Florida Statute 48.021 | Lawyer Caselaw & Research

The 2024 Florida Statutes

Title VI
CIVIL PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE

Chapter 48
PROCESS AND SERVICE OF PROCESS

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F.S. 48.021

48.021 Process; by whom served.—

(1) All process shall be served by the sheriff of the county where the person to be served is found, except nonenforceable civil process, criminal witness subpoenas, and criminal summonses may be served by a special process server appointed by the sheriff as provided in this section or by a certified process server as provided in s. 48.27. Civil witness subpoenas shall be served by any person authorized by rules of civil procedure.

(2)(a) The sheriff of each county may, in his or her discretion, establish an approved list of natural persons designated as special process servers. The sheriff shall add to such list the names of those natural persons who have met the requirements provided for in this section. Each natural person whose name has been added to the approved list is subject to annual recertification and reappointment by the sheriff. The sheriff shall prescribe an appropriate form for application for appointment. A reasonable fee for the processing of the application shall be charged.

(b) A person applying to become a special process server shall:

1. Be at least 18 years of age.

2. Have no mental or legal disability.

3. Be a permanent resident of the state.

4. Submit to a background investigation that includes the right to obtain and review the criminal record of the applicant.

5. Obtain and file with the application a certificate of good conduct that specifies there is no pending criminal case against the applicant and that there is no record of any felony conviction, nor a record of a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude or dishonesty, with respect to the applicant within the past 5 years.

6. Submit to an examination testing the applicant’s knowledge of the laws and rules regarding the service of process. The content of the examination and the passing grade thereon, and the frequency and the location at which the examination is offered must be prescribed by the sheriff. The examination must be offered at least once annually.

7. Take an oath that the applicant will honestly, diligently, and faithfully exercise the duties of a special process server.

(c) The sheriff may prescribe additional rules and requirements directly related to subparagraphs (b)1.-7. regarding the eligibility of a person to become a special process server or to have his or her name maintained on the list of special process servers.

(d) An applicant who completes the requirements of this section must be designated as a special process server provided that the sheriff of the county has determined that the appointment of special process servers is necessary or desirable. Each special process server must be issued an identification card bearing his or her identification number, printed name, signature and photograph, and an expiration date. Each identification card must be renewable annually upon proof of good standing.

(e) The sheriff shall have the discretion to revoke an appointment at any time that he or she determines a special process server is not fully and properly discharging the duties as a special process server. The sheriff shall institute a program to determine whether the special process servers appointed as provided for in this section are faithfully discharging their duties pursuant to such appointment, and a reasonable fee may be charged for the costs of administering such program.

(3) A special process server appointed in accordance with this section shall be authorized to serve process in only the county in which the sheriff who appointed him or her resides and may charge a reasonable fee for his or her services.

(4) Any special process server shall be disinterested in any process he or she serves; and if the special process server willfully and knowingly executes a false return of service or otherwise violates the oath of office, he or she shall be guilty of a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided for in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084, and shall be permanently barred from serving process in Florida.

History.—s. 16, July 22, 1845; s. 1, ch. 3721, 1887; RS 1014, 1246; GS 1401; RGS 2598; s. 1, ch. 9318, 1923; CGL 4238; s. 4, ch. 67-254; s. 12, ch. 73-334; s. 1, ch. 76-263; s. 2, ch. 79-396; s. 1, ch. 81-266; s. 1, ch. 88-135; s. 2, ch. 91-306; s. 268, ch. 95-147; s. 16, ch. 98-34; s. 2, ch. 2009-215; s. 3, ch. 2019-67.

Note.—Former s. 47.12.

F.S. 48.021 on Google Scholar

F.S. 48.021 on Casetext

Amendments to 48.021

Arrestable Offenses / Crimes under Fla. Stat. 48.021

Level: Degree
Misdemeanor/Felony: First/Second/Third

S48.021 4 - FRAUD - PROCESS SERVER EXECUTE FALSE RETURN OF SERVICE - F: T

S48.021 4 - PUBLIC ORDER CRIMES - PROCESS SERVER OTHERWISE VIOL OATH OF OFFICE - F: T

Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Cases Citing Statute 48.021

Total Results: 20

KMG PROPERTIES, LLC v. OWL CONSTRUCTION, LLC

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2024-04-24

Snippet: 160 So. 3d 385, 388 (Fla. 2015). Section 48.21(1) defines valid return of service:

TIMOTHY GIBSON v. STAR COLLISION AND TOWING, LLC

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2024-03-15

Snippet: statutory factors contained in section 48.21." Id. Section 48.21(1), Florida Statutes (2021), provides

Timothy Wu v. Matias Alem

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2024-02-21

Snippet: are facially regular and compliant with section 48.21, Florida Statutes. Alem failed to respond, and the

DENSYL ALEXIS DIAZ RODRIGUEZ v. HSBC BANK USA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE ETC.

