acceptance of service
Acceptance of service is defined as an agreement by the
defendant
(or the
defendant's attorney
) to accept papers or a
complaint
without having the papers served by a
process server
or a sheriff. Acceptance of service is accomplished by signing a "
receipt
and
acknowledgment
of acceptance of service" (or similarly titled
instrument)
. This satisfies the
notice
requirement of
due process
.
This is a cost-reducing device adopted in many U.S.
jurisdictions
. The defendant may refuse to accept service, but if so, the defendant will be
liable
for the costs of having the papers/complaint
served
.
[Last reviewed in February of 2022 by the Wex Definitions Team ]
Wex