Serve lawsuit papers in Texas — any citation, any civil case

What "serving a citation" actually means

When a lawsuit is filed in a Texas district court, county court or county court at law, the clerk issues a citation — the official notice that tells the defendant they've been sued and how long they have to answer. The citation travels with a copy of the petition. Until a qualified person hands those papers to the defendant and files a proper return of service, the court can't move forward and a default judgment isn't possible.

Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 103 says who may do that: a sheriff, a constable, someone authorized by court order, or a process server certified by the Judicial Branch Certification Commission (JBCC). We're JBCC-certified (PSC-30288) — you can verify that on the state's public roster before you hire us.

Every kind of citation we serve

If it's a civil citation issued by a Texas court, we serve it. The most common requests we see:

• Debt and collections suits — credit card debt, unpaid invoices, promissory notes, deficiency balances.
• Breach of contract — contractors, vendors, buyers and sellers, service agreements.
• Personal injury and property damage — car wrecks, dog bites, premises claims.
• Business disputes — partners, former employees, non-competes, LLC and corporate defendants (we serve registered agents and corporate officers, too).
• Family law — divorce, custody and child-support (SAPCR) cases, modifications, enforcement.
• Probate and property — heirship, partition, quiet title, trespass to try title.
• Justice court suits — small claims and debt claims up to the justice court limit.

We also serve the paperwork that comes after the citation: amended petitions when a court orders personal service, temporary orders, notices of hearing, writs of garnishment on banks and employers, and post-judgment discovery.

How a citation serve works with us

1. Send it. Upload the issued citation and petition (or email them), tell us who and where, and add everything you know — a photo, their vehicle and plate, where they work, when they're home. The intake asks the questions a good server asks at the counter.
2. A human approves it, usually within the hour during phone hours. If the address looks stale or the papers have a problem, we tell you before anyone drives anywhere.
3. Pay the secure link. Nothing starts until it's paid — and you're never charged for a job we can't take.
4. Watch it happen. Your tracking link updates live: en route, on site, each attempt with time, GPS and photo, and the moment it's served.
5. Get the affidavit. The return of service is prepared to Rule 107's requirements — who was served, where, when, how, and our certification number and expiration — ready for you or your attorney to file.

What it costs

Inside those four counties travel is included — no mileage, wherever the address is. Outside them: Collin rates plus $15 for each additional 5 miles beyond 20 miles from our North Plano base, confirmed in writing before we accept. Every tier includes up to three attempts, GPS + photo on each one, a live tracking link and a court-ready affidavit of service.

Popular add-ons: an early-bird attempt between 6:00 and 7:30 AM (+$35) for people who leave for work early, video-documented service (+$25), locate assist when the address you have may be dead (+$65, only as part of a serve we're handling), and e-filing the return (+$15). If the defendant has agreed to meet us, serve by appointment is $60 flat. The full price list has everything.

Payment-first, no surprises: a human reviews every request before anything happens. Once it's approved you get a secure pay link — nothing starts until it's paid, and nothing is ever charged if we can't take the job. No invoicing, no payment plans.

The answer deadline starts the day we serve

In district and county courts, a defendant generally must file an answer by 10:00 a.m. on the Monday after 20 days have passed since service (Tex. R. Civ. P. 99(b)). In justice court it's 14 days. That's why the date and time on our affidavit matter so much — and why we document both to the minute. If your court date is close, tell us at intake; we'll say honestly which speed makes it, even when the answer is the cheaper one.

When they won't come to the door

Some defendants dodge. Every attempt we make is logged with GPS coordinates, a timestamp and photos — at different times of day, on different days, including an evening or Saturday. If three attempts fail, that log becomes a sworn due-diligence affidavit you can use to ask the court for substituted service under Rule 106 — leaving the papers with an adult at the home, posting them on the door, or even service by email or social media if the judge allows it.

Where we serve

From our North Plano base we cover all of Collin, Dallas, Denton and Tarrant counties at flat county prices — Plano, Frisco, McKinney, Dallas, Fort Worth, Denton and everywhere between. See every service area.

Questions people ask

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