JCC COURTYARD

How to serve divorce papers using personal service

For your case to be fair, the court requires everyone to have copies of the same papers and information before any orders are made.
Once you file the first papers in your divorce case, you must notify your spouse by formally delivering copies of the paperwork. This is called serving papers.

The primary way this is done is called personal service. This means another adult, not you, hands them a copy of the filed papers. This person is your server.

Your server must complete a form and file it with the court to prove they delivered the papers.

There are alternatives to personal service. There are a few situations when personal service is not allowed, not possible, or requires extra steps. For example, the person is out-of-state, in jail, or you can’t find them.


See guidelines for service in special situations

  • Choose a server

    You can't serve papers yourself. Ask another adult – a server – to deliver the papers.

    Your server must be

    • 18 or over, and
    • Not part of your case

    Your server can be:

    • Someone you know
    • The county sheriff (in most, not all, counties)
    • A professional process server you hire

    The sheriff charges to serve papers unless you have a fee waiver.

  • Figure out when to serve

    There’s no specific deadline to serve the divorce petition, but you can't move your case forward until you serve your spouse.

    Once they are served, they have 30-days to respond. After that, you can move your case forward even if they don’t respond.

    Read more content

  • Fill out forms

    Fill out Petition — Marriage/Domestic Partnership (form FL-100)

    This form asks for basic information about your marriage and the type of orders you want the court to be able to make about things like spousal support and property.



    Fill out Summons (Family Law) (Form FL-110)

    This form tells your spouse that you've started a court case and that they have 30 days to respond.

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    If you’ve already filed a request for order and have a hearing scheduled, you must serve the papers at least 16 court days before the court date, unless the court ordered a different deadline.

    A court day means a day a court is open (Monday through Friday except court holidays).

  • Have your server give the papers to your spouse

    Your server must find the person and hand them these forms:

    • Copies of forms you filed with the court (except any fee waiver forms)
    • Blank Response - Marriage/Domestic Partnership (form FL-120)
    • Blank response forms if you filed other papers

    Your server should note the address where they gave your spouse or partner the papers, along with the date and time. The server needs this information to fill out the Proof of Service form.

    If the other person won’t take the papers, your server may leave them by the person and tell them what they are. For example, your server can leave them on the doorstep and say, 'These are important legal papers for you.'

  • Have your server complete the Proof of Service form

    You can use(form FL-115). Proof of Service of Summons

    It helps if you fill in the top part of the form with the case and court information.

    Your server can then fill in the information about how, when, and where they served the papers. Your server must sign the form.

  • Copy and file the Proof of Service form

    • Make a copy of your Proof of Service form.
    • File the original and copy with the court where you filed the papers. The court will stamp and return the copy.
    • Keep the copy of the Proof of Service form for your records.
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In general, after a divorce, you keep your separate property and divide your community property.
Once you’ve filed the forms, the next step is to share the forms with your spouse. You need to follow a specific process to do this called “serving papers.”

What’s next?

Once you’ve served the petition and summons forms, your spouse has 30 days to respond. How they respond will determine how you’ll move forward with your case.

Regardless of how they respond, you’ll need to complete your financial disclosures.



  • Go to

    See what happens based on the response

  • Go to

    I was told I can’t sell my property

    Completing Financial Disclosures

  • Return to

    The start of a divorce at-a-glance