Frequently Asked Questions

It's the formal delivery of court documents — a summons, complaint, subpoena or notice — to a person or company located outside the country where the case is pending. The method has to satisfy both the rules of your court and the law of the destination country, or the service can be challenged and any judgment later refused recognition abroad.

Many countries treat service of process as an official act that only their own authorities may perform. Some, like Switzerland and China, object to service by mail or private agents entirely, and serving in breach of those rules can make service invalid and, in some countries, expose the person serving to penalties. We confirm what the destination allows before anything is sent.

In federal court, FRCP Rule 4(f) covers individuals abroad and Rule 4(h)(2) covers foreign companies; they point first to internationally agreed methods such as the Hague Service Convention. State courts have their own rules but usually follow the same treaties. Foreign governments are served under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1608.

Any document that needs formal service in a civil or commercial matter: summonses and complaints, subpoenas, divorce and custody papers, probate and estate notices, notices of judgment, and similar court papers. Criminal and tax matters generally fall outside the Hague Service Convention and follow different routes.

It's locating a current address for a person or company abroad before a request is sent. A Central Authority request with a bad address can take months to come back unserved, so verifying the address first — through databases and local, in-country checks — often saves more time than anything else.

Hague Service Convention member countries have a standardized process: requests go to that country's designated Central Authority, which arranges service under its own law and returns an official certificate. Non-Hague countries have no such channel, so service usually proceeds through Letters Rogatory routed via the U.S. State Department, or through a court-ordered alternative method.

Each Hague member country designates a Central Authority — usually a ministry of justice or foreign affairs — that receives service requests from abroad and arranges service under local law. Sending the request to the correct Central Authority, in the form and language it requires, is what makes Hague service predictable.

Letters Rogatory is a formal request from a U.S. court asking a foreign court to serve documents or take another judicial action on its behalf. It's used mainly for countries that haven't joined the Hague Service Convention and is generally routed through the U.S. Department of State and the destination country's foreign ministry, which is why it is slow.

The Inter-American Convention on Letters Rogatory and its Additional Protocol provide a treaty route for service between the U.S. and participating countries in Latin America, such as Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Colombia. It uses standardized forms and each country's Central Authority, and documents must be translated into Spanish or Portuguese.

Regulation (EU) 2020/1784, in force since July 2022, governs service of documents between EU member states. It doesn't apply to documents coming from the United States — those go through the Hague Service Convention, which all 27 EU countries have joined — but it matters for EU-based clients and cross-border European cases.

Sometimes, with a U.S. court's approval under FRCP Rule 4(f)(3), as long as the method isn't prohibited by international agreement. Courts are divided on whether a country's objection to postal service under Article 10 of the Hague Convention also rules out email, so the destination country and your court both matter. We can help build the diligence record a Rule 4(f)(3) motion needs.

Sanctions and disrupted diplomatic relations can limit or block the usual channels, and some transactions may need a license. We flag these issues for the countries where they apply and recommend consulting counsel experienced in both that country's law and U.S. sanctions rules.

No. An Apostille authenticates a public document — like a notarized affidavit — for use in another country under the 1961 Apostille Convention. Service of process is the actual delivery of legal documents to a party abroad. Some matters need both, and we handle both.

It depends on the destination country, the route, whether translation is needed, how many pages must be translated, and any fees charged by the foreign Central Authority or court. We give you a clear, itemized quote for the specific country before any work begins.

Hague Central Authority requests generally take a few months, depending on the country's workload. Letters Rogatory through diplomatic channels often take six months to a year or more. Where the destination permits private agents, service can sometimes be completed in weeks. We give you a realistic estimate for your country at intake.

We can expedite everything on our side — translation, request preparation and transmittal — but a foreign Central Authority works to its own schedule. Where speed matters, we'll tell you whether the destination allows a faster lawful route, or whether a Rule 4(f)(3) motion is worth discussing with your court.

Usually, yes. Most Central Authorities and virtually all diplomatic channels require translation into the destination's official language, often with a translator's affidavit. Skipping this step is one of the most common reasons an international request is delayed or rejected.

The documents to be served, the name and last known address of the person or company abroad, the court and case number, and your deadline. If you're unsure of the address, we can start with a locate before the service request is prepared.

Not usually for service of process — Hague and Letters Rogatory routes are designed to work without local counsel. If you'll later need to enforce a judgment there, or the country has unusual requirements, consulting a local lawyer is worthwhile.

Yes. For companies we identify the registered office, authorized officer or agent that local law requires. For foreign states and their agencies, service must follow the strict order of methods in 28 U.S.C. § 1608, which we help counsel carry out step by step.

Yes. The U.S. permits service by private agents under the Hague Convention, so we can serve documents from a foreign court directly on people and companies in the United States and return proof in the form that court expects.

No. We handle the logistics of international service, translation, authentication and investigations. We don't give legal advice, so decisions about strategy and court motions should be made with your attorney.

For Hague service you receive the official certificate completed by the foreign Central Authority. For other routes, you receive a sworn, notarized affidavit — apostilled if it will be used abroad — documenting when, where and how service was made.

Yes. Once the certificate or affidavit is back, we can file it with your U.S. court on your behalf for a small fee, so the proof is on record without a separate step on your side.

The Central Authority or foreign court will usually return a certificate explaining why — most often a wrong address. We then help you decide the next step: a locate and resubmission, a different treaty route, or documentation to support a request for court-ordered alternative service.