FEDERAL RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE
Articles II Rule 4

FEDERAL RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE

Articles II
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

Rule 4. Summons

(a) Form.

The summons shall be signed by the clerk, bear the seal of the court, identify the court and
the parties, be directed to the defendant, and state the name and address of the plaintiff's
attorney or, if unrepresented, of the plaintiff. It shall also state the time within which the
defendant must appear and defend, and notify the defendant that failure to do so will result
in a judgment by default against the defendant for the relief demanded in the complaint. The
court may allow a summons to be amended.

(b) Issuance.

Upon or after filing the complaint, the plaintiff may present a summons to the clerk for
signature and seal. If the summons is in proper form, the clerk shall sign, seal, and issue it
to the plaintiff for service on the defendant. A summons, or a copy of the summons if
addressed to multiple defendants, shall be issued for each defendant to be served.

(c) Service with Complaint; by Whom Made.

(1) A summons shall be served together with a copy of the complaint. The plaintiff is
responsible for service of a summons and complaint within the time allowed under
subdivision (m) and shall furnish the person effecting service with the necessary copies of
the summons and complaint.

(2) Service may be effected by any person who is not a party and who is at least 18 years of
age. At the request of the plaintiff, however, the court may direct that service be effected by
a United States marshal, deputy United States marshal, or other person or officer specially
appointed by the court for that purpose. Such an appointment must be made when the
plaintiff is authorized to proceed in forma pauperis pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915 or is
authorized to proceed as a seaman under 28 U.S.C. § 1916.

(d) Waiver of Service; Duty to Save Costs of Service; Request to Waive.

(1) A defendant who waives service of a summons does not thereby waive any objection to
the venue or to the jurisdiction of the court over the person of the defendant.

(2) An individual, corporation, or association that is subject to service under subdivision (e) ,
(f) , or (h) and that receives notice of an action in the manner provided in this paragraph has
a duty to avoid unnecessary costs of serving the summons. To avoid costs, the plaintiff may
notify such a defendant of the commencement of the action and request that the defendant
waive service of a summons. The notice and request

(A) shall be in writing and shall be addressed directly to the defendant, if an individual, or
else to an officer or managing or general agent (or other agent authorized by appointment
or law to receive service of process) of a defendant subject to service under subdivision (h) ;

(B) shall be dispatched through first-class mail or other reliable means;

(C) shall be accompanied by a copy of the complaint and shall identify the court in which it
has been filed;

(D) shall inform the defendant, by means of a text prescribed in an official form promulgated
pursuant to Rule 84 , of the consequences of compliance and of a failure to comply with the
request;

(E) shall set forth the date on which request is sent;

(F) shall allow the defendant a reasonable time to return the waiver, which shall be at least
30 days from the date on which the request is sent, or 60 days from that date if the
defendant is addressed outside any judicial district of the United States; and

(G) shall provide the defendant with an extra copy of the notice and request, as well as a
prepaid means of compliance in writing.

If a defendant located within the United States fails to comply with a request for waiver
made by a plaintiff located within the United States, the court shall impose the costs
subsequently incurred in effecting service on the defendant unless good cause for the failure
be shown.

(3) A defendant that, before being served with process, timely returns a waiver so requested
is not required to serve an answer to the complaint until 60 days after the date on which the
request for waiver of service was sent, or 90 days after that date if the defendant was
addressed outside any judicial district of the United States.

(4) When the plaintiff files a waiver of service with the court, the action shall proceed,
except as provided in paragraph (3), as if a summons and complaint had been served at the
time of filing the waiver, and no proof of service shall be required.

(5) The costs to be imposed on a defendant under paragraph (2) for failure to comply with a
request to waive service of a summons shall include the costs subsequently incurred in
effecting service under subdivision (e), (f), or (h), together with the costs, including a
reasonable attorney's fee, of any motion required to collect the costs of service.

(e) Service Upon Individuals Within a Judicial District of the United States.

