PART IV — ELECTRONIC FILING, SERVICE, FEES, PRIVACY, AND DOCUMENT FORM
Rule 31. Original process, alternative service, and proof of service
Distinction
Original process, a summons, and any paper a statute requires to be personally delivered are served under governing law and this Rule. Later appellate papers ordinarily use Rule 30.
Execution
Supreme Court process is executed by the Marshal, a Deputy Marshal, or a sheriff or deputy lawfully requested or deputized. The Court may authorize another method only when law permits.
Initiating appellate papers
At filing, an appellant or petitioner must transmit the notice or petition to:
every opposing counsel or self-represented party;
the Clerk of the lower tribunal; and
any officer whom a statute specifically requires.
Acceptance later triggers system service but does not excuse a statutory requirement for service upon filing.
Individuals
Service on an individual may be made by personal delivery, acknowledged transmission to the person’s designated Court account, or another method authorized by law or order. A blocked message, unacknowledged friend request, public tag, or message to an unverified alternate account is not personal service.
Entities and government
Original process on:
a corporation or association must be delivered to its registered agent or an officer authorized by law;
a State agency must be delivered to its administrative head and the Attorney General or Solicitor General as governing law requires;
the State must be delivered to the Attorney General or Solicitor General; and
a public officer sued in an official capacity must identify the office and be served as law directs.
Proof
Proof of service must be filed under the Proof of Service code and state:
the case and document served;
each recipient and represented party;
the method, account, and date and time in UTC;
the name and authority of the server;
any acknowledgment or return; and
each failed attempt.
The server must sign under Rule 28.
Evasion and alternative order
On a verified showing of diligent attempts and evasion or practical impossibility, the Court may authorize a method reasonably calculated to provide actual notice. The order must identify the method and when service will be complete.
Challenge
A challenge to service must state the specific defect and be made promptly. Actual notice does not automatically cure defective original process, but the Court must disregard a defect when governing law permits and no substantial right was affected.