Serving behind the gate in Miami-Dade
Agera Legal Services is a Miami-Dade certified process server based in Kendall. A large share of the county lives behind a gate or a front desk: guard-gated communities in the west and south, condominium towers on the bay and the beach, and rental buildings with a concierge and a key-fob lobby. Serving there takes more than knocking on a door, and it is routine work for us.
We serve every kind of paper in these communities: a summons and complaint, a subpoena, family law papers, eviction notices and small claims papers. The level you choose and the price are the same as anywhere else in the county.
Access the law provides
Section 48.031(7) requires a gated residential community, including a condominium association, to grant unannounced entry to a person attempting to serve a resident, and our servers carry court-issued identification for the gate or the desk. If a building refuses anyway, the refusal goes on the attempt record.
In practice, most gates and desks let the server through once the identification is shown. When a guard or a manager hesitates, the server explains the request calmly and stays professional. Every interaction is logged with the time, so your record shows exactly what happened at the gate.
Where we serve
- Guard-gated communities with a manned gatehouse at the entrance.
- Communities with call boxes or code gates and no guard on site.
- Condominium towers with a front desk, a concierge or a security station.
- Rental and mixed-use buildings with a controlled lobby or elevators.
- Office buildings with a lobby desk, for papers addressed to a business or a person at work.
How each serve behind a gate is handled
Every attempt is logged in our field app at the door. The record holds the time, the GPS coordinates of the server and a photo of the address. Nothing is reconstructed from memory afterwards; the affidavit is written from that record. At a gated address the record also notes the gate or the desk: who the server spoke to and when.
Our servers try for personal delivery to the person named. A desk or a guard is not the person being served, so the server asks to reach the resident at the unit or through the desk, and records every step.
Attempts are spread over different times of day. Every order includes up to 4 attempts at different times of day within your level's time, with a Saturday attempt when that time includes a Saturday. In a tower, the evening attempt is often the one that finds a resident at home.
Timing: pick the level that fits your case
Every order is placed at one of four turnaround levels. Service days are Monday to Saturday, counted from when we have the paid order and the papers. Completed means served, or all included attempts made. Every level includes up to 4 attempts, the client portal, status updates, email confirmation and the affidavit.
$60
Standard
First attempt within 72 hours, completed within 10 service days
$80
Rush
First attempt within 24 hours, completed within 5 service days
$100
Same Day
First attempt the same day, completed within 4 service days
$200
Same Day +
More than one attempt the same day, completed within 2 service days
The affidavit you receive
When the job is done you receive a notarized affidavit of service. It states who was served, the date and time, where, and how the service was made, in the form a Florida return of service takes under section 48.21. The photo and GPS record of each attempt are attached. If the person cannot be served after the included attempts, you receive an affidavit of due diligence that documents each attempt, including any refusal at a gate or a desk.
The affidavit appears in your client portal the moment it is signed. Read more about what an affidavit of service is.
How to order
Order online in a few minutes: upload the papers, enter the name of the person to be served, the address and unit number, add any gate or building notes, choose your level and pay. The order is confirmed by email, a server is assigned, and you can follow each attempt in the portal. Start your order, or call (786) 241-4146, Monday to Saturday.
Where we serve gated and condo addresses
We cover all of Miami-Dade County from our base in Kendall, including the city pages below. Each one describes how serving works in that part of the county.
- Kendall
- Miami
- Hialeah
- Doral
- Homestead
- Cutler Bay
- Miami Beach
- Coral Gables
- Miami Lakes
- Aventura
- Palmetto Bay
- Pinecrest
We also serve eviction notices for landlords, subpoenas for witnesses and records, divorce and family law papers, small claims summons and papers from courts in other states. For prices on other papers, see what a process server costs in Miami.