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Utah Process Serving Laws
(Rules of Civil Procedure in the
United States)
Quick Answers:
Who can be a process server in
Utah?
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 Utah require process servers
to be licensed?
No.
Are there any day or time restrictions to
service of process in Utah?
No.
Utah 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
Utah Courts website
for updated rules of civil procedure
in Utah.
Rules of Civil
Procedure in Utah:
RULE 4. Process
(a) Signing of summons. The
summons shall be signed and issued
by the plaintiff or the plaintiff's
attorney. Separate summonses may be
signed and served.
(b) Time of service. In an
action commenced under Rule 3(a)(1),
the summons together with a copy of
the complaint shall be served no
later than 120 days after the filing
of the complaint unless the court
allows a longer period of time for
good cause shown. If the summons and
complaint are not timely served, the
action shall be dismissed, without
prejudice on application of any
party or upon the court's own
initiative. In any action brought
against two or more defendants on
which service has been obtained upon
one of them within the 120 days or
such longer period as may be allowed
by the court, the other or others
may be served or appear at any time
prior to trial.
(c) Contents of summons.
(1) The summons shall contain the
name of the court, the address of
the court, the names of the parties
to the action, and the county in
which it is brought. It shall be
directed to the defendant, state the
name, address and telephone number
of the plaintiff's attorney, if any,
and otherwise the plaintiff's
address and telephone number. It
shall state the time within which
the defendant is required to answer
the complaint in writing, and shall
notify the defendant that in case of
failure to do so, judgment by
default will be rendered against the
defendant. It shall state either
that the complaint is on file with
the court or that the complaint will
be filed with the court within ten
days of service.
(2) If the action is commenced under
Rule 3(a)(2), the summons shall
state that the defendant need not
answer if the complaint is not filed
within 10 days after service and
shall state the telephone number of
the clerk of the court where the
defendant may call at least 13 days
after service to determine if the
complaint has been filed.
(3) If service is made by
publication, the summons shall
briefly state the subject matter and
the sum of money or other relief
demanded, and that the complaint is
on file.
(d) By whom served. The
summons and complaint may be served
in this state or any other state or
territory of the United States, by
the sheriff or constable, or by the
deputy of either, by a United States
Marshal or by the marshal's deputy,
or by any other person 18 years of
age or older at the time of service,
and not a party to the action or a
party's attorney.
(e) Personal service.
Personal service shall be made as
follows:
(1) Upon any individual other than
one covered by subparagraphs (2),
(3) or (4) below, by delivering a
copy of the summons and/or the
complaint to the individual
personally, or by leaving a copy at
the individual's dwelling house or
usual place of abode with some
person of suitable age and
discretion there residing, or by
delivering a copy of the summons
and/or the complaint to an agent
authorized by appointment or by law
to receive service of process;
(2) Upon an infant (being a person
under 14 years) by delivering a copy
to the infant and also to the
infant's father, mother or guardian
or, if none can be found within the
state, then to any person having the
care and control of the infant, or
with whom the infant resides, or in
whose service the infant is
employed;
(3) Upon a natural person judicially
declared to be of unsound mind or
incapable of conducting his own
affairs, by delivering a copy to the
person and to the person's legal
representative if one has been
appointed and in the absence of such
representative, to the individual,
if any, who has care, custody or
control of the person;
(4) Upon an individual incarcerated
or committed at a facility operated
by the state or any of its political
subdivisions, by delivering a copy
to the person who has the care,
custody, or control of the
individual to be served, or to that
person's designee or to the guardian
or conservator of the individual to
be served if one has been appointed,
who shall, in any case, promptly
deliver the process to the
individual served;
(5) Upon any corporation, not herein
otherwise provided for, upon a
partnership or other unincorporated
association which is subject to suit
under a common name, by delivering a
copy thereof to an officer, a
managing or general agent, or other
agent authorized by appointment or
by law to receive service of process
and, if the agent is one authorized
by statute to receive service and
the statute so requires, by also
mailing a copy to the defendant. If
no such officer or agent can be
found within the state, and the
defendant has, or advertises or
holds itself out as having, an
office or place of business within
the state or elsewhere, or does
business within this state or
elsewhere, then upon the person in
charge of such office or place of
business;
(6) Upon an incorporated city or
town, by delivering a copy thereof
to the recorder;
(7) Upon a county, by delivering a
copy to the county clerk of such
county;
(8) Upon a school district or board
of education, by delivering a copy
to the superintendent or business
administrator of the board;
(9) Upon an irrigation or drainage
district, by delivering a copy to
the president or secretary of its
board;
(10) Upon the state of Utah, in such
cases as by law are authorized to be
brought against the state, by
delivering a copy to the attorney
general and any other person or
agency required by statute to be
served; and
(11) Upon a department or agency of
the state of Utah, or upon any
public board, commission or body,
subject to suit, by delivering a
copy to any member of its governing
board, or to its executive employee
or secretary.
