Wyoming Statutes

Wyo. Stat. § 1-6-301 (2026)

Secretary of state deemed attorney for service;

✓ current as of May 2026

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continuance of action; costs; record of process; jurisdiction;
direction of summons.

     (a) The use and operation of a motor vehicle on any street
or highway within Wyoming by any person upon whom service of
process cannot be made within Wyoming either personally or by
service upon a duly appointed resident agent is deemed an
appointment of the secretary of state of Wyoming as the
operator's lawful attorney upon whom may be served all legal
processes in any proceeding against him, or his personal
representative if he be deceased, due to damage or injury to
person or property resulting from the operation of a motor
vehicle on the streets or highways within this state. Such
operation constitutes the operator's agreement that any process
served in any action against him or his personal representative
has the same legal force and validity as if served upon him or
his personal representative personally within this state.
Service shall be made by serving a copy of the process upon the
secretary of state or by filing such copy in his office,
together with payment of a fee of ten dollars ($10.00). Within
ten (10) days after the date of service, notice of such service
and a copy of the process shall be served upon the defendant or
his personal representative either personally or by certified
mail addressed to the last known address of the defendant or his
personal representative. The plaintiff shall file with the clerk
of the court in which the action is brought an affidavit that he
has complied with such requirement.

     (b) The court in which the action is pending shall order
such continuance as necessary to afford the defendant or his
personal representative reasonable opportunity to defend the
action. The fee of ten dollars ($10.00) paid by the plaintiff to
the secretary of state at the time of service of process shall
be taxed as costs in the suit.

     (c) The secretary of state shall keep a record of all
processes served showing the date and hour of service and shall
arrange and index the record to make it readily accessible and
convenient for inspection. The district court of the county in
which the cause of action arose or the district court of the
county in which the plaintiff resides shall have jurisdiction
over the action. The clerk of the district court in which the
action is commenced may issue summons directed to the sheriff of
Laramie county, Wyoming for service upon the secretary of state
of Wyoming.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 9 cases, 1986–2019 · leading case: Colley v. Dyer, 821 P.2d 565 (Wyo. 1991).

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Colley v. Dyer, 821 P.2d 565 (Wyo. 1991). · cites it 50× “Colley then pursued service of process under Wyoming's non-resident motorist statute, Wyo. Stat. § 1-6-301 (1988). That statute provides for substitute service of process on the secretary of state and requires that notice of such service, along with a copy of the process, be…”

Midway Oil Corp. v. Guess, 714 P.2d 339 (Wyo. 1986). · cites it 8× “1977, as apparently copied from the Wyoming Business Corporation Act, with two comparable statutes providing for agency service on nonresident motorists, § 1-6-301, W.S. 1977, 1985 Cum.Supp., and insurance companies, § 26-3-122, W.”

State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Kunz, 186 P.3d 378 (Wyo. 2008). · cites it 4× “The portion of Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-6-301 (c) relied upon by State Farm addresses venue and does not confer subject matter jurisdiction on a district court in a civil action where the amount in controversy does not exeeed $7,000.”

Saunders v. Saunders, 445 P.3d 991 (Wyo. 2019). · cites it 2× “2008) ( Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-6-301 ); Bourke, ¶ 20, 305 P.”

State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Colley, 871 P.2d 191 (Wyo. 1994). · cites it 2× “See Wyo.Stat. § 1-6-301 (1988) (appointing Secretary of State as agent to receive service of process for nonresident motorists).”

Ryel v. Anderies, 4 P.3d 193 (Wyo. 2000). · cites it 4× “- Anderies contends that the tolling statute does not pertain in this instance because Ryel could have served Anderies pursuant to Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-6-301 (a) (Lexis 1999) by serving the Secretary of State.”

Am. Fam. Ins. Co. v. Bowen, 959 P.2d 1199 (Wyo. 1998). · cites it 4× “Bowen attempted to serve Harris with process by following the procedure set out in Wyoming’s nonresident motorist statute, Wyo. Stat. § 1-6-301 (1997). He served the Secretary of State with copies of the complaint and summons, but his efforts to serve Harris by mail were not…”

State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. v. Dyer, 19 F.3d 514 (10th Cir. 1994). “For reasons that follow, we need not reach this issue of the challenge to the service on Dyer attempted under the long-arm statute.”

Miller v. Johnson, 639 F. App'x 558 (10th Cir. 2016). · cites it 5× “The issue we must decide is whether Wyoming’s nonresident motorist statute, Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-6-301 (a), covered Johnson, a Wyoming resident who remained in the state but could not be found for personal service by Miller and Thompson.”

— Wyo. Stat. § 1-6-301(a) — 1 case

Midway Oil Corp. v. Guess, 714 P.2d 339 (Wyo. 1986). “1977, as apparently copied from the Wyoming Business Corporation Act, with two comparable statutes providing for agency service on nonresident motorists, § 1-6-301, W.S. 1977, 1985 Cum.Supp., and insurance companies, § 26-3-122, W.”

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