Process Servers for Personal Service of Court Documents in England and Wales

The court has issued an Order to Obtain Information under CPR Part 71, and the rules say you must serve it personally on the debtor unless the court orders otherwise. Posting it will not do — CPR Rule 71.3 requires personal service at least 14 days before the hearing. If you cannot or do not want to hand the documents to the debtor yourself, you need a process server.

What Personal Service Means

Personal service means physically handing the court documents to the named individual. You or someone acting on your behalf must identify the person, hand over the sealed court order, and explain what it is. Leaving documents on a doorstep, pushing them through a letterbox, or sending them by recorded delivery does not count as personal service under CPR Part 6.

For CCJ enforcement, personal service is mandatory for:

• Order to Obtain Information (Form N316/N316A): The debtor must normally be served personally with the order, the notice of hearing date, and the standard financial questionnaire. Under CPR 71.4, the debtor may request a reasonable sum for travel within 7 days of service, and the creditor must pay it if requested.
• Suspended Committal Orders: If the debtor fails to attend the questioning hearing and the court issues a suspended committal order, that order must also be served personally.

Other enforcement methods have their own service rules. For example, the creditor must serve an interim charging order on the debtor and specified interested parties; do not assume that every enforcement application is served only by the court.

How to Find and Hire a Process Server

Process serving is not a regulated profession in England and Wales — anyone over 18 who is not a party to the proceedings can serve documents. In practice, professional process servers charge between £50 and £150 per serve, depending on location and the number of attempts needed.

Look for members of the Association of British Investigators (ABI) or the UK Process Servers Association. Membership does not guarantee quality, but it indicates the server carries professional indemnity insurance and follows a code of conduct. Many High Court Enforcement Officer firms also offer standalone process-serving services.

When hiring a process server, provide:

• The sealed court documents (original for the debtor, copy for the court file)
• The debtor's last known address
• A physical description or photograph if available
• Be prepared to pay a reasonable amount for the debtor's travel if they request it within 7 days of service; agree with the process server how to handle payment if requested
• Your deadline — service must be at least 14 clear days before the hearing date, so the server needs the documents with enough time for multiple attempts

The Affidavit of Service

After personal service, the person who served the order must make an affidavit under CPR 71.5. File it at least two days before the hearing or produce it at the hearing. It confirms:

• How and when the order was served
• Whether the debtor requested travel expenses and, if so, whether the creditor paid them
• How much of the judgment debt remains unpaid
• The documents that were served

A professional process server can prepare the affidavit, but it must be sworn before a solicitor or court officer. The solicitor's fee for administering the oath is typically £5–£10. File it at the court that issued the order. This Part 71 affidavit is not Form N215, the general civil Certificate of Service.

Serving the Documents Yourself

You can serve the documents yourself rather than hiring a professional. There is no legal requirement to use a process server. Walk up to the debtor, identify yourself, hand them the sealed documents, and state that you are serving a court order. If the debtor requests travel expenses within 7 days, pay the reasonable amount requested. Make a detailed contemporaneous note of the date, time, location, the debtor's appearance and their response.

The risk with self-service is that the debtor may deny being served. A professional process server is an independent witness whose affidavit carries weight if the debtor contests service. If you serve the documents yourself, you will be the one swearing the affidavit and potentially being cross-examined on it.

What Happens If Service Fails

If the debtor cannot be located or refuses to answer the door, you can apply to the court for an order for substituted service under CPR Rule 6.15. The court may permit service by an alternative method — posting to the last known address, email, or leaving documents with a named individual at the address — if you can demonstrate that personal service has been attempted and has failed. The application is made using Form N244 and requires a witness statement detailing the attempts made.

Our CCJ Enforcement Guide walks through the full CPR Part 71 process from application to hearing, including the service requirements, conduct money rules and what to do if the debtor does not attend.

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