Coastal Legal Services
Step 4: serving the forms
After filing your forms with the appropriate Clerk of Court, you will need to “serve” (deliver) a copy of the Family Court Cover Sheet, Certificate of Exemption, Summons for Divorce, Complaint for Divorce and the Financial Declaration Form to your spouse. There are four ways to serve your spouse:
- U.S. Mail (send certified mail, restricted delivery, return receipt requested; receipt must be signed by your spouse; you must also complete an Affidavit of Mailing, sign it in front of a notary and file a copy, along with the green card, with the Clerk of Court)
Affidavit of Service by Mailing SCCA400.04
- Personal Service (your spouse must sign an Acceptance of Service form and you must file a signed copy with the Clerk of Court)
Acceptance of Service SCCA400.03
- Sheriff’s Office (Sheriff’s office must complete a notarized Acceptance of Service form after delivery and you must file a copy with the Clerk of Court)
- Private Process Server (this is a paid private service that involves a third party hand-delivering the paperwork to your spouse), or
- Service by Commercial Delivery Service (You may use a commercial delivery company like UPS or FedEx to serve the Summons and Complaint).