If you’ve filed a lawsuit against an individual but don’t know their current address, you are probably unsure of how to proceed. Not knowing a home address for the recipient of process can make it difficult to get them the paperwork that they need to be present in court. However, there is hope of finding the person if you follow the right steps. In this post, we’ll explain exactly what you need to do if you need to serve someone but don’t know their address.
Hire a Process Server
The first thing you need to do when you need to serve process to someone with an unknown location is hire a process server who works in the geographic area where you believe the process recipient might be. For example, if you need to serve someone and their last known location was Atlanta, then hire a reputable process server who works in Fulton County. Hiring a server who knows the local area can give you an advantage when trying to locate a hard-to-find person. The process server will have several methods at their disposal to help find the person, including general search skills, skip tracing, and diligent search.
General Search
It’s a process server’s job to find people everyday, so they’re usually quite good at it. From searching public records to scouring social media, process servers know all the tricks to help track down even the most evasive of people.
Skip Trace
If general search skills don’t yield a good location for the process recipient, the process server will likely move on to skip tracing. Skip tracing involves a more thorough and detailed search of the process recipient’s history and information. Skip tracing often provides clues to the person’s location that other less involved search efforts cannot.
Diligent Search
Finally, a process server may perform a diligent search, which is an exhaustive effort to find the process recipient. Even if the process recipient is not located, by completing the steps of the diligent search, the process server will have checked all the boxes required by the court to request alternative service.
Alternative Service
Process servers can request alternative service if they have made sufficient efforts to locate a process recipient but have failed. What is considered sufficient may vary from state to state, but it usually involves making several attempts to locate and serve the person at multiple locations or via multiple communication methods. Once the court determines that the process server has made sufficient efforts to locate the process recipient, the process server may be allowed to serve the process via alternative service. The most popular forms of alternative service are service by substitution and service by publication.
Service by Substitution
If service by substitution is allowed, the process server will be able to leave the process with a qualifying individual who is determined to be likely to pass the process on to the intended recipient. This individual may be a spouse, adult child, other relative, roommate, employer, etc. In addition to serving the substitute, a copy of the process should be mailed via Certified Mail to the recipient’s last known address. Once these requirements are met, the intended process recipient is considered served and the case can proceed.
Service by Publication
If service by publication is allowed, the process server is allowed to publish a notice in the local newspaper for the intended process recipient which includes the details of their upcoming court matters. After the notice is published for the required period of time, the intended process recipient is considered served and the case can proceed.
Have Anyone Served in the Atlanta Metro by Accurate Serve®
If you need to serve process to someone in the Atlanta metro area, including all of Fulton County and surrounding counties, but aren’t sure of their current location, make your next call to Accurate Serve. Our years of experience and attention to detail are exactly what you need to find the process recipient and have them properly served in a timely manner. To get started today, give us a call at 404-924-4838 or send us a work request online.
