Becoming A Georgia Process Server
What is a Process Server
Process servers deliver legal documents to defendants or parties in legal proceedings. This includes private lawsuits, court summons, subpoenas, complaints and other court dealings. Process serving laws vary by state. Process servers are legally required to serve legal documents based on their specific state laws, regulations, and restrictions.
How to Become a Georgia Process Server
Georgia process servers are not required to be licensed, but some Georgia county courts may require the process server to register with their court systems, get a background check and be appointed by a court administrator or judge. In the case of appointment, process shall be served by the sheriff of the county where the action is brought or by someone who has been specifically appointed by the court to serve.
To be certified under OCGA 9-11-4.1, one must attend a 12-hour pre-certification class, pass an exam which is administered by the Administrative Office of the Courts, obtain a surety bond, supply certified birth certificate and submit a fingerprinted background check.
You must be 18 years of age or older, a U.S. citizen, and have no affiliation with the party to be a process server.
The Appointment Process
To be appointed by the court to process serve, you must complete the applications for each court in each county that you would like to be appointed in. Most of the applications can be found online with each court’s website that make appointments. Once all elements of the application are completed, return the completed packet to the Clerk for court approval. Some of the courts require that you become a certified process server in order to be appointed in their court. Most of the courts have deadlines for submitting applications which generally are at the end of the calendar year.
If the court does not appoint process servers, a motion and order for special appointment must be submitted in each case.
What’s Next?
Once you become a process server, become a member of NAPPS. NAPPS’s memberships offers additional development within the profession of process serving, which includes higher education, networking opportunities and further training. To learn more about our membership benefits, click here.
NOTE: Georgia law and process server requirements are not definite, and prone to change. To stay up-to-date on the current requirements to become a Georgia process server, contact your local county clerk.
If you have questions or would like to learn more about process serving, contact us.
For more information
Georgia Association of Professional Process Servers