Proof of Service by Mail – Federal Court

Proof of Service by Mail – Federal Court

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
[________________________________] DISTRICT OF [____________________]
[________________] DIVISION

[Full Party Name(s)],

Plaintiff(s),

v.

[Full Party Name(s)],

Defendant(s).

Case No. [____]-cv-[________________________________]

Judge: [________________________________]
Magistrate Judge: [________________________________]

PROOF OF SERVICE BY MAIL

(Fed. R. Civ. P. 5(b)(2)(C); 28 U.S.C. § 1746)

PRELIMINARY STATEMENT

This Proof of Service is submitted pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5(b)(2)(C), which
provides that service is complete upon mailing to the person's last known address. Under 28 U.S.C.
§ 1746, this declaration has the same force and effect as a sworn affidavit.

Note: Where all parties are registered CM/ECF users, the Notice of Electronic Filing (NEF)
generated upon electronic filing constitutes service, and no separate proof of service is required.
Fed. R. Civ. P. 5(d)(1)(B). This form is for use when serving parties not registered for CM/ECF
or when serving by mail pursuant to court order or applicable rules.

SECTION 1: DECLARANT INFORMATION

I, [________________________________], declare under penalty of perjury that:

1. I am over the age of eighteen (18) years;
2. I am NOT a party to the above-entitled action;
3. I am employed by / am a resident of the State of [____________________];
4. My business/mailing address is:

[________________________________]
[________________________________]
[________________________________], [____] [__________]

SECTION 2: DOCUMENTS SERVED

On [__/__/____], I caused a true and correct copy of the following document(s) to be served
by mail:

SECTION 3: PARTIES/COUNSEL SERVED

The document(s) identified in Section 2 were served upon the following person(s) and/or
counsel at the address(es) listed below:

SECTION 4: METHOD OF SERVICE

(Check ALL that apply and complete corresponding subsection)

Method A: Regular First-Class U.S. Mail — Fed. R. Civ. P. 5(b)(2)(C)

☐ I served the documents listed in Section 2 by placing a true and correct copy in a sealed
envelope, with postage fully prepaid, addressed to the person(s) listed in Section 3, and:

☐ Deposited at Post Office/Mail Box: I personally deposited the sealed envelope(s) in the
United States mail at [________________________________], [____________________], on
[__/__/____].

☐ Office Collection — Ordinary Business Practice: I am readily familiar with
[________________________________]'s practice for collecting and processing correspondence
for mailing with the United States Postal Service. Under that practice, mail is deposited with the
United States Postal Service that same day in the ordinary course of business with postage thereon
fully prepaid at [________________________________], [____________________]. The
envelope(s) were placed for collection and mailing on [__/__/____], following ordinary
business practices.

NOTE on FRCP 6(d): When service is by mail, three (3) additional days are added to any
period within which a party must or may act. Fed. R. Civ. P. 6(d).

Method B: Certified Mail / Return Receipt Requested

☐ I served the documents by Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested, USPS tracking
number(s):

Method C: Priority Mail / Overnight Express

☐ I served the documents by [☐ USPS Priority Mail ☐ USPS Priority Mail Express
☐ FedEx ☐ UPS ☐ Other: [________________________________]], with tracking
number(s):

Method D: Service on Incarcerated or Pro Se Party

☐ One or more parties served are incarcerated or pro se. Service was effected as follows:

Name of incarcerated/pro se party: [________________________________]
Facility/Address: [________________________________]
[________________________________]
[________________________________], [____] [__________]
Method: ☐ First-class mail ☐ Certified mail ☐ Court-approved alternative method

Note: If serving an incarcerated pro se party, verify the facility's legal mail procedures.
Some institutions require legal mail to be marked "LEGAL MAIL – OPEN ONLY IN PRESENCE
OF INMATE."

Method E: CM/ECF Supplemental Service (Non-Registered Participants Only)

☐ Certain parties in this action are NOT registered CM/ECF participants. In addition to
any electronic service for registered participants (which is automatic upon filing), I caused
mail service as follows:

CM/ECF-Registered parties received electronic notice via NEF on [__/__/____].
Non-registered parties received mail service as described in Methods A–D above.

SECTION 5: SWORN DECLARATION

I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America (28 U.S.C.
§ 1746) that the foregoing is true and correct.

Executed on [__/__/____], at [________________________________], [____________________].

Signature: [________________________________]

Printed Name: [________________________________]

Title/Position (if applicable): [________________________________]

Business Address: [________________________________]
[________________________________]
[________________________________], [____] [__________]

Telephone: ([____]) [____]-[________]

SECTION 6: ADDITIONAL NOTES AND LOCAL RULE COMPLIANCE

FRCP 6(d) — Additional Time After Mail Service:
When service is made by mail under FRCP 5(b)(2)(C), an additional three (3) days are added
to any period within which the served party must or may act or respond. Counsel should account
for this when calculating response deadlines.

CM/ECF and NEF: When a document is filed electronically via the Court's CM/ECF system,
the electronic filing generates a Notice of Electronic Filing (NEF), which constitutes service on
all registered CM/ECF participants. A separate proof of service is not required for those parties.
Fed. R. Civ. P. 5(d)(1)(B). This Proof of Service is required only for parties who are NOT
registered CM/ECF participants or when mail service is used in addition to electronic filing.

District-Specific Checklist:

Sources and References

• Fed. R. Civ. P. 5: https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/rule_5
• Fed. R. Civ. P. 6: https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/rule_6
• 28 U.S.C. § 1746: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/28/1746
• USCOURTS CM/ECF Information: https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/electronic-filing-cm-ecf
• Notice of Electronic Filing (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notice_of_electronic_filing