What is an Affidavit of Service
An affidavit of service is a legal form proving that court documents have been delivered to an individual. Generally, a party in a court case must serve copies of documents filed with the court clerk to the opposing party. Once served, it is often required that the server prepares an affidavit of service as a record of the delivery, which is then given to the court for filing.
What Happens after an Affidavit of Service
Once an affidavit of service has been filed (and notarized, if required), it’s used in court to show that the server has done their duty in serving court forms. This is important if the recipient denies that they received such documents, especially for notices of a pending suit.
An affidavit of service is also known as:
- Proof of service
- Certificate of service
Sample
Download: PDF, Word (.docx), OpenDocument
AFFIDAVIT OF SERVICE
County of [COUNTY]
State of [STATE]
1. SERVER. I, [SERVER NAME] (“Server”), declare under penalty of perjury that the following documents were delivered and served in the following manner:
2. DOCUMENTS. The documents served are described as: [DOCUMENT(S) NAME].
3. RECIPIENT. The above-mentioned documents were delivered to:
- Defendant/Respondent: [RECIPIENT NAME] (“Recipient”)
- Address/Location: [RECIPIENT ADDRESS]
- Date: [MM/DD/YYYY] Time: [HH]:[MM] ☐ AM ☐ PM
4. DELIVERY. The Recipient received the documents by: (check all that apply)
☐ – Mail. The Server sent the documents by: (check all that apply)
☐ – Standard Mail
☐ – E-Mail
☐ – Certified Mail (with return receipt)
☐ – FedEx
☐ – UPS
☐ – Other: [OTHER MAILING METHOD]
☐ – Direct Service. The Server handed the documents to a person identified as the
Recipient.
☐ – Someone at the Residence. The Server handed the documents to someone who
identified as living at the residence and stated their name is: [COTENANT NAME].
☐ – Someone at the Workplace. The Server handed the documents to someone who
identified to be the Recipient’s co-worker and stated their name is:
[COWORKER NAME].
☐ – Leaving at the Residence. The Server left the documents in the following area:
[DELIVERY AREA].
☐ – Recipient Rejected Delivery. The Server delivered the documents to the Recipient
in-person and did not accept delivery.
☐ – Other. [OTHER SERVICE METHOD].
5. VERIFICATION. I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws located in this State that the foregoing is true and correct.
Server’s Signature: _____________________________ Date: ______________
Print Name: [SERVER NAME]