How To Become A Civil Process Server: What It Is and Career Path

What is a civil process server and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a civil process server. For example, did you know that they make an average of $25.31 an hour? That's $52,655 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 0% and produce -5,200 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreCivil Process ServerUS Average

Salary

4.1

Avg. Salary $52,655

Avg. Salary $59,228

Diversity

4.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.11%

Asian 4.10%

Black or African American 11.65%

Hispanic or Latino 20.77%

Unknown 4.15%

White 58.22%

Gender

female 42.48%

male 57.52%

Age - 51

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 51

Stress level

7.8

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.3

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.7

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a civil process server

Explore civil process server education requirements

Most common civil process server degrees

Associate

36.8 %

Bachelor's

35.1 %

High School Diploma

12.3 %

Start to develop specific civil process server skills

Skills	Percentages
Subpoenas	45.63%
Summons	18.68%
Court Orders	11.47%
Court Proceedings	9.34%
Summonses	7.84%

Complete relevant civil process server training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New civil process servers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a civil process server based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real civil process server resumes.

Research civil process server duties and responsibilities

Prepare legal documents such as summons, subpoenas, etc.
Prepare proper documentation summarizing interviews and complete affidavits for filing with corresponding court.
Skip trace, collection porcedures then refer to investigator.NCIC prepare cases for court.

Prepare your civil process server resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your civil process server resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a civil process server resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable civil process server resume templates

Build a professional civil process server resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your civil process server resume.