Long Beach & the South Bay · California’s Oldest Family-Owned Process Serving Company

Process Server in Long Beach, California

Since 1961, California law firms have relied on Direct Legal for more than process serving — statewide service of process backed by court filing, records retrieval, subpoena preparation, and judgment enforcement. In Long Beach, that means daily coverage from the Deukmejian Courthouse to the port terminals and every neighborhood in between.
Direct Legal Support has been serving legal documents since 1961
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✓ 65+ Years in California

LOCAL COVERAGE

Long Beach Process Servers, From the Courthouse to the Harbor

Long Beach is the second-largest city in Los Angeles County, and its legal landscape runs the full range: the Governor George Deukmejian Courthouse downtown, the trade and logistics companies of the Port of Long Beach, the professional corridor along Ocean Boulevard, and hundreds of thousands of residents across the city’s neighborhoods and the surrounding South Bay. Our servers and filing team work all of it, every business day.

And because Direct Legal is a full litigation support company — not just a serve-and-go operation — the same team that serves your documents can file them at the Deukmejian clerk’s windows, subpoena the records, run the skip trace, and open the levy when you win. One partner, from intake through judgment enforcement.

Same-Day & Rush Service

Routine, rush, and same-day service levels throughout Long Beach and the South Bay, with documented attempt records and prompt proofs of service.

Law Firms & Self-Represented Parties

We serve attorneys, paralegals, businesses, and parties without an attorney — with clear flat-rate pricing published below.

Ready to serve? Create your free account and submit your order in minutes — no setup fees, no faxing, no delays.

What We Do in Long Beach

Legal Support Services in Long Beach

Summons and complaints, subpoenas, family law documents, unlawful detainers, small claims, and restraining orders — served in compliance with the California Code of Civil Procedure.

Daily filing at the Governor George Deukmejian Courthouse at 275 Magnolia Avenue — and at every Los Angeles Superior Court location countywide.

Electronic recording of abstracts of judgment, liens, deeds, and other recordable documents with the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk.
If a subject can’t be located, our licensed skip tracers can search for a current address using licensed databases and field intelligence.
Subpoena production of medical records, employment records, and business documents — prepared, served, and delivered by your production date.
Out-of-state subpoenas domesticated for use in California and California subpoenas prepared for actions pending in other states — issued, served, and returned.
Bank levies, wage garnishments, till taps, keeper levies, and vehicle levies under your writ of execution — opened at the correct LA County Sheriff’s Civil Management Bureau branch.
Mandatory e-filing with Los Angeles Superior Court for civil and probate through the court’s approved system — plus conventional filing wherever the court still takes paper.
Why Law Firms Choose Direct Legal
Built for Law Firms — Not One-Time Serves

There’s a difference between someone who serves papers and a litigation support partner. Since 1961 — as California’s oldest family-owned process serving company — we’ve helped attorneys solve litigation problems: complex service, records subpoenas on major matters, out-of-state domestication, and judgment enforcement. When unusual issues arise (and in litigation, they always do), you’ll be working with professionals who’ve likely solved that problem before.

Leadership recognized throughout the profession. Direct Legal is led by CEO Mike Kern — past president of both CALSPro and NAPPS and a continuing-education speaker for paralegals and legal secretaries across California.

Records retrieval with decades behind it. Our Records Retrieval Division is managed by professionals with over 40 years of experience, including work on some of California’s largest litigation matters.

WHERE WE FILE

Courts Serving Long Beach

Long Beach sits in the Los Angeles Superior Court’s South District, anchored by one of the most capable courthouses in the county — and our filing team is at its windows every business day.

Governor George Deukmejian Courthouse (South District)
275 Magnolia Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90802 · A one-stop courthouse: civil, criminal, family law, traffic, juvenile, and unlawful detainer under one roof, plus the court’s complex litigation program · Civil, family, criminal, and juvenile clerks on the 1st floor; traffic in Room 203 · Public parking structure at 101 S. Magnolia Ave.

Stanley Mosk Courthouse
111 N. Hill Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012 · The county’s central civil courthouse downtown

Every LA Superior Court Location
As a Los Angeles company, our filing team covers all Los Angeles Superior Court courthouses countywide, every business day

Electronic Filing

Mandatory E-Filing in Los Angeles County

Los Angeles Superior Court requires e-filing for represented parties in civil and probate cases through an approved e-filing service provider; self-represented litigants may e-file but aren’t required to. At the Deukmejian Courthouse, complex litigation cases have required e-filing since September 2021. Writs and abstracts are e-filed as a separate electronic envelope under the court’s rules.

Judgment Enforcement

LA County levies run through the Sheriff’s Civil Management Bureau branch with jurisdiction over the service address, with proof of service returned within five court days — and banks designate central locations for legal process. We get all of it right the first time.

