Who serves the defendant?
Either the court can be asked to serve the Claim Form on the defendant, which they will do by first-class post, or you can arrange to serve the defendant personally either yourself, by using a firm of process servers or any other person. There are four principal options available to you for service. Personally serve the defendant by handing the Claim Form and the reply forms to him. By first-class post to the defendant. By leaving it at the last known address of the defendant. Send the reply forms and Claim Form to the defendant’s solicitor if the defendant has already instructed one and if the solicitor has agreed to accept service of the Claim Form. If you serve the defendant yourself, you must send a Certificate of Service Form N215 to the court within seven days of service on the defendant. It’s best to leave service to the court, unless there is some degree of urgency or you believe that the defendant will try to avoid being served with the Claim Form. The court sometimes takes a
