Back to Main Page / Back to List of Rules
Rule 536a. Duty of Officer or Person Receiving and Return of Citation (2012)
TEXT
(a) The officer or authorized person to whom process is delivered shall endorse thereon the day and hour on which he received it, and shall execute and return the same without delay.
(b) The officer or authorized person executing the citation must complete a return of service. The return may, but need not be endorsed on or attached to the same citation.
(c) The return, together with any document to which, it is attached, must include the following information:
(1) the cause number and case name;
(2) the court in which the case is filed;
(3) a description of what was served;
(4) the date and time the process was received for service;
(5) the person or entity served;
(6) the address served;
(7) the date of service or attempted service;
(8) the manner of delivery of service or attempted service;
(9) the name of the person who served or attempted to serve the process;
(10) if the person named in (9) is a process server certified under order of the Supreme Court, his or her identification number and the expiration date of his or her certification; and
(11) any other information required by rule or law.
(d) When the citation was served by registered or certified mail as authorized by Rule 536, the return by the officer or authorized person must also contain the receipt with the addressee's signature.
(e) When the officer or authorized person has not served the citation, the return shall show the diligence used by the officer or authorized person to execute the same and the cause of failure to execute it, and where the defendant is to be found, if ascertainable.
(f) The officer or authorized person who serves or attempts to serve a citation must sign the return. If the return is signed by a person other than a sheriff, constable, or the clerk of the court, the return must either be verified or be signed under penalty of perjury. A return signed under penalty of perjury must contain the statement below in substantially the following form:
"My name is ______________ (First) ____________ (Middle) ___________________ (Last), my date of birth is ____________________, and my address is ____________________ (Street), ____________ (City) _________ (State) _____________ (Zip Code) __________(Country). I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.
Executed in _________________________ County, State of __________, on the _________ day of _________ (Month), ______ (Year).
______________________________________________
Declarant"
(g) Where citation is executed by an alternative method as authorized by Rule 536, proof of service shall be made in the manner ordered by the court.
(h) The return and any document to which it is attached must be filed with the court and may be filed electronically or by facsimile, if those methods of filing are available.
(i) No default judgment shall be granted in any cause until proof of service as provided by this rule, or as ordered by the court in the event citation is executed by an alternative method under Rule 536, shall have been on file with the clerk of the court three (3) days, exclusive of the day of filing and the day of judgment.
Amended by order of Dec. 12, 2011, eff. Jan. 1, 2012.