Affidavit of Service (Proof of Service Template)

General information, not legal advice. Service rules are strict and vary by court, including who may serve and how. Follow the rules of the specific court where your case is filed, and use its form if it has one.

Build a proof of service ↓

Affidavit of service generator

Enter what was served, on whom, when, and how. It assembles a proof of service ready for your signature. Nothing is stored.

Why courts insist on it

The whole system rests on a simple fairness rule: no one should lose a case they never knew was happening. Before a court will act, it needs to be sure the other party was handed the papers and given a chance to respond, and the affidavit of service is the proof. It also goes by proof of service or return of service, but the job is identical. Skip it, or file one with a gap in it, and the case stalls, because the judge has no evidence the defendant was notified. This is one of those steps that feels like a technicality until it derails a filing, which is exactly why courts are unforgiving about getting it right.

Who is allowed to serve

You generally cannot serve your own papers, and that trips people up. Most courts require the server to be an adult who is not a party to the case, which rules out doing it yourself, so people turn to a friend who is uninvolved, the county sheriff, or a licensed process server. Process servers exist precisely because the rules on who, how, and where are strict, and a professional knows them. The method matters too: personal delivery straight into the recipient's hands is the gold standard, while substituted service, leaving papers with another responsible adult at the home, and service by mail are allowed only in certain situations and often only after personal service has been attempted. The affidavit has to state which method you used, because the court checks it against its rules.

Filling and filing it

Accuracy is everything here, since the affidavit is sworn and the other side may scrutinize it to attack service. Record the exact documents served, the full name of the person served, and the date, time, and address, and be honest about the method. Many courts publish their own proof-of-service form with the case caption already laid out, and where they do, use it rather than a generic version. Whether you must notarize it or may sign under penalty of perjury depends on the court, so check. Once it is complete, file it in the case promptly, because the clock on the other party's deadline to respond usually starts from the service date recorded on this very document.

Written by the Trámites Notariales US editorial team, based on common civil procedure rules. Service requirements vary by court; follow the rules of the court handling your case.