What Methods Do Process Servers Use to Find Evasive Subjects?

Serving Court Documents

Blog originally published on October 15, 2015. Updated on February 2, 2023.

If you want to take legal action against someone, you are required by law to ensure that they are notified of the charges being brought against them. To do this in accordance with the legal process, someone must serve papers informing the person of those charges. This isn’t always easy when subjects evade strangers who attempt to approach them, especially if they’re expecting to be sued and know that someone is actively trying to serve them their court documents.

In cases when a soon-to-be defendant is extremely evasive, turning to a process server who can employ a variety of effective tools for serving court documents is the best way to ensure that you can began to take swift legal action. These legal professionals have experience hunting down hard-to-find defendants.

So how do process servers find you when they need to deliver legal documents? There are a few different techniques we'll cover below.

Gathering Information

First, the process server will interview their client about the intended target. At Same Day Process Service, our interview process is fairly lengthy because we want to gather as much information as possible about the subject. We take into account factors like place of employment, relatives’ addresses, aliases, and criminal history as we formulate a plan to serve the impossible. 

But how does a process server find their target once they have a current mailing address? Sending the documents by certified mail doesn't always guarantee success or proper service. Face-to-face interaction may be necessary.

Stakeouts

Sometimes process servers conduct lengthy stakeouts to familiarize themselves with the subject’s daily routine. Understanding the pattern of the subject makes serving them much easier than attempting to catch them by chance. While most process servers use stakeouts as an information gathering tool, they can often present a window of opportunity for the server to make contact with their target.

Disguises

In addition to stakeouts, process servers will frequently pose as delivery people and attempt to make a flower or pizza delivery in order to come in contact with the subject. Skilled and experienced process servers also use other very creative ways to approach a subject, but stating them explicitly might make existing strategies ineffective. Simply put, surveillance measures, delivery attempts, and other steps are taken to locate and serve the subject in question.

For Professional Process Servers, Call Same Day Process Service

Whether the person you plan to sue lives in Washington D.C., Maryland, or Virginia, or they’ve fled to the opposite side of the country, Same Day Process Service is the clear choice when you need to serve a subject who is trying very hard to remain aloof. Our dedicated personal service has been used all across the country.

If you have failed at other attempts to serve an individual and are in need of help, contact us today for professional process serving!

What Job Functions Does a Process Server Perform?

Have you ever wondered what a process server does? You’ve probably seen movies or TV shows where someone approaches the main character and hands them an envelope and says, “You’ve been served!” Then the character is required...

3 Tips For Choosing The Best Process Server

In the fifth and sixth amendments of the constitution of the United States of America, every citizen holds the right to be informed of being summoned. The messenger system intended to notify persons concerning legal issues privy to them is the...

Can A Process Server Trespass?

Process servers sometimes find themselves in trouble while doing their job. Their most common predicament is trespassing. Many people that are being served often call the police to report that the server is trespassing their private property....

3 Facts About Social Media Investigations

Investigating a person is so different to do now than it was 20 years ago. With the rise of social media and its extensive use by well, everyone, it is a tool that can be used to learn more about people. Users publicly put out information to share...

Can You Refuse Served Papers?

Process serving falls into the legal system under the due process of law, which states that an accused individual has the right to know what legal actions he or she is facing with enough time to build a defense case. The server will...

What Does it Mean to be a Certified Process Server?

While few Americans understand the full role of a process server, they are an important part of America’s Constitutional guarantees. The early function of many local sheriffs was to notify citizens they were involved in a specific legal case....

Serving Documents in Small Claims Court

Small claims court cases are different from other cases because they are limited amount to certain amounts in the claim, usually $5,000. Also, certain kinds of cases like medical malpractice suits are not allowed there. Small claims...

5 Tips For An Effective Social Media Investigation

Social media is an information goldmine for individuals and businesses. Social media investigation is a valuable modern tool for skip tracing, vetting and reference checks, and civil law investigations. Five Tips for Effective Social Media...

Process Serving Via Social Media- Is This Possible?

We currently live in a society that is consistently progressing in every way imaginable. It is quite amazing to see how far we have come in regards to the technology that we use on a daily basis. Social media platforms have become widely popular...

How Do You Become A Process Server?

If you want to become a process server in the United States, the rules you will have to follow will depend on your state of residence. In the vast majority of states, the main requirement is that you must be 18 years of age or older and you cannot...

Beware Of Bogus Process Servers

You Are Smarter Than Any Scammer Unfortunately, in today's society, there are scams for everything under the sun. There is not a week that goes by for most consumers when they are not confronted by someone assuming the guise of a legitimate...

What Should I Know Before I Hire A Process Server?

A Process Server is a particular individual who takes the responsibilities of giving legal notice to a party through delivering relevant court documents presented by the tribunal. If you have a case in the court, you will need the process server to...
Page: 123456 - All