Among the most frequent questions we field: “Hey, Aaron, what what would you charge me to serve a defendant in (pick a country)?” or some variant thereof.

It’s usually a tough question to answer any other way but “I can’t say just yet.”

Unfortunately, asking what it would cost to serve somebody in XYZ is a bit like asking your local Toyota dealership how much a car costs– there are far too many variables in the equation for us to simply throw out a price tag. Some examples:

• Is your defendant an entity or individual?
• Do you have an address?
• What venue is hearing the case?
• If the Hague Service Convention applies, what options might be available?
• If Hague strictures apply, will translation be required by the foreign government?
• If the the Convention doesn’t apply, what options might be available?
• Regardless of Hague applicability, will you have to go overseas to enforce your judgment?
• Et cetera…

I’m afraid “how much?” is an impossible question to answer without significant detail.*

But that’s when an inquiry really gets fun for me, because I truly love exploring options or, if none present themselves, educating my colleagues about why no options are available.

It really doesn’t take long to chart a course on this type of journey. So don’t be bashful.

* Even serving domestically, a professional process server needs a few details, including, quite frequently, “should I go armed?”