Unlawful Detainer, On Deadline

Department S13 at the Deukmejian Courthouse handles unlawful detainer matters — and UD ex parte applications must be filed by 8:30 a.m., a hard deadline with no exceptions. Time-critical filings are exactly why firms keep a filing partner who’s already downtown.

THE PROCESS

How Long Beach Process Serving Works

Create Your Account

Register at DirectLegal.com in minutes. No setup fees, no minimum orders.

Submit Your Order

Upload your documents, enter the Long Beach or South Bay address, and choose your service level. Our system is available 24 hours a day.

We Dispatch a Registered Process Server

A registered process server covering Long Beach and the South Bay is dispatched. Unsuccessful attempts are followed up automatically at varied times of day.

Digital Proof of Service Delivered

A signed affidavit is emailed upon completion and available for download — ready for court filing without modification.

PRICING

Service Levels Available in Long Beach


Law Firms & Legal Departments

Standard
$95.00
Priority
$145.00
Urgent
$175.00
On Demand
$225.00

Parties Without an Attorney

Standard
$125.00
Priority
$175.00
Urgent
$225.00
On Demand
$275.00

Service Levels Explained

  • Standard: First attempt within 5 days, up to 5 total attempts.
  • Priority: First attempt the next business day, with continued expedited follow-up.
  • Urgent: First attempt same day, with expedited follow-up.
  • On Demand: Attempted as soon as possible, including orders received after the standard deadline. Contact us to confirm availability.

All service levels include up to 5 attempts at a single California address. Orders must be received by 1:30 PM Pacific for same-day service; orders placed after 1:30 PM are subject to availability. Substitute service mailing, when required, is an additional $15. See complete pricing and service details for any city in California and nationwide.

DOCUMENT TYPES

Documents We Serve in Long Beach

  • Summons and Complaints
  • Wage Attachments and Bank Levy Orders
  • Subpoenas (civil, criminal, and deposition)
  • Orders for Examination of Judgment Debtor
  • Divorce and Family Law Papers
  • Small Claims Filings (SC-100)
  • Child Custody and Support Orders
  • Motions, Pleadings, and Discovery Documents
  • Restraining Orders and TROs
  • Out-of-State Subpoena Domestication
  • Eviction Notices (Unlawful Detainer)
  • Petitions (Probate, Civil Harassment, Elder Abuse)

BUSINESS ENTITIES

Serving Corporations and Businesses in Long Beach

Long Beach’s economy moves through its port — one of the busiest container ports in the United States — and the trade, shipping, logistics, and drayage companies that operate around it, alongside the healthcare institutions, aerospace legacy firms, and the professional corridor along Ocean Boulevard downtown. Corporate service here can mean a secured terminal gate, a freight yard office, or a downtown tower lobby. Under California law, corporations are served through their registered agent, or on an officer, director, or general manager (CCP § 416.10); LLCs through a member, manager, or authorized agent (CCP § 416.40) — and when the registered agent sits downtown Los Angeles, in Glendale, or elsewhere in the county, our servers cover all of it from our Los Angeles office.

One rule that catches people: a standard USPS P.O. Box is never a valid address for corporate service — a physical street address is required. But when a business lists a private mailbox at a retail mail store (a UPS Store or similar Commercial Mail Receiving Agency), California treats that storefront as a valid physical location under CCP § 415.20, and we can complete service at the counter.

METHODS OF SERVICE

How Individuals Are Served in Long Beach

Personal Service — CCP § 415.10
Documents handed directly to the individual — the most defensible method in court and always our first approach.

Substitute Service — CCP § 415.20
After reasonable diligence, documents may be left with a competent adult at the subject’s home or usual place of business, then mailed first-class to the same address. Every prior attempt is documented in writing so the proof of service holds up to challenge.

Service by Publication — CCP § 415.50
When a defendant can’t be located after standard methods are exhausted, a court may authorize publication in a qualifying newspaper. We can prepare the declaration of diligence the court requires.

Proof of Service
Every completed service generates a signed, sworn affidavit on the court-approved form — in your account and inbox the moment service is done, ready to file.

COVERAGE

Our Process Servers Cover Long Beach and the South Bay

Long Beach and every community around it — from the harbor to the hills, seven days a week.
Downtown Long Beach Belmont Shore Bixby Knolls North Long Beach East Long Beach Signal Hill Lakewood Carson San Pedro Wilmington Harbor City Torrance Bellflower Paramount Cerritos Artesia Gardena Palos Verdes Peninsula Redondo Beach Manhattan Beach Seal Beach
QUESTIONS

Long Beach Process Serving FAQs

Need Papers Served in Long Beach Today?

Create your free account and submit your order in minutes — no setup fees, no faxing, no delays.

Have a question before you order?

Call us at (800) 675-5376 or send us a message below.

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