What are personal, substituted, and posted service?
Personal service, substituted service, and posted service are methods a process server may use when delivering papers. Personal service means the papers are handed to the person named. Substituted service means they are left with another adult at the address. Posted service means they are posted at the address. Rockstar records the method that was used. Rockstar does not tell you which of those methods a court will accept.
Which method happens on a given day depends on who is at the address and on any instruction you already put on the order. If your papers told you to use one method, write that down before the first attempt. Call 619-399-3278 Monday through Friday, 7am–5pm PST, if that note is hard to fit on the form. The office will not tell you which method a court will accept.
Service attempts are also made outside of these office hours.
Personal service
Personal service is a handoff to the person named in the papers. The server identifies that person at the address and leaves the documents with them. The proof then says personal service was made, with the date and the place. Standard process serving is $150 and includes four attempts, so there is more than one chance to find the person at home or at work. Same day is $195 and next day is $175, with the same four attempts and an earlier first try.
Four attempts do not mean the person will answer. A specific time window is $30 if you know when they are likely to be there. It does not add tries, and it is not a wait. If someone needs to stay at the location, order a stakeout at $80 per hour with a two-hour minimum. The minimum is billed even if the person is found sooner. There is no promise the person will be there, so a stakeout is not a promise of personal service.
Substituted service
Substituted service, as Rockstar uses the term on a proof, means the papers were left with an adult at the address who is not the person named. The proof identifies that method rather than calling it personal service. The server does not decide, and will not tell you, whether your court will treat that handoff as complete. If you were told a follow-up mailing has to go out, order first-class mail at $60 or certified mail at $75 as its own service.
At a business, the person who receives papers may be an agent, officer, attorney, or representative. Name that role on the order, and name the business. The serving a business guide covers that form. An extra person at the same address is $40 on same day, next day, and standard only. Leaving papers with a coworker is not automatically the extra-person product. Call 619-399-3278 if you need the order to name two people before the first attempt.
Posted service
Posted service means the papers are posted at the address, typically at the door, and the proof says they were posted. It is a method a server may use. It is not a statement that posting is enough for your case. Do not read a posted-service note as permission from the court. If you do not want posting used, write that limit on the order before the attempts start.
Rural addresses keep their own attempt counts. Outlying towns are three attempts and $45 more. Extra-rural addresses are two attempts and $100 more, so call before you order one. The how many attempts guide explains when the budget is finished and a declaration of due diligence is what you receive instead of a completed-service proof.
How the method shows up on the paperwork
A completed delivery produces a proof of service naming the method. For San Diego County courts, that proof of service/declaration is mailed for self-represented people at no extra charge, and a copy is emailed. For other courts, including the US District Court for the Southern District of California, the proof comes back to you to file. Notarization is $40 per signature if you add it.
If every included attempt is used and the papers are not delivered, you get a declaration of due diligence rather than a proof. That declaration does not pick a method for next time. Place any further work on the order form. The FAQ and the contact form are there for questions about a method already written on an order. Call 619-399-3278 during office hours. Bring the instruction you were given. The office will not tell you which method a court will accept.
What is personal service?
Personal service means the papers are handed to the person named in them. The proof records that method, the date, and the place. Same day, next day, and standard service include four attempts to make that handoff at the address you provide. Rockstar does not promise the person will be present for any of those attempts.
What is substituted service?
Substituted service means the papers are left with another adult at the address, and the proof says that is what happened. Posted service means the papers are posted at the address. These are methods a server may use. Rockstar does not say which method a court will accept. Put any instruction you already have on the order.
Will the court accept substituted or posted service?
Rockstar cannot tell you that. The proof or the declaration names the method that was used on the attempt. It does not decide whether a court will accept personal service, substituted service, or posted service. If you were given an instruction, write it on the order or call 619-399-3278 during Monday through Friday, 7am–5pm PST.
Service attempts are also made outside of these office hours.