Attorneys, paralegals, property managers and people representing themselves all ask the same question: how do you know a process server will actually get the papers served and give you an affidavit that holds up? Here is the checklist we would use ourselves.
1. County certification you can verify
In Miami-Dade, private process servers must be certified by the county and carry an identification card. Ask for the CPS number and check it. Anyone who hesitates is not the person to trust with your summons. Agera Legal Services: Miami-Dade certified.
2. Professional membership
Membership in NAPPS, the National Association of Professional Process Servers, means the server follows a code of ethics and can serve papers nationwide through the network. It is not required by law, which is exactly why it separates serious professionals from part-timers.
3. Proof on every attempt
The affidavit is only as strong as the record behind it. Insist on GPS coordinates, a time stamp and a photo for each attempt, whether it succeeded or not. When a defendant claims they were never served, that record wins the hearing.
4. A real attempt policy
Ask how many attempts are included and whether they vary the time of day. Four attempts that include an evening and a Saturday find people that three weekday-afternoon visits never will. One-attempt "service" is not service.
5. Affidavit turnaround
Ask when you get the affidavit. It should be signed the day of service and sent to you as a PDF ready for the Florida e-filing portal, not mailed a week later.
6. Status without phone calls
A client portal where you see each attempt as it is logged, download the affidavit, and message the server saves hours of phone tag. Ask to see it before you order.
7. Flat, published pricing
Standard, rush and same-day rates should be printed, with the attempts and the affidavit included. Ask about the extras: a second address, mileage, waiting time. Reputable servers tell you before you order.
8. Coverage and speed where the address is
A server based across the county needs a day to get to Homestead or Aventura. Ask where they are based and whether your area is on their regular route, and whether same-day service means today.
9. Language and discretion
In Miami-Dade, a Spanish-speaking server completes more serves at the door. And a serve at a workplace or a gated estate should be quiet and professional.
Red flags to watch for
- No certification number. A server who cannot give you a county certification number, or gives one that does not check out, should not serve your papers.
- "Guaranteed" service. No honest server can promise a serve on someone who is avoiding it. What they can promise is real attempts and a clean record of each one.
- Papers left at the door. Outside the narrow cases the law allows, papers taped to a door are not service, and an affidavit that says otherwise invites a motion to quash.
- A vague affidavit. Ask for a sample. If it does not show the date, time, manner of service and who received the papers, it does not meet Florida's return-of-service statute.
- Surprise fees. Mileage, "attempt fees" and rush charges that appear after the job is done.
Local or national service?
National companies take orders online and pass them to a local server, often the lowest bidder in the area, and you rarely know who that is. A local server who works the county every day knows which buildings have a concierge, which gated communities take longest at the gate, and when people in a given area are home. For papers in Miami-Dade, ask the company you are considering who will actually knock on the door, and whether you can reach that person directly.
Where to check a court case
Once the affidavit is filed, you can confirm it is in the case file on the Miami-Dade Clerk of the Court website. Attorneys file it through the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal; self-represented parties can file it at the clerk's office.
Questions to ask on the phone
- Are you certified by Miami-Dade County, and is the certification current?
- How many attempts are included, and at what times of day?
- What proof do I get for each attempt?
- When and how do I receive the affidavit?
- What does it cost, and what costs extra?
- Can I see the attempts online?