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2022-11-23

Snippet: So. 3d 9, 15–16 (Fla. 3d DCA 2012). Section 48.21, Florida Statutes (2018), states that service is

TAMARA CARUS v. COVE AT ISLES AT BAYSHORE HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC.

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2022-11-23

Snippet: informing the person of their contents. Section 48.21, Florida Statutes, in turn, governs return of execution

JONATHAN MICHAEL SCHULER v. SANDY T. FOX, P.A.

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2022-10-06

Snippet: includes the statutory factors contained in section 48.21, Florida Statutes: The party who

KEVIN CHRISTOPHER CORRIDON v. GRACE-ELIZABETH CAROLYN CORRIDON

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2021-02-17

Snippet: return- of-service form described in [section] 48.21, or any other competent evidence in determining

Sadlak v. Nationstar Mortgage

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2018-07-18

Citation: 252 So. 3d 302

Snippet: “Return of execution of process” statute (section 48.21). See Vives v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 128 So.

Murphy v. Cach, LLC

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2017-11-09

Citation: 230 So. 3d 599

Snippet: substitute service did not strictly comply with section 48.21, Florida Statutes (2015), as it does .not provide

Coutts v. Sabadell United Bank, N.A.

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2016-09-07

Citation: 199 So. 3d 1099, 2016 Fla. App. LEXIS 13419, 2016 WL 4645513

Snippet: return of service of process provision (section 48.21(1), Florida Statutes (2015)) 2 , clearly

James Matthews and Roberta Matthews v. U.S. Bank, National Association, etc.

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2016-06-29

Citation: 197 So. 3d 1140, 2016 Fla. App. LEXIS 10027

Snippet: 136 S.Ct. 164, 193 L.Ed.2d 45 (2015). Section 48.21, Florida Statutes (2014), identifies “four facts

Janet Mauro and Dennis Quinn v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2015-12-02

Citation: 180 So. 3d 1083, 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 18015

Snippet: *1085 all the information which section 48.21(1), Florida Statutes (2012), requires: Each

David Davidian and Irma Davidian v. JP Morgan Chase Bank, National Association

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2015-10-07

Citation: 178 So. 3d 45, 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 14930

Snippet: that the returns .of service complied with section 48.21(1), Florida Statutes (2015), which provides:

Lance Koster v. Carol Sullivan

Court: Supreme Court of Florida | Date Filed: 2015-02-05

Citation: 160 So. 3d 385, 40 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 63, 2015 Fla. LEXIS 203

Snippet: NOT INCLUDED IN THE FACIAL LANGUAGE OF SECTION 48.21 DEFINING INVALID SERVICE? Id. at 886-87

SDS-IC v. Florida Concentrates International, LLC

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2015-01-30

Citation: 157 So. 3d 389, 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 1232, 2015 WL 403999

Snippet: Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters.” Section 48.21(1) provides that the required return-of-service

Frank Romeo and Connie Yang v. US Bank National Association

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2014-07-30

Citation: 144 So. 3d 585, 2014 WL 3729907, 2014 Fla. App. LEXIS 11608

Snippet: Section 48.21, Florida Statutes (2013), governs returns of executions of process. Section 48.21(1) provides

Koster v. Sullivan

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2012-10-10

Citation: 103 So. 3d 882, 2012 WL 4798610, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 17423

Snippet: of process. Because a strict reading of section 48.21, Florida Statutes (2010), supports the trial court’s

Vives v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2012-06-27

Citation: 128 So. 3d 9, 2012 WL 2400891, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 10393

Snippet: provided in this section. (emphasis added). Section 48.21, Florida Statutes (2009), which is titled “Return

Robles-Martinez v. Diaz, Reus & Targ, LLP

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2011-08-17

Citation: 88 So. 3d 177, 2011 Fla. App. LEXIS 12980, 2011 WL 3586179

Snippet: information required by the applicable statute: Section 48.21, Florida Statutes (1979) requires those serving

Vidal v. SunTrust Bank

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2010-08-04

Citation: 41 So. 3d 401, 2010 Fla. App. LEXIS 11288, 2010 WL 3023386

Snippet: with the statutory provisions contained in section 48.21, Florida Statutes, and noted the date and time of