Missouri process server—service of process in all 114 counties and St. Louis City

In Missouri, personal service on an individual is made under Rule 54.13(b)(1) by delivering the summons and petition directly to the defendant. Service is carried out by the county sheriff or by a private process server the court has appointed for that case—a non-sheriff must be specially appointed before serving, and must be over 18 and not a party.

Rule 54.13(b)(1): '...by delivering a copy of the summons and petition personally to the individual...' Confirmed verbatim at official RSMo 506.150: personal service is made 'by delivering a copy of the summons and of the petition to him personally'; RSMo 506.140: 'some person, other than a sheriff or coroner, may be specially appointed by the court or the circuit clerk...for service of process.' — Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 54.13(a), (b)(1)

With ABC Legal: a vetted server makes the first attempt on your tier's timeline—as fast as 48 hours—and EvidenceChain™ records the GPS location and timestamp of the exact delivery moment.

Missouri folds substituted service into Rule 54.13(b)(1). When the defendant is not personally reached, a copy of the summons and petition may be left at the individual's dwelling house or usual place of abode with some person of the individual's family over the age of fifteen years. There is no separate mailing step, and no prior court order is required for this leave-at-home method.

Rule 54.13(b)(1): '...or by leaving a copy of the summons and petition at the individual's dwelling house or usual place of abode with some person of the individual's family over the age of fifteen years.' Confirmed verbatim at official RSMo 506.150: '...by leaving a copy of the summons and of the petition at his dwelling house or usual place of abode with some person of his family over the age of fifteen years.' — Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 54.13(b)(1); cf. RSMo § 506.150

With ABC Legal: courts only accept substituted service after documented diligence. Our app geotags and timestamps every attempt automatically, so your diligence record is built before you need it.

Missouri permits first-class mail service only with the defendant's cooperation. Under Rule 54.16, the summons and petition are mailed with two notice-and-acknowledgment forms and a prepaid return envelope. Service is effective only if the defendant signs and returns the acknowledgment; a defendant who fails to return it within 30 days, without good cause, can be ordered to pay the cost of serving by another method.

Rule 54.16: 'Service of the summons and petition upon a resident or nonresident defendant...may be made by mailing a copy of the summons and petition by first class mail, postage prepaid, to the person to be served, together with two copies of a notice and acknowledgment...and a return envelope, postage prepaid addressed to the sender.' — Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 54.16

With ABC Legal: we recommend personal service first—it starts deadlines immediately and never depends on the recipient cooperating.

Publication is a last resort, available under Rule 54.12—which governs in rem or quasi in rem actions affecting property, a fund, or status. The party files a verified statement showing a defendant is unknown or unborn, or that reasonable efforts to serve under the other rules failed. The court then orders notice published once each week for four consecutive weeks in a county newspaper.

Rule 54.12 (Service—In Rem or Quasi In Rem Civil Actions): the order issues on a verified statement 'showing that one or more persons to be served are unborn or their names are unknown, or facts showing that a reasonable effort was made to obtain service under Rule 54.12(b), Rule 54.13, Rule 54.14 or Rule 54.16'; notice is 'published at least once each week for four consecutive weeks.' Confirmed verbatim at official RSMo 506.160: 'Such notice shall be published at least once each week for four consecutive weeks in some newspaper of general circulation published in the county where suit is instituted.' — Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 54.12(c); cf. RSMo § 506.160

With ABC Legal: our skip tracing team locates most "unfindable" defendants before you ever pay for publication—and if it truly comes to that, your ABC attempt history is the diligence evidence the motion needs.

To serve a Missouri corporation or LLC, Rule 54.13(b)(3) directs delivery of the summons and petition to an officer, partner, or managing or general agent, or to the person in charge at any business office. For an LLC, RSMo § 347.033 makes the registered agent a lawful recipient; if none can be found through due diligence, the Secretary of State is served as statutory agent.

RSMo § 347.033.1: 'The registered agent so appointed by a limited liability company shall be an agent of such limited liability company upon whom any process, notice or demand...may be served, and which, when so served, shall be lawful personal service on the limited liability company.' Rule 54.13(b)(3) / RSMo 506.150 (confirmed verbatim): service on a corporation is made 'by delivering a copy of the summons and of the petition to an officer, partner, a managing or general agent, or by leaving the copies at any business office of the defendant.' — Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 54.13(b)(3); RSMo § 347.033

With ABC Legal: we verify the current registered agent against state records before dispatch, so the serve lands on the right desk the first time.

Missouri serves public and governmental bodies under Rule 54.13(b)(4). The proper recipient depends on the entity: for a county, the clerk of the county commission; for a city, the mayor, city clerk, or city attorney; and for any other public, municipal, or quasi-public corporation or body, its chief executive officer. Delivering the summons and petition to the wrong official can defeat service.

Rule 54.13(b)(4): 'Upon a public, municipal, governmental or quasi-public corporation or body, by delivering a copy of the summons and petition to the clerk of the county commission...to the mayor or city clerk...[or] to the chief executive officer.' Confirmed verbatim at official RSMo 506.150: 'to the clerk of the county commission in the case of a county, to the mayor or city clerk or city attorney in the case of a city, and to the chief executive officer in the case of any other public, municipal, governmental or quasi-public corporation or body.' — Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 54.13(b)(4); cf. RSMo § 506.150

With ABC Legal: our servers handle city, county, and state entity serves routinely—and know exactly which office actually accepts them.