(f) Service and proof of service
in a foreign country. Service in
a foreign country shall be made as
follows:
(1) In the manner prescribed by the
law of the foreign country for
service in an action in any of its
courts of general jurisdiction; or
(2) Upon an individual, by personal
delivery; and upon a corporation,
partnership or association, by
delivering a copy to an officer or a
managing general agent; provided
that such service be made by a
person who is not a party to the
action, not a party's attorney, and
is not less than 18 years of age, or
who is designated by order of the
court or by the foreign court; or
(3) By any form of mail, requiring a
signed receipt, to be addressed and
dispatched by the clerk of the court
to the party to be served as ordered
by the court. Proof of service in a
foreign country shall be made as
prescribed in these rules for
service within this state, or by the
law of the foreign country, or by
order of the court. When service is
made pursuant to subpart (3) of this
subdivision, proof of service shall
include a receipt signed by the
addressee or other evidence of
delivery to the addressee
satisfactory to the court.
(g) Other service. Where the
identity or whereabouts of the
person to be served are unknown and
cannot be ascertained through
reasonable diligence, where service
upon all of the individual parties
is impracticable under the
circumstances, or where there exists
good cause to believe that the
person to be served is avoiding
service of process, the party
seeking service of process may file
a motion supported by affidavit
requesting an order allowing service
by publication, by mail, or by some
other means. The supporting
affidavit shall set forth the
efforts made to identify, locate or
serve the party to be served, or the
circumstances which make it
impracticable to serve all of the
individual parties. If the motion is
granted, the court shall order
service of process by publication,
by mail from the clerk of the court,
by other means, or by some
combination of the above, provided
that the means of notice employed
shall be reasonably calculated,
under all the circumstances, to
apprise the interested parties of
the pendency of the action to the
extent reasonably possible or
practicable. The court's order shall
also specify the content of the
process to be served and the event
or events as of which service shall
be deemed complete. A copy of the
court's order shall be served upon
the defendant with the process
specified by the court.
(h) Manner of proof. In a
case commenced under Rule 3(a)(1),
the party serving the process shall
file proof of service with the court
promptly, and in any event within
the time during which the person
served must respond to the process,
and proof of service must be made
within ten days after such service.
Failure to file proof of service
does not affect the validity of the
service. In all cases commenced
under Rule 3(a)(1) or Rule 3(a)(2),
the proof of service shall be made
as follows:
(1) If served by a sheriff,
constable, United States Marshal, or
the deputy of any of them, by
certificate with a statement as to
the date, place, and manner of
service;
(2) If served by any other person,
by affidavit with a statement as to
the date, place, and manner of
service, together with the affiant's
age at the time of service;
(3) If served by publication, by the
affidavit of the publisher or
printer or that person's designated
agent, showing publication, and
specifying the date of the first and
last publications; and an affidavit
by the clerk of the court of a
deposit of a copy of the summons and
complaint in the United States mail,
if such mailing shall be required
under this rule or by court order;
(4) If served by United States mail,
by the affidavit of the clerk of the
court showing a deposit of a copy of
the summons and complaint in the
United States mail, as may be
ordered by the court, together with
any proof of receipt;
(5) By the written admission or
waiver of service by the person to
be served, duly acknowledged, or
otherwise proved.
(i) Amendment. At any time in
its discretion and upon such terms
as it deems just, the court may
allow any process or proof of
service thereof to be amended,
unless it clearly appears that
material prejudice would result to
the substantial rights of the party
against whom the process issued.
(j) Refusal of copy. If the
person to be served refuses to
accept a copy of the process,
service shall be sufficient if the
person serving the same shall state
the name of the process and offer to
deliver a copy thereof.
(k) Date of service to be
endorsed on copy. At the time of
service, the person making such
service shall endorse upon the copy
of the summons left for the person
being served, the date upon which
the same was served, and shall sign
his or her name thereto, and, if an
officer, add his or her official
title.
