will charge $10.00 to issue your summons. Most Courts will issue the Summons online, however, some courts like Miami-Dade are still issuing in person.
Judicial Process & Support is uniquely positioned to service law firms so the bulk of our clients have custom pricing based on volume. If you are a law firm seeking new litigation support services you can request a price quote by emailing us at serve@judicialsupport.com
If you are an individual or seeking less than 10 services a month then process serving rates start in the range from $80.00 for rush service. An attempt is made within 1-2 business days for Miami Dade County services. Anywhere else in Florida the fee is $80.00 and service is attempted within 3-5 business days.
We recommend standard service for those cases that you have ample time to serve. For example, if the Court date is at least 30 days, the process server will be able to make ample attempts.
If your pleading is short dated — then we would recommend the rush service. Rush service is typically attempted with 1-2 business days. This service is also recommended for those instances where the defendant will be at a certain place at a certain time and you want the process server to be there. These services have a better and quicker outcome.
Same Day Service is used when you have an Order to Show Cause or a Writ of Garnishment and its in the best interest of the party to get these pleadings served immediately. Same Day service can also apply to that special service where you have a particular date and time to serve the defendant.
In Florida, if the defendant listed in the documents cannot be found, the court may allow service by publication in a newspaper. This method is perfect for Family Law cases and Foreclosure matters. In order to publish, the Court will require an affidavit of due diligence. In addition, the affidavit will need to be precise as to how many attempts were made and the outcome of those attempts. Finally, the attorney will have to demonstrate that there is no other address for the defendant that can be attempted.
In Florida, the defendant nor the witness has to receive the documents in hand. If the process server has properly identified themselves and advised about the contents of the documents — the legal documents can be left on the floor, on the table or outside their home. This information must be reflected on the Affidavit and filed with the Court. Also, it should be fully disclosed on the paperwork (field sheet) that the process server will keep in the office. This documentation is great in the event the process server has to testify in Court.
An Affidavit of Service is also known as a Proof of Service. This document is a signed document provided to you upon completion of serving your documents. In Florida we do not require the Affidavit to be notarized; however, many other states have this requirement that we can comply with. Often times, if the defendant cannot be served the Affidavit provided, will be a Due Diligence Affidavit that will be filed with the Court. This Affidavit will be useful in the event you want to serve the Secretary of State under 48.161 or 48.181 where the whereabouts of the defendant(s) are unknown.
A Process Server serves legal documents to the defendant, individual, or Corporations listed on the legal documents being served. Once the documents are served, an Affidavit of Service is prepared and filed with the Court. In Florida, the process serving company also files this Affidavit with the Florida e-portal system.
In Florida, all Process Servers serving non-enforceable process must be licensed. In order to serve a Summons and Complaint you must have a valid process serving identification. This identification must be presented when serving process and also the Process Server identification number must be listed on the Affidavit of Service.
Not all states require a process server to be licensed. However, some states require that process servers be registered in their county or state, or appointed to serve in a specific county.
If an attorney has filed a lawsuit in Florida and now wants to serve a defendant in New York then the process is to contact a process server in that jurisdiction to conduct the service. Local process serving companies can assist with this process since they have worked with local process servers around the country and have vetted these process servers to be adequate.
When service of process was first established it was performed by sheriffs or deputies, and agents of the court. This became very challenging and a burden to those authorized to serve process. They realized that they alone could not handle all the services that needed to be served and this is how Private Process Serving came about.
In Florida, a Certified Process Server is either Certified by the Chief Judge or appointed by the Sheriff in that county. In Florida, the Process Servers are tested each year or have to attend a few hours of education in order to renew their licenses. In Miami-Dade County we are required to also have a yearly bond that we provide the Court. The Miami-Dade County Courthouse has a designated Director for the Process Serving Division and they are responsible for every aspect relating to licensed Process Servers in Miami-Dade County.
Other states across the country have similar programs established. Each state is separate and has their own rules on Service of Process and the appointment of Process Servers in their States.
Hiring a Legal Process Server is the first step to moving your case in the right direction. Without service of process, the case is not able to advance to the next stage. Normally, the attorney filing the case on your behalf will hire the process serving company. Process servers have the skills and experience to serve your legal documents in a timely manner and in Florida, we are either Certified by the Chief Judge or appointed by the Sheriff of that county. Process Servers are savvy with the rules and regulations governing process serving – in Florida its Chapter 48.
There are several key requirements associated with the rules of service of process. For example, when serving an individual at his place of employment we will need to serve him or her personally. Also, there are rules regulating the hours for service on a Registered Agent in Florida. In addition, in Florida, we are not allowed to serve anyone on Sunday unless the Court has entered an Order allowing this service.
If a service is not done in accordance with the proper rules– this can hinder your case from going forward or result in the dismissal of your case. Improper service may also cause undue delays which may affect court fees and attorney’s fees.
Service of Process is a term used in the United States to indicate a legal procedure requiring that each party in a case be notified if actions are taken against them in a court of law. This is considered due process and its extremely important in our legal system.
When an individual is sued he/she is referred to as a “Defendant”. Defendants are notified of actions against them or court procedures involving them through the delivery of legal documents such as summons, complaints, subpoenas, orders, motions and writs.
In Florida when a defendant is served with legal documents in State Court he/she has 20 days to respond to the Complaint. In Federal Court filings the defendant has 21 days. If no response is filed on behalf of the defendant a judgment against the defendant may be entered.
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