Unless otherwise provided by federal law, service upon an individual from whom a waiver
has not been obtained and filed, other than an infant or an incompetent person, may be
effected in any judicial district of the United States:

(1) pursuant to the law of the state in which the district court is located, or in which service
is effected, for the service of a summons upon the defendant in an action brought in the
courts of general jurisdiction of the State; or

(2) by delivering a copy of the summons and of the complaint to the individual personally or
by leaving copies thereof at the individual's dwelling house or usual place of abode with
some person of suitable age and discretion then residing therein or by delivering a copy of
the summons and of the complaint to an agent authorized by appointment or by law to
receive service of process.

(f) Service Upon Individuals in a Foreign Country.

Unless otherwise provided by federal law, service upon an individual from whom a waiver
has not been obtained and filed, other than an infant or an incompetent person, may be
effected in a place not within any judicial district of the United States:

(1) by any internationally agreed means reasonably calculated to give notice, such as those
means authorized by the Hague Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and
Extrajudicial Documents; or

(2) if there is no internationally agreed means of service or the applicable international
agreement allows other means of service, provided that service is reasonably calculated to
give notice:

(A) in the manner prescribed by the law of the foreign country for service in that country in
an action in any of its courts of general jurisdiction; or

(B) as directed by the foreign authority in response to a letter rogatory or letter of request;
or

(C) unless prohibited by the law of the foreign country, by

(i) delivery to the individual personally of a copy of the summons and the complaint; or

(ii) any form of mail requiring a signed receipt, to be addressed and dispatched by the clerk
of the court to the party to be served; or

(3) by other means not prohibited by international agreement as may be directed by the
court.

(g) Service Upon Infants and Incompetent Person.

Service upon an infant or an incompetent person in a judicial district of the United States
shall be effected in the manner prescribed by the law of the state in which the service is
made for the service of summons or like process upon any such defendant in an action
brought in the courts of general jurisdiction of that state. Service upon an infant or an
incompetent person in a place not within any judicial district of the United States shall be
effected in the manner prescribed by paragraph (2)(A) or (2)(B) of subdivision (f) or by such
means as the court may direct.

(h) Service Upon Corporations and Associations.

Unless otherwise provided by federal law, service upon a domestic or foreign corporation or
upon a partnership or other unincorporated association that is subject to suit under a
common name, and from which a waiver of service has not been obtained and filed, shall be
effected:

(1) in a judicial district of the United States in the manner prescribed for individuals by
subdivision (e)(1) , or by delivering a copy of the summons and of the complaint to an
officer, a managing or general agent, or to any other agent authorized by appointment or by
law to receive service of process and, if the agent is one authorized by statute to receive
service and the statute so requires, by also mailing a copy to the defendant, or

(2) in a place not within any judicial district of the United States in any manner prescribed
for individuals by subdivision (f) except personal delivery as provided in paragraph (2)(C)(i)
thereof.

(i) Serving the United States, Its Agencies, Corporations, Officers, or Employees.

(1) Service upon the United States shall be effected

(A) by delivering a copy of the summons and of the complaint to the United States attorney
for the district in which the action is brought or to an assistant United States attorney or
clerical employee designated by the United States attorney in a writing filed with the clerk of
the court or by sending a copy of the summons and of the complaint by registered or
certified mail addressed to the civil process clerk at the office of the United States attorney
and

(B) by also sending a copy of the summons and of the complaint by registered or certified
mail to the Attorney General of the United States at Washington, District of Columbia, and

(C) in any action attacking the validity of an order of an officer or agency of the United
States not made a party, by also sending a copy of the summons and of the complaint by
registered or certified mail to the officer or agency.

(2)

(A) Service on an agency or corporation of the United States, or an officer or employee of
the United States sued only in an official capacity, is effected by serving the United States in
the manner prescribed by Rule 4(i)(1) and by also sending a copy of the summons and
complaint by registered or certified mail to the officer, employee, agency, or corporation.

