California Process Servers and Process Serving Rates

Service Levels

Choose the level that fits your deadline. Every California order includes up to 4 to 6 attempts at the address you give us, made at different times of day.

What Your Rate Includes

• Order deadline and processing. California orders must be received by 1:30 PM Pacific to begin processing that business day, and orders for service outside California by 10:30 AM Pacific. Orders received after the deadline are processed as if received the next business day. Urgent (same-day) and On Demand requests received after 1:30 PM are subject to availability.
• Pages and pricing. Each order includes the first 50 pages; additional pages are $0.50 each. Prices and service times are per person or entity and per address attempted, and include up to 4 to 6 attempts per address in California or 3 to 5 attempts outside California, unless otherwise stated.
• Address and attempt policy. If an address is invalid, vacant, or nonexistent, or the order is canceled after the first attempt, the full fee remains due and no further attempts are made at that address. Our skip tracing team can attempt to find a current address.
• Additional fees. The portal shows the fees for your order before you submit it. Substitute service mailing, when required by law, is an additional $15. Filing the proof of service with the court, if you request it, is an additional fee; the prices shown do not include it.
• One attempt per day. At any service level we guarantee no more than one attempt per day. Extra attempts on the same day are available for an added fee, depending on availability.
• Rate changes. Rates may change without notice. Every attempt is documented, but no one can guarantee that a person will be served.

Additional Services

How to Hire a Process Server in California

1. Create Your Account

   Register at DirectLegal.com in a few minutes. There are no setup fees or monthly minimums.

2. Place Your Order

   Upload your documents through our secure portal, enter each address, and choose Standard, Priority, Urgent, or On Demand.

3. We Dispatch a Registered Process Server

   A local process server makes the first attempt on your timeline and keeps trying at different times of day.

4. Proof of Service Delivered

   Follow every attempt online. Your signed proof of service is emailed to you and saved in your account as soon as service is complete.

Start an Order → or call (800) 675-5376

Documents We Serve

• Summons and complaints
• Subpoenas (civil, criminal, and deposition)
• Federal subpoenas from any federal court
• Divorce and family law papers
• Child support and custody orders
• Eviction notices (unlawful detainer)
• Wage garnishments and bank levies
• Orders for examination of judgment debtor
• Small claims papers (SC-100)
• Motions, pleadings, and discovery
• Out-of-state subpoena domestication
• Probate, civil harassment, and elder abuse petitions

Why Law Firms and Legal Departments Choose Direct Legal

Process Servers Across California and Nationwide

Our process servers cover cities, suburbs, and rural areas throughout California, from downtown high-rises to gated communities and mountain towns. Every rate in the finder above is set by the area where the address is located.

We Serve All of California, Including These Cities

The cities below are only some of the places we serve. Our process servers cover every city and county in California. Choose a city for its local courthouses, service tips, and rates.

Don’t see your city? We serve it too. Find its rate in the rate finder above, or call (800) 675-5376.

Registered agents: Serving CT Corporation in Glendale · Serving CSC in Sacramento · Outside California: we serve in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., and handle out-of-state subpoenas.

How Papers Are Served on Individuals in California

California law allows several ways to serve a person. We always try personal service first and document every attempt so your proof of service holds up.

• CCP § 415.10

  Personal Service

  The papers are handed directly to the person being served. This is the most reliable method and the one we always attempt first.

• CCP § 415.20

  Substitute Service

  If the person cannot be served after reasonable attempts, the papers can be left with a competent adult at the home, or with the person in charge at the workplace, and then mailed. Service is complete 10 days after mailing.

  Starting January 1, 2027, California requires at least three attempts at personal service, on three different days at three different times, before substitute service on an individual. Each attempt will also need a photo of the location stamped with the date, time, and GPS coordinates.

• § 415.20(c)

  Private Mailboxes

  When a private mailbox at a mail store, such as a UPS Store, is the only address we can find, the papers can be left with the store on the first attempt. The store then mails them to the box holder. A regular USPS P.O. Box cannot be used for service.

• CCP § 415.21

  Gated Communities

  When a guard or security staff controls the gate of a community or residential building, they must let a registered process server in for a reasonable time to serve papers.

• CCP § 415.30

  Notice and Acknowledgment

  Papers can be mailed with a form the person signs and returns. Service is complete on the date the form is signed, so this works only when the person cooperates.

• CCP § 415.40

  People Outside California

  A person who lives in another state can be served by mail with a return receipt requested. Service is complete 10 days after mailing. We can also arrange personal service in that state.

• CCP § 415.50

  Service by Publication

  When a person cannot be found after a thorough search, a court may allow notice in a newspaper. We can prepare the declaration of diligence the court requires.

Serving Businesses and Registered Agents

Process Serving Questions