Substituted Service in California

What CCP 415.20 allows

If a copy of the summons and complaint cannot be personally delivered with reasonable diligence, it may be left at the person’s home, usual place of business or usual mailing address (other than a U.S. Postal Service box) with a competent member of the household, or a person apparently in charge of the office or business, who is at least 18 years old and is told what the papers are.

A copy must then be mailed by first-class mail, postage prepaid, to the person at the place where the papers were left. Service is deemed complete on the 10th day after mailing.

Why the attempt records matter

For an individual civil summons under CCP 415.20(b), substituted service requires reasonable diligence first. Small claims substituted service does not require due diligence under California Rule of Court 3.2102. Other recipient types have different rules. Each LegalServeX attempt is recorded with its time, outcome, GPS location and photos of the address, and the server’s report is generated from structured answers that cannot be rewritten later, only added to.

Whether the attempts in your case are enough is a legal question for you or your attorney; we provide the record.

Ordering

Upload the papers and service details. Dispatch checks whether substituted service is appropriate and confirms the required follow-up mailing and any additional work before assignment.

Pricing

One recipient and one address per order · up to 4 attempts · GPS and photo record for every attempt · signed proof after review. Court filing excluded. Priority and Rush depend on availability. Successful service is not guaranteed.

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