Civil process unit 

Responsibilities

• To serve civil and criminal summons/subpoenas
• To serve civil and other legal process as prescribed by law
• Serve and enforce court orders as they pertain to attachments and executions of Real and Personal Property
• Conduct court ordered evictions
• Please understand that Washington state law prohibits us from providing legal advice.

The Civil Process Unit accepts legal documents for service; however, it must prioritize the resources of its Civil Unit to facilitate service of orders and petitions that require the assistance of commissioned law enforcement personnel.

Other court documents not requiring the assistance of commissioned personnel for the Sheriff’s Office such as Small Claims, Notices, Summons, Civil Complaints, Petitions, Declarations, Civil Subpoenas, Orders to Show Cause, Writs of Garnishment etc., will not be accepted for service at this time except under the following circumstances:

Service on a person currently booked into a correctional facility within King County

• Articulated Hazard or safety concerns supported by evidence or court ruling, provided with documents presented for service.
• Documents issued in another state and the documents reflect that the issuing court requires service by law enforcement. All authority requiring law enforcement personnel to serve, should be clearly identified on the information on the cover sheet.

If you need assistance to serve documents that we cannot accept, please seek service through a private process server or anyone over the age of 18 not a party to the action. For a list of process servers in your area you may visit National Association of Professional Process Servers | NAPPS.

The number of attempts made is determined by how much time we have to serve and our ability to locate the person(s) you wish to have served. Our office typically does not serve in the evenings or on weekends and we require payment of our fees in advance.