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When papers are
hard to serve.

Hard-to-serve cases are our specialty. Our team has served major Bay Area technology companies and well-known people, and plans each case around the person, the place and your deadline.

Someone avoiding service

Attempts on different days and at different times, a stakeout when you know their routine, and substituted service when you instruct it.

When someone avoids service Large companies and campuses

The right recipient is usually the registered agent or an authorized officer, not the lobby desk. The guide shows how to find the current agent.

Serving a Bay Area tech company Well-known people

Through an authorized attorney or agent where they’ll accept, and in person where the law allows, with a record of every attempt.

Serving a high-profile person Gated homes and communities

Where a guard controls the entrance, California law lets a registered process server in to serve papers on showing ID and proof of registration.

How gated access works Out-of-state subpoenas

A subpoena from another state is issued as a California subpoena first, then served under California law.

Using an out-of-state subpoena No current address

A skip trace, $80 per recipient, looks for a current address before the attempts start.

Pricing and add-ons

How we work a hard serve.

  1. Tell us what’s been tried

    Earlier attempts, every address you have, and what you know about the person’s schedule or the company’s agent.

  2. We plan the attempts

    Different days and times, at home, at work or another place you name. From 2027, substituted service on a person first needs attempts on at least three days at three different times.

  3. We add what the case needs

    A stakeout at $80 an hour, a skip trace, or substituted service when you instruct it.

  4. You get the record

    GPS, a photo and the time for every attempt, a declaration of due diligence when it’s needed, and the signed proof of service.

A stakeout pays for time on site. It doesn’t guarantee a serve.

See an example service report Request process serving

Common questions

About hard serves.

All questions
Can you guarantee the person will be served?

No one can. We plan the attempts, use the tools the case calls for and record every attempt, so you have the evidence for the next step if the person can’t be served.

Will you serve someone at their workplace?

Yes, at a usual place of business, in person or by substituted service where it applies. Where a workplace limits access, the server stays where they’re allowed to be.

Do you take hard serves outside the Bay Area?

Yes. Affid serves papers across California, and a registered agent’s address is often in another county.

What does a hard serve cost?

Service is priced by your due date, from $100 per recipient, with up to 4 attempts per address. Stakeouts are $80 an hour and a skip trace is $80 per recipient. You see the total before you pay.