07/06/2021
The History of Process Service
Process serving was first established as a need by the Magna Carta in 1215.
The Magna Carta outlined the right to due process. It stated that no man could be “taken or imprisoned, lose his land, be outlawed or banished, or have officers sent against him except with lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of the land.”
In the Constitution, the Founding Fathers borrow from the Magna Carta. The Fifth Amendment states that no one will be “deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.”
All courts and legal systems have to adhere to the Fifth Amendment. This ensures the fair and appropriate treatment of all parties. Due process ensures that every person has the right to know when summoned to court.
As America expanded, it was more difficult to issue court orders to individuals who had moved. As people caught on, some left their towns to avoid court summons. This is when people began to hire the first process servers.
The process servers had the difficult job of tracking people down before the digital age. There was no Internet to help them find people.
In 1982, the National Association of Professional Process Services established rules and guidelines for process service. Today, process servers and organizations register with the NAPPS to guarantee they’re doing their jobs legally.
