Service by publication is the most expensive option when it comes to serving legal documents. The best and most common type of service is always personal service; if personal service is not feasible, then replacement service is the next best alternative. The required first-class mail service can be completed in certain circumstances, but most people simply won’t sign the envelope, and finally, we have the postal service. Service by publication requires a special order or permit from the court where your action is filed. There are a few reasons why the per post service might be justified. For example, if the defendant is homeless or says the target is circumventing or evading service. For these reasons, the court may or may not issue you an order granting notice by publication. This type of service is by far the most expensive and time consuming way to serve a defendant. All other options should be fully exhausted before attempting such a service, including multiple attempts at old addresses, depositing neighbors, family, and co-workers to lessen all chances of demanding a good address. If you have not yet obtained a good address of the individual, a Skip-Trace should be performed to demonstrate a good faith effort on your part to locate the opposing party. The process that publication is sought to serve varies from county to county and each local jurisdiction has its own set of rules that must be followed to satisfy the court. In most cases, the service by publication is carried out by lawyers; however, if you can’t afford one, you can try using the prepaid legal service. They offer full service legal consultation on all legal matters for a nominal fee of $17.00 per month with no annual contract. This means that you can use the service for the duration of your case and cancel at any time. Prepaid legal services can be purchased at Legalshield.com. Trying to navigate the minutiae of legal forms can be problematic, especially if you don’t have a working knowledge of legal documents and civil process. For this reason, we recommend calling an attorney for further instructions before attempting to do it yourself. However, if you can’t get a lawyer, there are some free resources that can help you along the way. Walawhelp.org has an excellent how-to guide and how-to forms available on their site; They are also a great resource for other legal documents and forms. Please note that not all situations are the same, so be careful when using these forms, although they are not foolproof. Once you have completed your declaration for the service of summons by publication and all your paperwork has been submitted to the court, you will need to obtain the court order, please note that you will need to show detailed proof that you have no other way to perform the service. . Google, Wikipedia, walawhelp.org, and the Pierce County Law Library are good resources as well as prepaid legal information on running the service by publication.
Publication of your ad in the newspaper!
Once you have the court order signed, call your county clerk for a list of newspapers approved to publish legal bulletins in your county (RCW 65.16.070). Also check the Washington State Legislatures website apps.leg.wa.gov or a quick Google search (WA Publication Service), you’ll get the same result. Repetitive website samples for the states of (RCW 4.28.110) and (RCW 12.04.100) are below for reference. Most legal notices are usually published in the Tacoma News Tribune or The Tacoma Daily Index. The Tacoma Daily Index will publish 100 words for $31.00 for the first day and $27.00 for additional days, for a total of $409.00 for 3 weeks and $818.00 for 6 weeks. Postings generally last 3-6 consecutive weeks depending on the legal action you have, consult a lawyer. The newspaper will generate an affidavit of mailing upon completion of its run. You can contact the Tacoma News Tribune at 253-597-8742 or the Tacoma Daily Index at (253)-627-4853. Be sure to file the completed affidavit of publication with the court.
Samples from RCW 4.28.110 and RCW 12.04.100 (short district) are below for reference.
RCW 4.28.110 (Service by Publication as of 12/8/2012)
Mode of publication and form of call.
Publication shall be made in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where the action is filed once a week for six consecutive weeks: AVAILABLE, that publication of the summons shall not be made until after the filing of the complaint and service of the call will be considered complete at the expiration of the period prescribed for its publication. The subpoena must be signed by the actor or his attorney or attorneys. The summons will contain the date of the first publication, and will require that the defendant or defendants whom it is desired to serve by publication, appear and answer the complaint within sixty days following the date of the first publication of the summons; and the summons for publication will also contain a brief statement of the object of the action. The call for publication will be substantially as follows:
In the superior court of the State of Washington for the county of…
… , Demanding,
against
No…
… , Accused.
The State of Washington has said (naming the defendant or defendants to be served by publication):
You are summoned to appear within the sixty days following the date of the first publication of this summons, that is, within the sixty days following the… day of…, 1…, and defend the aforementioned action before the competent court, and answer the plaintiff’s claim…, and notify
a copy of your response to the undersigned attorneys for the plaintiff… , at your (or their) office indicated below; and in the event that you do not do so, a sentence will be pronounced against you in accordance with the demand of the demand, which has been filed before the secretary of said court. (Insert a short declaration of the object of the action here.)
… ,
Counsel for Plaintiffs.
Order address…
County…
Washington.
[2011 c 336 § 98; 1985 c 469 § 2; 1895 c 86 § 2; 1893 c 127 § 10; RRS § 233.]
Grades:
Publication of legal notices: Chapter 65.16 RCW.
RCW 12.04.100 (short district)
(Service by post as of 12/8/2012)
Service by publication.
In the event that personal service cannot be made due to the defendant’s absence from the county in which the action is to be brought, the summons or notice shall be published with a brief statement of the object and sentence of the claim. or complaint, in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where the action is brought, whose notice will be published at least once a week for three weeks before the time set for the hearing of the cause, which will not be less than four weeks from the first publication of the notice. The notice may be substantially as follows:
Washington State,
| | > | |
H.H.
County of…
In the court of law,… justice.
TO…
You are hereby notified that… a complaint (or claim as the case may be) has been filed against you in said court which shall be heard at my office in… , in… county, state of Washington, the… day of…, AD 19…, at the hour of… o’clock… m., and unless he appears and responds at that time, the same shall be deemed confessed and Plaintiff’s claim granted. The object and demand of said claim (or complaint, as the case may be) is (insert a brief statement here).
Complaint filed… , AD 19…
… , JP
[1985 c 469 § 6; Code 1881 § 1720; 1873 p 337 § 27; RRS § 1766.]
Grades:
Legal Publications: Chapter 65.16 RCW.
(RCW 65.16.010-160) – (12/8/2012)
(RCW 12.04.100) – (8/12/2012)
(RCW 4.28.100) – (12/8/2012)
(RCW 4.28.110) – (12/8/2012)