Florida Statute 48.21 | 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. 48.21

48.21 Return of execution of process.—

(1) Each person who effects service of process shall note on a return-of-service form attached thereto the date and time when it comes to hand, the date and time when it is served, the manner of service, the name of the person on whom it was served, and, if the person is served in a representative capacity, the position occupied by the person. The return-of-service form must list all pleadings and documents served and be signed by the person who effects the service of process. However, a person who is authorized under this chapter to serve process and who effects such service of process may sign the return-of-service form using an electronic signature.

(2) A failure to state the facts or to include the signature required by subsection (1) invalidates the service, but the return is amendable to state the facts or to include the signature at any time on application to the court from which the process issued. On amendment, service is as effective as if the return had originally stated the omitted facts or included the signature. A failure to state all the facts in or to include the signature on the return shall subject the person effecting service to a fine not exceeding $10, in the court’s discretion.

History.—s. 18, Nov. 23, 1828; RS 1026; GS 1414; RGS 2612; CGL 4276; s. 4, ch. 67-254; s. 4, ch. 94-170; s. 1356, ch. 95-147; s. 3, ch. 2004-273; s. 5, ch. 2011-159; s. 7, ch. 2019-67.

Note.—Former s. 47.47.

F.S. 48.21 on Google Scholar

F.S. 48.21 on Casetext

Amendments to 48.21

Arrestable Offenses / Crimes under Fla. Stat. 48.21

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

Current data shows no reason an arrest or criminal charge should have occurred directly under Florida Statute 48.21.

Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Cases Citing Statute 48.21

Total Results: 20

Danny's Fuel Corp. v. Brinks US, a Division of Brink's Incorporated

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2024-10-16T00:00:00-07:00

Snippet: 2 Section 48.21, Florida Statutes (2023), provides that a return…they were “served in a representative capacity.” § 48.21, Fla. Stat. (2023). Effective January 2, 2023

KMG PROPERTIES, LLC v. OWL CONSTRUCTION, LLC

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2024-04-24T00:00:00-07:00

Snippet: 160 So. 3d 385, 388 (Fla. 2015). Section 48.21(1) defines valid return of service: … "manner of service" means in section 48.21. See State v. Hearns, 961 So. 2d 211, 217 (Fla. …demonstrate that the return of service is, under section 48.21, facially valid or regular on its face." Koster

TIMOTHY GIBSON v. STAR COLLISION AND TOWING, LLC

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2024-03-15T00:00:00-07:00

Snippet: statutory factors contained in section 48.21." Id. Section 48.21(1), Florida Statutes (2021), provides…invalidates service unless the return is amended.3 See § 48.21(2) ("[T]he return is amendable to state the…John Doe" is facially deficient under section 48.21 because it does not contain the name of the person… contained all the elements required by section 48.21(1). As such, Gibson met his initial burden of establishing

Timothy Wu v. Matias Alem

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2024-02-21T00:00:00-08:00

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: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2022-11-22T23:53:00-08:00

Snippet: So. 3d 9, 15–16 (Fla. 3d DCA 2012). Section 48.21, Florida Statutes (2018), states that service is…were served in a representative capacity. Section 48.21(2) provides that a return of service can be amended…application to the court from which process issued.” § 48.21(2), Fla. Stat. (2018). “On amendment” of the return…manner and time of service as required by section 48.21(1). Rodriguez argues that the court erred in accepting…meaning. E.g., Koster, 160 So. 3d at 390. Section 48.21(2) provides that a return of service can be amended

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

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2022-11-22T23:53:00-08:00

Snippet: informing the person of their contents. Section 48.21, Florida Statutes, in turn, governs return of execution…must contain the information set forth in section 48.21, Florida Statues. Coutts v. Sabadell United Bank…information invalidates a return of service. See § 48.21(2), Fla. Stat.; see also Gonzalez v. Totalbank,…failure to record the facts set forth in section 48.21, Florida Statues, invalidates the service, unless… of process is facially deficient under section 48.21 because it does not contain the name of the person

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

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2022-10-06T00:53:00-07:00

Snippet: includes the statutory factors contained in section 48.21, Florida Statutes: The party who … return of service is, under section 48.21, facially valid or regular on its …statutory factors contained in section 48.21. If the return is regular on its face…however, is not one of the factors listed in section 48.21, and Schuler has not cited any authority that supports… The statutory factors set forth in section 48.21 are, in pertinent part, as follows:

