Washington State
Process Serving

Per RCW 18.180.010 Requirements for process servers — Exceptions. *** CHANGE IN 2014 *** (SEE 6115.SL) ***

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, a person who serves legal process for a fee in the state of Washington shall:

(a) Be eighteen years of age or older.
(b) Be a resident of the state of Washington; and
(c) Register as a process server with the auditor of the county in which the process server resides or operates his or her principal place of business.

The Revised Code of Washington (RCW 4.28.080), along with Federal Civil Rule 4 dictates how service is made. A Professional Process Server has the experience, both technically and in the field, to make certain your papers are served according to Federal or State law. We are trained to be neutral, non-judgmental, trusted third parties to an action; avoiding the chance for conflicts of interest, unlawful service, incorrect return packets, etc., all which can be costly mistakes causing your case or judgment to be vacated by the Court(s)

All Agencies are different, but you can expect $45.00 – $75.00 for most cases, dependent upon deadline and distance. It is good practice to interview a few Firms in order to make sure you are comfortable with their process and all expectations are agreed upon prior to commencement of service. Be wary of low cost providers or those that cannot answer your questions concisely; minimal entry requirements make it an easy business to get into, but doesn’t change the complexity of law when serving civil process.

The Judge will have discretion in awarding fees, but in most cases service fee(s) are fully recoverable by the winning party, up to $99.99. See RCW 18.180.035 for more information on this topic.

Professionalism, Courtesy and Communication are the cornerstone(s) of what to expect when using a Registered Process Server. As a client, you should have answers to your questions with regard to service rules, fees, work flow and file close out up front in a professional and courteous manner. Communication and status updates should be provided as you desire throughout the process. You should never be charged more than the initially agreed upon fee without prior authorization.

Yes and is the preferred method for most documents sets. For larger sets (30 pages and above) there may be a small fee for consumables such as paper and ink. It is incumbent upon the Client to know the rules with regard to serving an original, wet ink document vs a copy.

For Routine Service, you can expect a minimum of a week and for Rush Service, attempts made within the deadline provided and agreed upon. Some services may take multiple attempts dependent upon the demeanor of the Recipient and some are perfected on the very first try. There are many variables that go into this answer and it is best to know both parties expectations up front. Usually, the shorter the deadline, the higher the cost.

No is the short answer here. It would be impossible for any Process Server to guarantee you service will be made on the party(ies). However you should expect all reasonable and diligent efforts to be made in every case.

In the State of Washington, anywhere that can be accessed by the general public, to include a residence, a place of employment or any other agreed upon location. There are no time restrictions within the RCW. All States have different rules which dictate allowable service days, times and location, with the jurisdiction dictating how service can be made. If you have any questions about varying State Rules or those here in Washington, you can call (855) 356-0875 and use our Customer Service Team as a resource.

We will use any professional means possible to affect service. We are aggressive and diligent in our methods, but will not serve any paper unlawfully, trespass, or use threatening methods. Communication is the key to these type of files and we will ask multiple questions in order to develop a service team and to put in place the most effective service plan possible.

Yes, dependent upon your work flow, we are happy to file papers on your behalf. An additional charge may apply for filing and/or secondary service such as office service to opposing Counsel. Note that King County Superior Court, Pierce County Superior Court, Chelan County Superior Court and Clark County District Court allow for e-Filing. You can access these portals here.

It is a misnomer that documents must be placed in the hands of the Recipient; however in lieu of, strict case law must be followed to ensure a successful, lawful service. Positive identification, no impediment to the recipient, are just two of the qualifying variables that may apply.

A Declaration is included with every service order and is a formal statement of the occurrence; whether served or attempted. The original is filed with the Court, a copy of which is provided to the Client. It is prudent to have a copy of the Declaration with you at your hearing in the event the Judge has any questions to the service or attempts at same.

All orders are logged in our ServeManager system with updates, copies of documents, declarations, field notes, invoicing, etc and is accessible by security credentials provided at the time of data entry. Simply log into the system, using the user name and password provided.

The Due Diligence package is a compilation of attempts with field notes, results of any skip tracing procedures (to include the source) and standard case information in one Declaration, typically used to request an alternative means of service.

All information regarding your account can be found at www.apexlgl.com or by calling the Customer Service Team at (855) 356-0875.

Apex Legal Services will directly serve your papers in the greater King, Snohomish, and Pierce County areas. We utilize a pre-screened State and Nationwide Network for services to any address within the United States or its Territories and direct refer International Services to a qualified provider. There is literally no address in the world that we cannot connect with!

Use our electronic order intake system and upload your documents to be served (preferred method). Call us at (855) 356-0875 and a Customer Service Team Member will gladly help you through the process.