(B)Service on an officer or employee of the United States sued in an individual capacity for
acts or omissions occurring in connection with the performance of duties on behalf of the
United States - whether or not the officer or employee is sued also in an official capacity - is
effected by serving the United States in the manner prescribed by Rule 4(i)(1) and by
serving the officer or employee in the manner prescribed by Rule 4 (e), (f), or (g).

(3) The court shall allow a reasonable time to serve process under Rule 4(i) for the purpose
of curing the failure to serve:

(A) all persons required to be served in an action governed by Rule 4(i)(2)(A), if the plaintiff
has served either the United States attorney or the Attorney General of the United States, or

(B) the United States in an action governed by Rule 4(i)(2)(B), if the plaintiff has served an
officer or employee of the United States sued in an individual capacity.

(j) Service Upon Foreign, State, or Local Governments.

(1) Service upon a foreign state or a political subdivision, agency, or instrumentality thereof
shall be effected pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1608.

(2) Service upon a state, municipal corporation, or other governmental organization subject
to suit, shall be effected by delivering a copy of the summons and of the complaint to its
chief executive officer or by serving the summons and complaint in the manner prescribed
by the law of that state for the service of summons or other like process upon any such
defendant.

(k) Territorial Limits of Effective Service.

(1) Service of a summons or filing a waiver of service is effective to establish jurisdiction
over the person of a defendant

(A) who could be subjected to the jurisdiction of a court of general jurisdiction in the state in
which the district court is located, or

(B) who is a party joined under Rule 14 or Rule 19 and is served at a place within a judicial
district of the United States and not more than 100 miles from the place from which the
summons issues, or

(C) who is subject to the federal interpleader jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1335, or

(D) when authorized by a statute of the United States.

(2) If the exercise of jurisdiction is consistent with the Constitution and laws of the United
States, serving a summons or filing a waiver of service is also effective, with respect to
claims arising under federal law, to establish personal jurisdiction over the person of any
defendant who is not subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of general jurisdiction of any
state.

(l) Proof of Service.

If service is not waived, the person effecting service shall make proof thereof to the court. If
service is made by a person other than a United States marshal or deputy United States
marshal, the person shall make affidavit thereof. Proof of service in a place not within any
judicial district of the United States shall, if effected under paragraph (1) of subdivision (f) ,
be made pursuant to the applicable treaty or convention, and shall, if effected under
paragraph (2) or (3) thereof, include a receipt signed by the addressee or other evidence of
delivery to the addressee satisfactory to the court. Failure to make proof of service does not
affect the validity of the service. The court may allow proof of service to be amended.

(m) Time Limit for Service.

If service of the summons and complaint is not made upon a defendant within 120 days after
the filing of the complaint, the court, upon motion or on its own initiative after notice to the
plaintiff, shall dismiss the action without prejudice as to that defendant or direct that service
be effected within a specified time; provided that if the plaintiff shows good cause for the
failure, the court shall extend the time for service for an appropriate period. This subdivision
does not apply to service in a foreign country pursuant to subdivision (f) or (j)(1) .

(n) Seizure of Property; Service of Summons not Feasible.

(1) If a statute of the United States so provides, the court may assert jurisdiction over
property. Notice to claimants of the property shall than be sent in the manner provided by
the statute or by service of a summons under this rule.

(2) Upon a showing that personal jurisdiction over a defendant cannot, in the district where
the action is brought, be obtained with reasonable efforts by service of summons in any
manner authorized by this rule, the court may assert jurisdiction over any of the defendant's
assets found within the district by seizing the assets under the circumstances and in the
manner provided by the law of the state in which the district court is located.
 

Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Articles II Rule 4. Summons: Notes




Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Articles II Rule 4. Summons-LII
Notes: Rule 1. Scope and Purpose of Rules n
Federal Civil Procedure-Volume-56-Table of Contents   


 

Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Articles II Rule 4. Summons