Though we are very good at serving people documents, it is often not at the first address that we try. Confirming residency is an important responsibility for process servers, because we need to determine every time if we have the right address. This is the reason this confirmation is entirely your responsibility, unless explicitly stated otherwise in the Special Handling notes. Confirmation of residency is determined through conversation with a co-resident, neighbor, or leasing office personnel.
Use this process to confirm whether the subject lives at the address you are attempting and to document clear, relevant evidence in ABC Mobile so the next steps are legally compliant and defensible.
Why This Matters
Confirming residency is one of the most important parts of the attempt process.
- Your attempts are the key source of residency information
- Every attempt is a chance to gather facts that help confirm whether the subject does or does not live there
- We cannot move on from an initial address until we have solid evidence the subject does not live there
- We cannot legally substitute serve or post until we know the subject does live there
“Not here” does not automatically mean “does not live here.”
Important
One source is not enough to determine non-residency.
ABC Legal requires multiple sources to support non-residency.
Multiple Sources Requirement
When you cannot reach the defendant, use multiple sources to confirm whether the subject resides at the address.
Resident Source
- Co-resident (18+; state rules may vary)
Non-Resident Sources (examples)
- Neighbor
- Leasing Office
- Building Manager
- On-Site Worker
Best practice: Pair resident information with non-resident confirmation whenever possible.
Special Handling Notes (Read Before Acting on a Denial)
Sometimes a resident may deny the subject lives there, but Special Handling notes may instruct you to proceed anyway.
What to look for
- Explicit instructions such as “serve regardless”
If notes say “serve regardless”
- Follow the instruction exactly
- Document:
- what the resident said
- what you observed
- the Special Handling direction you followed
What Counts as Relevant Residency Evidence
Your notes should help ABC and the court understand the full picture.
Include specific, factual details from your attempts.
1) Conversations with residents and non-residents
2) Observations at the property
Special Handling Confirmation
Sometimes people will lie about who they know, where someone lives, or whether they can accept service documents. In these cases, the special handling notes are there to help. Sometimes our customers will have definite knowledge of the defendant's whereabouts, and request that you serve papers no matter what a resident tells you.
When you are expected to serve documents regardless of what the person at the door says (e.g. "No, Jeff Mann does not live here. He moved away"), then the special handling notes will very explicitly state these expectations. Oftentimes, the phrase "serve regardless" is used.
Special Handling Assistance
At ABC Legal, we have a skip-trace team staffed by licensed private investigators. They are always striving to determine the best address for service. Sometimes you will find yourself in the following situation: You went to 4321 Very Long Rd, and spoke with Genoa Mann who was very polite and forthcoming with information. Genoa Mann told you that Venice Mann moved out 3 years ago and they are unfortunately not on speaking terms.
After diligent review, (our investigators have their own diligence requirements), the investigations team has determined it is very likely that Venice Mann does reside at 4321 Very Long Rd. You are now asked to make further service attempts at a residence that you had previously marked with Non-Residency Indicators - but this time you should be armed with more information.
Our investigations team will provide you with all the evidence pointing to the validity of the address in the special handling notes upon return. If you receive special handling notes from our investigations team, it is meant only to be treated as supporting evidence to assist you in the service. It is not intended to be taken as confirmation of residency.
Types of Special Handling Assistance
Owner of service address:
Address on SSN records:
Recently Reported Address: Our investigations team gathers dozens of records to form a cohesive narrative of the individual's history. "This address was most recently reported" means that the individual has not told any official entities that they are living at a new home.
Vehicle Registration: Most states require that your vehicle be registered to your home address, and that this information be updated when you move. If a defendant's vehicle is registered to an address, there is a very good chance that they live there. If it's parked in the driveway, it's very likely that they are home.
Driver's License Registration: Similar to vehicles, a lot of states require that the address on your license is updated when you move.
Homestead Exemption: Possibly the strongest evidence in favor of a person's address. A Homestead Exemption is a protection on part of a property's value, preventing it from being fully taxable. A person may not claim a Homestead Exemption on more than one property at a time, and the IRS requires that it be their primary residence to receive this special tax exemption.