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Minnesota
Process Serving Laws
(Rules of Civil Procedure in the
United States)
Quick Answers:
Who can be a process server in
Minnesota?
Any adult over the age of eighteen
(18) years old, that is not a party
to the case, or a member of a
corporation or organization that is
a party, may serve (deliver) the
papers.
Does Minnesota require process
servers to be licensed?
No.
Are there any day or time restrictions to
service of process in Minnesota?
There is NO service on SUNDAYS and
HOLIDAYS (Minnesota Statutes
§624.04 and §645.44(5)).
Minnesota Rules of Civil Procedure
are from
CivilProcedure.info
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
site
Because the laws of process service
may change from time to time, please
check the
Minnesota Courts website for
updated rules of civil procedure in
Minnesota.
Rules of Civil
Procedure in Minnesota:
Rule 4.02. By
Whom Served
Unless otherwise ordered by the
court, the sheriff or any other
person not less than 18 years of age
and not a party to the action, may
make service of a summons or other
process.
Advisory Committee Note - 1985
The language of the first
paragraph of the existing rule 4.02
was deleted because it is no longer
necessary. Under current Minnesota
law, a prevailing party may recover
the cost of service of process,
whether by sheriff or private
process server as costs and
disbursements. See Minn.stat. §
549.04 (Supp. 1983). The changes to
the second paragraph are intended to
clarify the language of the rule and
incorporate provisions for service
of process other than summonses and
subpoenas presently contained in
Rule 4.05. Under the rule any person
who is not a party to the action and
is 18 years of age or over may serve
a summons or other process service
of subpoenas is governed by Rule
45.03, and the changes in Rule 4.02
are intended to be make the two
rules consistent. The rule provides
that the court may
direct
service of any process by any means
it deems appropriate. As a practical
matter, courts will rarely have
occasion to direct a specific means
of service of process.
Rule 4.03.
Personal Service Service of summons
within the state shall be as
follows:
Upon an
Individual.
Upon an individual by delivering
a copy to the individual personally
or by leaving a copy at the
individual's usual place of abode
with some person of suitable age and
discretion then residing therein. If
the individual has, pursuant to
statute, consented to any other
method of service or appointed an
agent to receive service of summons,
or if a statute designates a state
official to receive service of
summons, service may be made in the
manner provided by such statute. If
the individual is confined to a
state institution, by serving also
the chief executive officer at the
institution. If the individual is an
infant under the age of 14 years, by
serving also the individual's father
or mother, and if neither is within
the state, then a resident guardian
if the infant has one known to the
plaintiff, and if the infant has
none,
then the person having control of
such defendant, or with whom the
infant resides, or by whom the
infant is employed.
Upon Partnerships
and Associations.
Upon a partnership or association
which is subject to suit under a
common name, by delivering a copy to
a member or the managing agent of
the partnership or association. If
the partnership or association has,
pursuant to statute, consented to
any other method of service or
appointed an agent to receive
service of summons, or if a statute
designates a state official to
receive service of summons, service
may be made in the manner provided
by such statute.
Upon a
Corporation.
Upon a domestic or foreign
corporation, by delivering a copy to
an officer or managing agent, or to
any other agent authorized expressly
or impliedly or designated by
statute to receive service of
summons, and if the agent is one
authorized or designated under
statute to receive service any
statutory provision for the manner
of such service shall be complied
with. In the case of a
transportation or express
corporation, the summons may be
served by delivering a copy to any
ticket, freight, or soliciting agent
found in the county in which the
action is brought, and if such
corporation is a foreign corporation
and has no such
agent
in the county in which the plaintiff
elects to bring the action, then
upon any such agent of the
corporation within the state.
Upon the State.
Upon the state by delivering a
copy to the attorney general, a
deputy attorney general or an
assistant attorney general.
Upon Public
Corporations.
Upon a municipal or other public
corporation by delivering a copy
- To the chair of the county
board or to the county auditor
of a defendant county;
- To the chief executive
officer or to the clerk of a
defendant city, village or
borough;
- To the chair of the town
board or to the clerk of a
defendant town;
- To any member of the board
or other governing body of a
defendant school district; or
- To any member of the board
or other governing body of a
defendant public
board
or public body not hereinabove
enumerated. If service cannot be
made as provided in this Rule
4.03(e), the court may direct
the manner of such service.
Rule 4.04.
Service By Publications; Personal
Service out of State
Service by
Publications.
Service by publication shall be
sufficient to confer jurisdiction:
- When the defendant is a
resident individual domiciliary
having departed from the state
with intent to defraud
creditors, or to avoid service,
or remains concealed therein
with the like intent;
- When the plaintiff has
acquired a lien upon property or
credits within the state by
attachment or garnishment, and
- The defendant is a
resident individual who has
departed from the state, or
cannot be found therein, or
- The defendant is a
nonresident individual or a
foreign corporation,
partnership or association;
When quasi in rem
jurisdiction has been
obtained, a party defending
the action thereby submits
personally to the
jurisdiction of the court.
