Certificate of Service - Alabama

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE — ALABAMA CIVIL CASE

Use this certificate for papers governed by Ala. R. Civ. P. 5. Do not use it as proof of service of a summons and original complaint, subpoena, writ, or another document governed by a different rule or statute.

1. Caption

IN THE [CIRCUIT / DISTRICT] COURT OF [________________] COUNTY, ALABAMA

[________________________________],
    Plaintiff,

v.                                      Case No. [________________]

[________________________________],
    Defendant.

2. Scope Check

☐ The document is an order required by its terms to be served, a pleading after the original complaint, required discovery paper, non-ex-parte written motion, written notice, appearance, demand, offer of judgment, designation of record on appeal, or similar paper governed by Rule 5(a).

☐ The recipient is represented by counsel, so service is directed to counsel unless the court ordered service on the party.

☐ No recipient is in default for failure to appear, or the paper asserts a new or additional claim against that recipient and will be served as Rule 5(a) and Rule 4 require.

☐ Any court order, special statute, appellate rule, juvenile rule, domestic-relations procedure, administrative order, or electronic-filing rule affecting service has been reviewed.

3. Papers Served

4. Rule 5 Service Methods

Rule 5(b) permits the following methods for papers within its scope. Select only the method actually used for each recipient.

• Delivery: handing the copy to the attorney or party.
• Office delivery: leaving it at the attorney's or party's office with a clerk or other person in charge, or, if no one is in charge, leaving it in a conspicuous place in the office.
• Dwelling delivery: if the office is closed or the person has no office, leaving it at the person's dwelling house or usual place of abode with a person of suitable age and discretion who resides there.
• Mail: mailing it to the attorney's or party's last known address.
• Clerk: if no address is known, leaving it with the court clerk.
• Court electronic-filing system: electronic transmittal when the attorney or party is a registered user and service complies with the governing Alabama Supreme Court order or rules.

Ordinary email outside the court electronic-filing system and commercial-carrier delivery are not listed in the current text of Rule 5(b) as independent methods. Do not select them unless another current authority or court order permits them for the paper at issue.

5. Recipient Record

Rule 5(d) requires the certificate to list the names and addresses of all attorneys or self-represented parties served and, if known, the email addresses of registered electronic-filing-system users.

Add rows until every person required to receive the paper is listed.

6. Certificate

I certify that on [DATE], I served a true and correct copy of the paper or papers identified in Section 3 on each person listed in Section 5 by the method recorded for that person, in accordance with Ala. R. Civ. P. 5 and any governing court order or electronic-filing rule.

Date: [__/__/____]

Signature: __________________________________

Printed name: [________________________________]

Alabama State Bar number, if applicable: [________________]

Firm / organization: [________________________________]

Address: [________________________________]

Telephone: [________________________________]

Email: [________________________________]

Attorney for [________________________________] / Self-represented [PARTY]

7. Completion and Deadline Notes

Service Completion

• Rule 5(b) states that service by mail is complete upon mailing.
• Service through the court's electronic-filing system, when authorized and compliant, is complete on transmission of the electronic document.
• For a delivery method, record the actual delivery facts rather than using a deemed-mailing rule.

Three Additional Days — Current Rule 6(d)

When a party may or must act within a specified time after being served, current Ala. R. Civ. P. 6(d) adds three days after the period otherwise expires under Rule 6(a) when Rule 5 service is made:

• by mail; or
• through the court's electronic-filing system.

Do not cite former Rule 6(e), and do not state that electronic-filing-system service always adds zero days. The three-day provision applies only when the triggering period runs after service; a period running from filing, entry, judgment, occurrence, or another event may be different.

Filing the Certificate

Rule 5(d) generally requires papers after the complaint that must be served, together with a certificate of service, to be filed before service or within a reasonable time afterward. Discovery material is subject to Rule 5(d)'s separate nonfiling and custodian provisions unless the court orders filing or the material is used at trial or with a motion.

8. Initial Process and Special-Service Warning

Rule 5(b) does not govern service of a summons and original complaint. Use Rule 4, the clerk-issued documents, and the current service procedure for initial process. A Rule 5 certificate does not convert defective original process into valid service.

Also verify separate service requirements before serving a subpoena, contempt paper, injunction, appeal paper, constitutional challenge, class notice, post-judgment paper, or a person subject to a special rule.

9. Final Review

☐ Every required recipient is listed by name and address.

☐ Registered-user email addresses are listed if known.

☐ Represented parties were served through counsel unless the court ordered otherwise.

☐ The recorded method is actually authorized for this paper.

☐ The date and time match mailing, delivery, or system-transmission evidence.

☐ Any response deadline was calculated from its actual triggering event and current Rule 6.

☐ The filing confirmation, mailing proof, or delivery record is retained in the case file.

Sources and References

• Alabama Judicial System, Ala. R. Civ. P. 5.
• Alabama Judicial System, Ala. R. Civ. P. 6, amended March 26, 2026, effective April 9, 2026.