PS 101 – Chapter 6 – Article 1 – Service of Small Claims Actions

RCW 12.40.040
Service of notice of claim — Fee.
The notice of claim can be served either as provided for the service of summons or complaint and notice in civil actions or by registered or certified mail if a return receipt with the signature of the party being served is filed with the court. No other legal document or process is to be served with the notice of claim. Information from the court regarding the small claims department, local small claims procedure, dispute resolution services, or other matters related to litigation in the small claims department may be included with the notice of claim when served.
The notice of claim shall be served promptly after filing the claim. Service must be complete at least ten days prior to the first hearing.
The person serving the notice of claim shall be entitled to receive from the plaintiff, besides mileage, the fee specified in RCW 36.18.040 for such service; which sum, together with the filing fee set forth in RCW 12.40.020, shall be added to any judgment given for plaintiff.

According to RCW 12.40.040 a Notice of Claim may be served in one of two ways.

• “…as provided for the service of summons or complaint…” This refers to all the various RCW’s (4.28.080 et al) and court rules which deal with service of the summons and will therefore depend on the nature of the defendant (person, corporation, or other entity) and the nature of the case itself.
   
• “…by registered or certified mail if a return receipt with the signature of the party being served…” Thus a small claims action is one of the few pieces of original process for which service may be accomplished by mail. The mailing must be either registered or certified and the return receipt must contain the signature of the target. This last point is important to note. The Post Office refers to this as “restricted delivery” and there is a small extra fee imposed by the Post Office for handling the mailing in this fashion. If the postman obtains the signature of someone not the target then service has not been accomplished.

The time frame imposed for service is “at least ten days prior to the first hearing.” These are calendar days. This is important to note when receiving an assignment to serve this type of document. It is important to monitor the deadline carefully and notify the client if it can’t be met. Most courts will grant a new hearing date if the plaintiff requests it and will usually do so by telephone. If a new date is needed be sure the client provides it to you.

The ten day requirement also comes into play if service needs to be accomplished under RCW 4.28.080(17), usually referred to as a P17 service. This allows for service at a place where the defendant receives his mail. It might be a private mail receiving service, a friend or relative’s home, or any location other than a US Post Office. This section imposes an additional ten day waiting period and a mailing before the service is considered complete. Thus, if the hearing is on the 31st of the month, the normal ten day requirement puts the deadline for service on the 21st, but if service is made as a P17 then the deadline is pushed back an additional ten days to the 11th.

Service Instructions Summary

Present the documents to:

NOTE: A Notice of Small Claim is issued with a return date. The deadline for service is 10 calendar days prior to the return date. Proper time computation is vital.

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