An appearance solely to
contest the validity of
quasi in rem jurisdiction
is
not such a submission.
- When the action is for
marriage dissolution or separate
maintenance and the court has;
ordered service by published
notice;
- When the subject of the
action is real or personal
property within the state in or
upon which the defendant has or
claims a lien or interest, or
the relief demanded consists
wholly or partly in excluding
the defendant from any such
interest or lien;
- When the action is to
foreclose a mortgage or to
enforce a lien on real estate
within the state. The summons
may be served by three weeks'
published notice in any of the
cases enumerated herein when the
complaint and an affidavit of
the plaintiff or the plaintiff's
attorney have been filed with
the court. The affidavit shall
state the existence of one of
the enumerated cases, and that
affiant believes the defendant
is not a resident of the state
or cannot be found therein, and
either that the affiant has
mailed a copy of the summons to
the defendant at the defendant's
place of residence or that such
residence is not known to the
affiant. The service of the
summons
shall
be deemed complete 21 days after
the first publication.
Personal Service
Outside State.
Personal service of such summons
outside the state, proved by the
affidavit of the person making the
same sworn to before a person
authorized to administer an oath,
shall have the same effect as the
published notice provided for
herein.
Service Outside
United States.
Unless otherwise provided by law,
service upon an individual, other
than an infant or an incompetent
person, may be effected in a place
not within the state:
- by any internationally
agreed means reasonably
calculated to give notice, such
as those means authorized by the
Hague Convention on the Service
Abroad of Judicial and
Extra-judicial Documents; or
- if there is no
internationally agreed means of
service or the applicable
international agreement allows
other means of service, provided
that service is reasonably
calculated to give notice:
- in the manner prescribed
by the law of the foreign
country for service in that
country in an action in any
of its courts of general
jurisdiction; or
- as directed by the
foreign authority in
response to a letter
rogatory or
letter of request; or
- unless prohibited by the
law of the foreign country,
by
- delivery to the
individual personally of
a copy of the summons
and the complaint; or
- any form of mail
requiring a signed
receipt, to be addressed
and dispatched by the
court administrator to
the party to be served;
or
- by other means not
prohibited by international
agreement as may be directed by
the court.
Advisory
Committee Comments - 1996 Amendments
Rule 4.04 is amended to conform
the rule to its federal counterpart,
in part. The new provision adopts
verbatim the provisions for service
of process outside the United States
contained in the federal rules. This
modification is appropriate because
this subject is handled well by the
federal rule and because it is
advantageous to have the two rules
similar. This is particularly
valuable given the dearth of
state-court authority on foreign
service of process. Existing
portions of the rule are renumbered
for clarity.
Rule 4.041.
Additional Information to be
Published In all cases
where publication of summons is
made in an action in which the title
to, or any interest in or lien upon,
real property is involved or
affected or is brought in question,
the publication shall also contain a
description of the real property
involved, affected or brought in
question thereby, and a statement of
the object of the action. No other
notice of the pendency
of
the action need be published.
Advisory Committee Note - 1969
The additional information required
by the rule is substantially
identical with the notice of lis
pendens published with the summons
in actions for partition and to
determine adverse claims (M.S.A. §§
558.02 and 559.02, both preserved by
Appendix A). The publication of
either would probably be sufficient
but the existing confusion warrants
the amendment and corresponding
changes in the Appendices and the
forms. The form of summons
prescribed by M.S.A. § 284.16 for
actions involving tax titles is not
changed.
Rule 4.042.
Service of the Complaint
If the defendant shall appear
within 10 days after the completion
of service by publication, the
plaintiff, within 5 days after such
appearance, shall serve the
complaint, by copy, on the defendant
or the defendant's attorney. The
defendant shall then have at least
10 days in which to answer the same.
Rule 4.043.
Service by Publication
Defendant May Defend; Restitution
If the summons is served by
publication, and the defendant
receives no actual notification of
the action the defendant shall be
permitted to defend upon application
to the court before judgment and for
sufficient cause; and, except in an
action for marriage dissolution, the
defendant, in like manner, may be
permitted to defend at any time
within one year after judgment, on
such terms as may be just. If the
defense is sustained, and any part
of the judgment has been enforced,
such restitution
shall
be made as the court may direct.
Advisory Committee Note - 1985
The only change in [Rules 4.013 and
4.044] is to substitute "marriage
dissolution" for "divorce" in order
to conform the language of the rule
to that of the statute governing
such actions. See Minn.Stat. §
518.002 (1982).
Rule 4.044.
Nonresident Owner of Land Appointing
an Agent
If a nonresident person or
corporation owning or claiming any
interest or lien in or upon lands in
the state appoints an agent pursuant
to Minn.Stat. § 557.01, service of
summons in an action involving such
real estate shall be made upon the
agent or the principal in accordance
with Rule 4.03, and service by
publication shall not be made upon
the principal.
Rule 4.05.
