Being served means that you are receiving legal documents requesting your presence in court and informing you of a lawsuit against you or involving you. Common instances of when you might be served include divorce cases and civil lawsuits, like debt collections. Our article tells you about acceptable methods of being served and whether or not you can legally be served over the phone.
Can You Receive Notice of Being Served Over the Phone?
It is not typically an acceptable legal method of being served, nor is it common, to be served over the phone.
A process server, the person in charge of serving you documents, might contact you via a phone call to determine your availability to accept documents, but this is rarer. The majority of states do not allow process servers to inform you of being served over the phone, as you will need to receive documents in person that state court dates and other legal expectations.
Common Acceptable Methods of Being Served
There are a few different acceptable methods of being served, and most states will require that a process server utilizes one of these methods in order to inform you of a lawsuit. Sometimes, all three methods must be attempted to ensure you are informed of your court date.
Delivered Documents
Delivered documents are the most common and the most reliable way that papers are served to someone. With delivered documents, the process server will find someone’s address and hand-deliver the documents to them. The documents can also be accepted by another member of the household who is at least 16 years old.
In some states, it’s also acceptable to use certified mail that requires the signature of the person receiving the documents to ensure they get their notice of being served.
Pinning Notices to an Address
If a process server cannot hand-deliver documents to the person being served or a member of their household, they will generally pin a notice alerting the person to their front door. The process server may do this once or twice to ensure the person receives their notice of being served, or they may do this in conjunction with hand-delivering documents.
Publishing Notices
A less common way to inform someone that they are being served is to publish a notification in a local newspaper or legal publication. This publication must be accessible by the public, and the notice will need to be published for a certain amount of time to be considered proper notice.
However, not all states allow publishing notification of someone being served, so it’s important to check the rules in your specific jurisdiction.
Is Being Served Over the Phone a Scam?
Generally, if someone is calling you repeatedly or leaving voicemails on your phone claiming you are being served, this is a scam.
You are not legally allowed to be served over the phone in most states, and if you continue talking to the person who claims you are being served, they will likely ask for money to stop the lawsuit against you. If they don’t ask for money, they will typically ask for personal information, such as your Social Security number, to confirm the lawsuit being filed against you.
Never give out your personal information over the phone, be aware of the signs of a scam, and do not pay money to anyone claiming they can make a lawsuit go away. If you have any suspicions about a scam, hang up the phone immediately, block the number, and confirm with your local court system about a pending lawsuit against you.
How Can I Confirm if I Am Being Served?
If you suspect that someone is trying to serve you, or if you are getting phone calls and voicemails that try to convince you that you are being served, you may want to double-check with local legal and government entities in your area to confirm this matter.
This is especially important to put your mind at rest if you are getting phone calls, as you cannot be served over the phone, and you may want to confirm that the caller you are dealing with is a scammer.
To check if you are being officially served, visit the County Clerk’s office in your jurisdiction. You can speak to a staff member about your situation, and they can guide you to the correct person or court docket system to check and see if there is a legal case against you.
You might also want to check your background report and local court websites to see if there is a civil case against you pending on public record.
Taking Care of Legal Matters
Being served is often unpleasant, as being served papers means that you will need to attend a court date, and you may need to secure your own lawyer depending on the nature of the lawsuit you are involved in.
However, it’s important to note that you cannot be legally served over the phone or through voicemail in virtually every state. Someone who attempts this may be trying to scam you; always double-check with local legal entities and your county’s clerk office to confirm whether or not you have been served.