(l) Designation of newspaper for
publication of notice. In any
proceeding where summons or other
notice is required to be published,
the court shall, upon the request of
the party applying for such
publication, designate the newspaper
and authorize and direct that such
publication shall be made therein;
provided, that the newspaper
selected shall be a newspaper of
general circulation in the county
where such publication is required
to be made and shall be published in
the English language.
(Amended effective March 1, 1988;
April 1, 1990; April 1, 1996.)
RULE 45. SUBPOENA.
(a) Form; issuance.
(1) Every subpoena shall:
(A) issue from the court in which
the action is pending;
(B) state the title of the action,
the name of the court from which it
is issued, the name and address of
the party or attorney serving the
subpoena, and its civil action
number;
(C) command each person to whom it
is directed to appear to give
testimony at trial, or at hearing,
or at deposition, or to produce or
to permit inspection and copying of
documents or tangible things in the
possession, custody or control of
that person, or to permit inspection
of premises, at a time and place
therein specified; and
(D) set forth the text of Notice to
Persons Served with a Subpoena, in
substantially similar form to Form
30 in the Appendix of Forms to these
rules.
(2) A command to produce or to
permit inspection and copying of
documents or tangible things, or to
permit inspection of premises, may
be joined with a command to appear
at trial, or at hearing, or at
deposition, or may be issued
separately.
(3) The clerk shall issue a
subpoena, signed but otherwise in
blank, to a party requesting it, who
shall complete it before service. An
attorney admitted to practice in the
court in which the action is pending
may also issue and sign a subpoena
as an officer of the court.
(b) Service; scope.
(1) Generally.
(A) A subpoena may be served by any
person who is not a party and is not
less than 18 years of age. Service
of a subpoena upon a person named
therein shall be made as provided in
Rule 4(e) for the service of process
and, if the person's appearance is
commanded, by tendering to that
person the fees for one day's
attendance and the mileage allowed
by law. When the subpoena is issued
on behalf of the United States, or
this state, or any officer or agency
of either, fees and mileage need not
be tendered. Prior notice of any
commanded production or inspection
of documents or tangible things or
inspection of premises before trial
shall be served on each party in the
manner prescribed by Rule 5(b).
(B) Proof of service when necessary
shall be made by filing with the
clerk of the court from which the
subpoena is issued a statement of
the date and manner of service and
of the names of the persons served,
certified by the person who made the
service.
(C) Service of a subpoena outside of
this state, for the taking of a
deposition or production or
inspection of documents or tangible
things or inspection of premises
outside this state, shall be made in
accordance with the requirements of
the jurisdiction in which such
service is made.
(2) Subpoena for appearance at trial
or hearing. A subpoena commanding a
witness to appear at a trial or at a
hearing pending in this state may be
served at any place within the
state.
(3) Subpoena for taking deposition.
(A) A person who resides in this
state may be required to appear at
deposition only in the county where
the person resides, or is employed,
or transacts business in person, or
at such other place as the court may
order. A person who does not reside
in this state may be required to
appear at deposition only in the
county in this state where the
person is served with a subpoena, or
at such other place as the court may
order.
(B) A subpoena commanding the
appearance of a witness at a
deposition may also command the
person to whom it is directed to
produce or to permit inspection and
copying of documents or tangible
things relating to any of the
matters within the scope of the
examination permitted by Rule 26(b),
but in that event the subpoena will
be subject to the provisions of Rule
30(b) and paragraph (c) of this
rule.
(4) Subpoena for production or
inspection of documents or tangible
things or inspection of premises. A
subpoena to command a person who is
not a party to produce or to permit
inspection and copying of documents
or tangible things or to permit
inspection of premises may be served
at any time after commencement of
the action. The scope and procedure
shall comply with Rule 34, except
that the person must be allowed at
least 14 days to comply as stated in
subparagraph (c)(2)(A) of this rule.
The party serving the subpoena shall
pay the reasonable cost of producing
or copying the documents or tangible
things. Upon the request of any
other party and the payment of
reasonable costs, the party serving
the subpoena shall provide to the
requesting party copies of all
documents obtained in response to
the subpoena.
(c) Protection of persons subject
to subpoenas.
(1) A party or an attorney
responsible for the issuance and
service of a subpoena shall take
reasonable steps to avoid imposing
undue burden or expense on a person
subject to that subpoena. The court
from which the subpoena was issued
shall enforce this duty and impose
upon the party or attorney in breach
of this duty an appropriate
sanction, which may include, but is
not limited to, lost earnings and a
reasonable attorney's fee.