KEVIN CHRISTOPHER CORRIDON v. GRACE-ELIZABETH CAROLYN CORRIDON

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2021-02-16T23:53:00-08:00

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

Sadlak v. Nationstar Mortgage

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2018-07-18T00:53:00-07:00

Snippet: Return of execution of process” statute (section 48.21). See Vives v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 128 So. …requirements set forth in sections 48.031(1)(a) and 48.21.”); Robles-Martinez v. Diaz, Reus & Targ, LLP…information required by the applicable statute: Section 48.21, Florida Statutes * “We review de novo the trial…who effects the service of process. Id. § 48.21(1). The return of service, here, meets these… 3 While sections 48.031(1)(a) and 48.21(1) do not require that the return of service list

Murphy v. Cach, LLC

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2017-11-09T00:00:00-08:00

Citation: 230 So. 3d 599

Snippet: substitute service did not strictly comply with section 48.21, Florida Statutes (2015), as it does .not provide…process is regular or valid on its face. Section 48.21 governs the return of execution of process. This…omitted facts or included the signature.... § 48.21, Fla. Stat. (2015). Therefore, for a return of service… of process is facially deficient under section 48.21 because it does not contain the name of the person…’s name is insufficient compliance with section 48.21. Vives v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 128 So.3d 9, 15

Coutts v. Sabadell United Bank, N.A.

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2016-09-07T00:00:00-07:00

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…. The court noted that “the language of section 48.21 does not expressly incorporate section 48.031, nor…en-graft the provisions of section 48.031 onto section 48.21, acknowledging it “has no power to ‘extend, modify…must contain the information set forth in section 48.21, but need not contain information showing compliance…that the return of service complied with section 48.21 and contained the requisite information as set forth

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

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2016-06-29T00:00:00-07:00

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…they contain the four facts required by section 48.21:(1) the process server received the pleadings on

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

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2015-12-02T00:00:00-08:00

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…electronic signature certified by the sheriff. § 48.21(1), Fla. Stat. (2012). The return of service

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

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2015-10-07T00:00:00-07:00

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: …They were shown to comply with section 48.031 and 48.21, Florida Statutes (2015). Thus, the burden shifted

Lance Koster v. Carol Sullivan

Court: Fla. | Date Filed: 2015-02-05T00:00:00-08:00

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

Snippet: was served in this case, section 48.21 provided as follows: 48.21 Return of execution of process. … NOT INCLUDED IN THE FACIAL LANGUAGE OF SECTION 48.21 DEFINING INVALID SERVICE? Id. at 886…are not included in the requirements of section 48.21, Florida Statutes (2009), defining valid return …service met the textual requirements of section 48.21, the Second District stated that the issue was whether… specifying the manner of service under section 48.21, the process server was also required to list the

SDS-IC v. Florida Concentrates International, LLC

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2015-01-30T00:00:00-08:00

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 … it by the person making the service”). Section 48.21(2) adds that although the return-of-service is amendable

Frank Romeo and Connie Yang v. US Bank National Association

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2014-07-30T00:00:00-07:00

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… whom it was served.” (emphasis added). Section 48.21(2) states that “[a] failure to state the facts .…return of execution of process statute— section 48.21 — and the general service of process statutes — …service, is governed only by the language of section 48.21 and does not require express reference to section…addition to deficiencies in a return under section 48.21, the lack of a requirement listed in section 48.031

Koster v. Sullivan

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2012-10-10T00:00:00-07:00

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…for a return of service are set forth in section 48.21, Florida Statutes, the applicable version of which…return of service to be sufficient under section 48.21, the term “manner of service” must be strictly construed… here meets the textual requirements of section 48.21. The question then becomes whether meeting those…service, is governed only by the language of section 48.21 and does not require express reference to section

Vives v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2012-06-27T00:00:00-07:00

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…requirements set forth in sections 48.031(l)(a) and 48.21. The return of service does not state the name of

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

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2011-08-17T00:00:00-07:00

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 …served, both of which are required under section 48.21, Florida Statutes); Nat’l Safety Assocs., Inc. v