Service by Mail
In any action service may be made
by mailing a copy of the summons and
of the complaint (by first-class
mail, postage prepaid) to the person
to be served, together with two
copies of a notice and
acknowledgment conforming
substantially to Form 22 and a
return envelope, postage prepaid,
addressed to the sender. If
acknowledgment of service under this
rule is not received by the sender
within the time defendant is
required by these rules to serve an
answer, service shall be
ineffectual. Unless good cause is
shown for not doing so, the court
shall order the payment of the costs
of personal service by the person
served if such person does not
complete and return the notice and
acknowledgment of receipt of summons
within
the time allowed by these rules.
Advisory Committee Note - 1985
Existing Rule 4.05 is deleted in
its entirety because it is now
covered by Rule 4.02. The Committee
also determined it is unnecessary to
place an apparent burden on the
Court to direct service of all
process other than summonses and
subpoenas. See Minn.R.Civ.P. 4.02.
Notes of Advisory Committee - 1984
amendment. The Committee considered
various alternatives permitting
service by mail, including two
amendments Rule 4.04 to the Federal
Rules of Civil Procedure which were
adopted in 1983. The United States
Supreme Court first amended
Fed.R.Civ.P. 4 to authorize service
by mail. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 4
(c)(2)(C)(ii). Congress then adopted
a further amendment which superseded
the Supreme Court's action. See P.L.
# 97462 [H.R. 7154] 196 Stat. 25271.
Under the present federal rule,
service may be effected by mail. The
Minnesota Supreme Court has also
recognized the effectiveness of
service by mail under the Minnesota
Long-Arm Statute, Minn. Stat. §
543.19 (1980). The Minnesota Supreme
Court in Stonewall Insurance Co. v.
Horak, 325 N.W.2d 134 (Minn. 1982),
recognized that actual receipt of
the summons and complaint by mail,
evidenced by a certified mail
receipt signed by the individual
defendant, constituted delivery
under Minn.R.Civ.P. 4.03 (a) and the
statute. This rule does not modify
the holding, in Stonewall. The
change in Minn.R.Civ.P. 4.05
permitting service by mail adopts
the essential provisions of
Fed.Civ.P. 4. The rule authorizes
use of the mails to deliver the
summons and complaint to a defendant
within or without the state, and
makes service effective if the
defendant acknowledges receipt of
the summons and complaint. The
Committee recommends that a new form
(Form 22) be adopted to provide
notice of the effect of the service
by mail upon the defendants served.
The form advises the defendant that
by signing the acknowledgment of
receipt the defendant admits only
actual receipt of the summons and
complaint and that signing does not
constitute an appearance or a
submission to the jurisdiction of
the court and does not waive any
other defenses. If an
acknowledgement is not signed and
returned, the plaintiff may then
seize the summons and complaint by
any other means authorized by the
rules or by statute. There is no
restriction on the means of service
that may be used following
unsuccessful service by mail. The
Minnesota rule differs from the
federal rule. See Federal Deposit
Insurance Co. v. Sims, 100 F.R.D.
792 (N.D.Ala. 1984) (attempted mail
service prevents service by
publication under federal rule). The
rule retains the provision of its
federal counterpart shifting the
cost of personal service to a
defendant who declines to
acknowledge receipt of the summons
and complaint by mail. The Committee
believes
this
provision is an essential part of
the system for service by mail, and
is necessary to discourage
defendants from unjustifiably
refusing to acknowledge receipt.
Eden Foods, Inc. v. Eden's Own
Products, Inc., 101 F.R.D. 96
(E.D.Mich.1984).
Rule 4.06. Return
Service of summons and other process
shall be proved by the certificate
of the sheriff making it
by the affidavit of any other
person making it, by the written
admission or acknowledgement of the
party served, or if served by
publication, by the affidavit of the
printer or the printer's designee.
The proof of service in all cases
other than by published notice shall
state the time, place, and manner of
service. Failure to make proof of
service shall not affect the
validity of the service.
Advisory Committee Note - 1985
The change in this rule is
intended to reflect that an
acknowledgment of receipt, as
permitted by Rule 4.05 and as
contained in Form 22, constitutes
adequate proof of service.
Rule 4.07.
Amendments
The court in its discretion and
on such terms as it deems just may
at any time allow any summons or
other process or proof of service
thereof to be amended, unless it
clearly
appears that substantial rights of
the person against whom the process
issued would be prejudiced thereby.
Rule 45.03.
Service
A subpoena may be served by the
sheriff, a deputy sheriff, or any
other person who is not a party.
Service of a subpoena upon a person
named therein shall be made by
delivering a copy thereof to such
person or by leaving a copy at the
person's usual place of abode with
some person of suitable age and
discretion then residing therein and
by tendering to the person the fees
for 1 day's attendance and the
mileage allowed by law. When the
subpoena is issued on behalf of the
state of Minnesota or an officer or
agency thereof, fees and mileage
need not be tendered.
Minnesota Statutes
624.04 Service of
process on the Sabbath prohibited.
Every service of legal process
upon the Sabbath day, except in case
of a breach or apprehended breach of
the peace, or when sued out for the
apprehension of a
person charged with crime, or where
such service is expressly authorized
by statute, is hereby prohibited.
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server in your area, county, or
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