(2)(A) A subpoena served upon a
person who is not a party to produce
or to permit inspection and copying
of documents or tangible things or
to permit inspection of premises,
whether or not joined with a command
to appear at trial, or at hearing,
or at deposition, must allow the
person at least 14 days after
service to comply, unless a shorter
time has been ordered by the court
for good cause shown.
(B) A person commanded to produce or
to permit inspection and copying of
documents or tangible things or to
permit inspection of premises need
not appear in person at the place of
production or inspection unless also
commanded to appear at trial, at
hearing, or at deposition.
(C) A person commanded to produce or
to permit inspection and copying of
documents or tangible things or
inspection of premises may, before
the time specified for compliance
with the subpoena, serve upon the
party or attorney designated in the
subpoena written objection to
inspection or copying of any or all
of the documents or tangible things
or inspection of the premises. If
objection is made, the party serving
the subpoena shall not be entitled
to inspect and copy the materials or
inspect the premises except pursuant
to an order of the court. If
objection has been made, the party
serving the subpoena may, upon
notice to the person commanded to
produce, move at any time for an
order to compel the production. Such
an order to compel production shall
protect any person who is not a
party or an officer of a party from
significant expense resulting from
the inspection and copying
commanded.
(3)(A) On timely motion, the court
from which a subpoena was issued
shall quash or modify the subpoena
if it:
(i) fails to allow reasonable time
for compliance;
(ii) requires a resident of this
state who is not a party to appear
at deposition in a county in which
the resident does not reside, or is
not employed, or does not transact
business in person; or requires a
non-resident of this state to appear
at deposition in a county other than
the county in which the person was
served;
(iii) requires disclosure of
privileged or other protected matter
and no exception or waiver applies;
(iv) subjects a person to undue
burden.
(B) If a subpoena:
(i) requires disclosure of a trade
secret or other confidential
research, development, or commercial
information;
(ii) requires disclosure of an
unretained expert's opinion or
information not describing specific
events or occurrences in dispute and
resulting from the expert's study
made not at the request of any
party;
(iii) requires a resident of this
state who is not a party to appear
at deposition in a county in which
the resident does not reside, or is
not employed, or does not transact
business in person; or
(iv) requires a non-resident of this
state who is not a party to appear
at deposition in a county other than
the county in which the person was
served; the court may, to protect a
person subject to or affected by the
subpoena, quash or modify the
subpoena or, if the party serving
the subpoena shows a substantial
need for the testimony or material
that cannot otherwise be met without
undue hardship and assures that the
person to whom the subpoena is
addressed will be reasonably
compensated, the court may order
appearance or production only upon
specified conditions.
(d) Duties in responding to
subpoena.
(1) A person responding to a
subpoena to produce documents shall
produce them as they are kept in the
usual course of business or shall
organize and label them to
correspond with the categories in
the demand.
(2) When information subject to a
subpoena is withheld on a claim that
it is privileged or subject to
protection as trial preparation
materials, the claim shall be made
expressly and shall be supported by
a description of the nature of the
documents, communications, or things
not produced that is sufficient to
enable the demanding party to
contest the claim.
(e) Contempt. Failure by any
person without adequate excuse to
obey a subpoena served upon that
person may be deemed a contempt of
the court from which the subpoena
issued. An adequate cause for
failure to obey exists when a
subpoena purports to require a
nonparty to appear or produce at a
place not within the limits provided
by subparagraph (c)(3)(A)(ii).
(f) Procedure where witness
conceals himself or fails to attend.
If a witness evades service of a
subpoena, or fails to attend after
service of a subpoena, the court may
issue a warrant to the sheriff of
the county to arrest the witness and
bring the witness before the court.
(g) Procedure when witness is
confined in jail. If the witness
is a prisoner confined in a jail or
prison within the state, an order
for examination in the prison upon
deposition or, in the discretion of
the court, for temporary removal and
production before the court or
officer for the purpose of being
orally examined, may be made upon
motion, with or without notice, by a
justice of the Supreme Court, or by
the district court of the county in
which the action is pending.
(h) Subpoena unnecessary;
when. A person present in court, or
before a judicial officer, may be
required to testify in the same
manner as if the person were in
attendance upon a subpoena.
(Amended effective January 1, 1995.)
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only a starting point for reference,
and are not meant to be legal advice or a replacement for legal console. Please consult a process
server in your area, county, or
state if you have any questions
about process service there.
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