CORE ISSUE

SUMMARY: Legislation providing for the licensure and regulation of private process servers was introduced in the 1994 and 1995 sessions of the Maryland General Assembly. In each case, the bill failed to get a favorable recommendation from the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee.  Since then, no bills of a similar nature have been submitted.

Process servers have an important role in the legal system by providing a reliable method of delivering papers and documents from one party to another party in civil actions. Service of process may be made by sheriffs or by any other competent adult, or by registered mail. Regulations on service of process are specified in the Maryland Rules, Title 2. The amount of fees charged for service of process varies across the state. Some process servers charge a fee plus expenses, while other providers have a flat schedule of costs.

Under the provisions of the proposal introduced in the legislature, all private process servers would be supervised by the superintendent of the State Police who would be authorized to adopt regulations to enforce the law. All applicants for private process server licenses would be subject to background investigations and be required to pay a licensing fee of $400 (renewal fees would be $200) that would be deposited in the State's General Fund. Sheriffs, local police, and certified private investigators and their employees would be exempt from the licensing requirements.

The underlying purpose of the bill was to provide a method of limiting the number of individuals entitled to be process servers, and thereby enabling those who were licensed to increase their fees. During testimony on the proposal, supporters could not offer any reliable information as to significant problems with the existing service of process system other than a few anecdotal accounts of process servers who had exploited their positions to gain unauthorized access to homes and businesses. Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee members were not persuaded by these stories and rejected the bill.

MSBA 2002 POSITION: Oppose all legislation that would provide for the licensure of private process servers.

SAMPLE LEGISLATION:
Senate Bill 435, General Assembly of Maryland, 1995

Return to 2002 Final State Legislative Program Table of Contents

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