What does a process server do?
Process server responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real process server resumes:
- Manage all aspects of the shipping dock, including TDR, truck arrival/departure scheduling, and associate dock assignments.
- Serve subpoena's, summonses, notices and evictions, in active court cases within the administrative laws of Florida.
- Process serving, initiating and completing cases involving child support, evictions, civil, family law, and small claims.
- Demonstrate the migration tooling and WPS capabilities to migrate the existing ICS collaborations.
- File in probate for unlawful detainer cases, family cases, and criminal cases.
- Used GPS and MapQuest to figure locations where the different paper work are delivered.
- Create and configuration of WPS messaging artifacts like queues, activation specs, destinations.
- Service of process, notary of legal documents, and assistance in preparation of divorce matters.
- Issue orders of the court, including probation orders, release documentation, sentencing information, and summonses.
- Serve legal documents, auction of trustee sales for foreclose properties, post foreclosure notices and process evictions.
- Prepare legal documents such as summons and complaints, writ of executions to help attach absent parents wages.
- Deliver notifications, summons and other relevant paper work to those who are involve in a court matter.
- Travel to assign locations by use of GPS, serving summons to individuals in a safe, and professional manner.
- Create documentation for ISO certification for telex department.
- Create Microsoft PowerPoint presentations to deliver data findings to upper management.
Process server skills and personality traits
We calculated that 31% of Process Servers are proficient in Subpoenas, Affidavits, and Summonses. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Interpersonal skills, and Organizational skills.
We break down the percentage of Process Servers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Subpoenas, 31%
Served subpoenas throughout the state of California in sometimes precarious environments involving long periods of time conducting surveillance.
- Affidavits, 15%
Prepare proper documentation summarizing interviews and completed affidavits for filing with corresponding court.
- Summonses, 6%
Served subpoena's, summonses, notices and evictions, in active court cases within the administrative laws of Florida.
- Court Orders, 6%
Contract with different agencies to publicly and privately officially serve court ordered papers.
- Legal Papers, 5%
Served legal papers, located respondents and facilitated service.
- Legal Process, 3%
Conducted investigations of the location of individuals to effect legal process.
Most process servers use their skills in "subpoenas," "affidavits," and "summonses" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential process server responsibilities here:
Communication skills. The most essential soft skill for a process server to carry out their responsibilities is communication skills. This skill is important for the role because "information clerks must be able to explain policies and procedures clearly to customers and the public." Additionally, a process server resume shows how their duties depend on communication skills: "face to face communication with people being served court papers. "
Interpersonal skills. Many process server duties rely on interpersonal skills. "information clerks who work with the public and customers must understand and communicate information effectively to establish positive relationships.," so a process server will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways process server responsibilities rely on interpersonal skills: "used interpersonal skills to maintain and improve relationships with client's lawyers and paralegals and to assist recipients to accept subpoenas. "
Organizational skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of process servers is organizational skills. This skill is critical to many everyday process server duties, as "information clerks must be able to retrieve files and other important information quickly and efficiently." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "process management and organizational development of all district court expunction policies and practices. "
Integrity. A big part of what process servers do relies on "integrity." You can see how essential it is to process server responsibilities because "information clerks, particularly human resources assistants, have access to confidential information." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical process server tasks: "served eviction notices and notices of trustee sales to individuals from various clients"
The three companies that hire the most process servers are:
- Polk County Sheriff's Office2 process servers jobs
- ABC Legal Services
2 process servers jobs
- Knox Services1 process servers jobs
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Compare different process servers
Process server vs. Court attendant
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, process server responsibilities require skills like "subpoenas," "affidavits," "summonses," and "court orders." Meanwhile a typical court attendant has skills in areas such as "cleanliness," "food handling," "customer service," and "cash handling." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
On average, court attendants reach similar levels of education than process servers. Court attendants are 1.7% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.8% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Process server vs. Court administrator
Each career also uses different skills, according to real process server resumes. While process server responsibilities can utilize skills like "affidavits," "legal papers," "legal process," and "law firm," court administrators use skills like "municipal court," "management system," "financial reports," and "court administration."
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Court administrators tend to reach higher levels of education than process servers. In fact, they're 7.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.8% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Process server vs. Court assistant
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a process server is likely to be skilled in "affidavits," "legal papers," "legal process," and "law firm," while a typical court assistant is skilled in "family court," "court dates," "bench warrants," and "law enforcement."
Most court assistants achieve a similar degree level compared to process servers. For example, they're 0.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.9% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Process server vs. Civil clerk
Types of process server
Updated January 8, 2025
