Overview
Process Server in New York: How Service of Process Works
New York has no statewide license for process servers, but New York City does: anyone serving more than five papers a year in the five boroughs must be licensed by the city's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP), keep electronic records and use GPS-verified logs of each attempt. Statewide, the Civil Practice Law and Rules (CPLR) set the methods and deadlines. A summons must be served within 120 days of filing, and service made on a Sunday is void.
Who serves process
Who Can Serve Legal Documents in New York
Under CPLR 2103(a), any person who is at least 18 and not a party to the action may serve a summons. There is no statewide licensing requirement.
In New York City, anyone who serves more than five papers a year must hold a process server license from the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, which also requires GPS-verified records of each attempt and detailed logbooks. Courts look closely at these records when a defendant challenges service.
Typical documents include summonses and complaints, petitions, subpoenas, Housing Court papers, matrimonial papers and orders to show cause.
Proof you receive: a sworn affidavit of service
The server signs a sworn affidavit of service describing who was served, when, where and how, including a physical description of the person served. For deliver-and-mail or nail-and-mail, it also records the mailing date and is filed within 20 days.
NYC-licensed process service
Service in all five boroughs by DCWP-licensed servers, with GPS-verified records and affidavits that hold up at a traverse hearing.
Statewide service, all 62 counties
From Long Island to Buffalo, service by the CPLR method that fits the case, with the mailing and filing deadlines tracked for you.
Secretary of State and corporate service
Service on New York corporations and LLCs through the Department of State or their registered agent.
The rules
New York Service of Process Rules
The New York rules that matter most for service:
| Rule | What it covers |
|---|---|
| CPLR 2103(a) | Who may serve: any adult who is not a party |
| CPLR 308 | Methods of service on individuals |
| CPLR 311 | Service on corporations |
| CPLR 306-b | Serve within 120 days of filing |
| CPLR 312-a | Service by mail with acknowledgment |
| General Business Law § 11 | Service of civil process on a Sunday is void |
| Business Corporation Law § 306 | Service on corporations through the Secretary of State |
| NYC Admin. Code (DCWP) | Licensing and record-keeping for NYC process servers |
Treaties
New York and the Hague Conventions: Treaty Status
The Hague Service Convention lets member countries send documents to each other's Central Authorities for service. New York has not joined it, so that route isn't available, and the Convention's Article 10 rules on postal and private service don't apply. Whether those methods are acceptable depends on New York's law and on what your court allows.
New York is not a party to the Hague Evidence Convention, so requests for witness testimony or documents go through letters rogatory.
