In many states, civil process constables and their deputies can serve legal papers regarding a civil (not a criminal) lawsuit. In some states, sheriffs perform these duties. Papers can also be served by private companies such as in Texas. Sometimes utilizing private process serving companies is the best choice.

Take for example in Texas. A Texas constable has numerous responsibilities. He or she is given the responsibility to serve arrest warrants, make arrests and enforce state laws along with other constable responsibilities. It is somewhat surprising that they have continued to serve legal papers concerning civil suits as the state and their responsibilities have grown.

Any individual not party to the suit can legally serve papers in Texas and many other states. In Texas specifically you have to certified by the Texas Supreme court to serve papers. So, it is not surprising that people in Texas and elsewhere have made a business out being process servers.

Because the constables and their deputies have their plates full with a variety of duties, they may have less time to devote to serving papers which may result in undue delays or an inability to get the papers served, especially related to the more challenging ones. For private process servers, this is their business and they have the time, focus and resources to devote to it. Therefore, they will often times have a greater success rate when serving papers.

Until the papers are served, the suit cannot proceed. Many constables have a back log of papers to be served. Your papers would go at the bottom of the stack. It could take months before the officers get to your suit.

In Texas, representatives of a civil process private company are certified by order of the state Supreme Court. They are regulated by a professional review board. You can be confident that your papers will be handled professionally and that service will occur quickly.

Many companies offer guaranteed rush deliveries. They usually charge extra for rush service, but you can be sure that the papers will be delivered in a timely fashion. If you have already attempted to make service by mail, a professional process server can help. They have investigators that are skilled at locating individuals that don't want to be found.

So, there are many reasons to consider hiring a civil process private company rather than leaving it up to the constable. Everyone makes mistakes, but in lawsuits, mistakes can cost you money.

This is why it is important to hire a professional. Make sure that they are experienced and understand exactly how the documents should be handled. There are servers who admit that they had no idea what they were doing when they started out. Good training is the key to not making mistakes.

One more advantage to hiring a private company has to do with those people that try to avoid being served. It's pretty easy to spot civil process constables. It's not so easy to spot a professional server.