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Civil Process | Civil Process General Info |
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What does the Civil Process office do? The Worcester County Sheriff’s Civil Process Office is responsible for serving civil process and making civil arrests throughout Worcester County. There is an office in Worcester to accommodate for the high volume of civil process that needs to be served each day. The employees of this office are Deputy Sheriffs and are well trained and have extensive experience in the requirements and ramifications of serving Civil Process. Who should call the Civil Process office? Any individual that needs to have papers served (including legal documents, letters, notice of court dates, and eviction notices), should contact the office either in person or by telephone. If you have questions regarding papers you received from court or papers that you have had served by our office, feel free to call our office and we will answer any questions to the best of our ability. While we are not allowed to give legal advice, we can often advise you regarding legal procedures, including the process of evicting a tenant from your apartment or house. How do I contact the Civil Process office? What are their hours of operation? Worcester Civil Process Office 146 Main St., 2nd Floor Worcester, MA 01608 508.752.1100 508.752.3588 - fax Monday - Friday, 8:30 am - 4:45 pm All correspondence should be mailed to: Worcester County Sheriff's Office Worcester Civil Process Division P.O. Box 1066 Worcester, MA 01613 How are papers served? Trained Deputy Sheriffs will deliver papers to the individual being served either by serving in hand or by leaving “last and usual”, depending on the rules and regulations guiding Massachusetts’ Civil Process. A “last and usual” service consists of the Deputy Sheriff going to the last known address of the person being served, and if the individual is not home, leaving the document at the house or apartment. In the case of this type of service, a copy of the document is also mailed to the individual by First Class mail. How do I know when my papers have been served? After the service has been completed, the Deputy Sheriffs will complete and type out a return of service for the document, which is an affidavit stating exactly how and when the service was completed. The affidavit will be attached to the original document (copies of the documents are always served), and the original will either be returned directly to court for filing and a copy will be sent to the Plaintiff and/or Attorney, or if requested, the original will be sent directly to the Plaintiff/Attorney. What are the fees for service? There is a fee involved for the delivery of all civil process, which depends on the type of service, the type of document, the number of individuals being served, and the town or city that it is being delivered to. Please call the office for the exact cost of a particular service. What should I do if I have a Capias? Plaintiffs and Attorneys who have gone to court and have been issued a Capias against a Defendant for funds owed can either send in or drop off the Capias at the office with the fee for service. Deputy Sheriffs will make all possible attempts to contact the Defendant, by telephone and mail and by visits to the individual’s home and workplace, if necessary, to either set the Defendant up for a court date or to collect the entire amount owed. If we arrange a court date with the Defendant, we will contact the other parties involved in the case so that they can make arrangements to be in court on that date. If the amount owed is collected in full, we will either call you or send you a check for the amount. If all attempts to collect the money and to get the Defendant into court have been unsuccessful, you can opt to have the individual arrested for an additional fee. The Defendant can be arrested at home or a workplace. Please be aware, however, that a Physical Arrest will only guarantee that we will get the Defendant into court – we have no control over any judicial decisions or payments once he or she is in court. Furthermore, if you have a Capias against a business or organization, it will be necessary to go to court and have an individual’s name added to the Capias in order to make a Physical Arrest. In order to properly serve the Capias, we will need from you:
How long does it take to deliver a document? Our office takes great care to ensure that services are delivered promptly and in accordance with the rules and regulations of Massachusetts. Usually, documents are served either the same day or the next day from when they are received. In order to ensure that a service is delivered on a particular day, it needs to be in the office by 10:00 AM at the latest. While we do our best to ensure a speedy delivery of all documents, services that need to be in hand can take longer if an individual is avoiding service or being unresponsive. A Capias is also not on the same timetable as other services and may take several months due to the high volume of Capii that come in on a daily basis. Which towns are served? Auburn, Barre, Berlin, Blackstone, Bolton, Boylston, Brookfield, Charlton, Clinton, Douglas, Dudley, East Brookfield, Grafton, Hardwick, Harvard, Holden, Hopedale, Lancaster, Leicester, Mendon, Milford, Millbury, Millville, New Braintree, North Brookfield, Northborough, Oakham, Oxford, Paxton, Princeton, Rochdale, Rutland, Shrewsbury, Southborough, Southbridge, Spencer, Sterling, Sturbridge, Sutton, Upton, Uxbridge, Warren, Webster, West Boylston, West Brookfield, Westborough, Whitinsville, Worcester, Ashburnham, Athol, Fitchburg, Gardner, Hubbardston, Leominster, Lunenburg, Petersham, Phillipston, Royalston, Templeton, Westminster, Winchendon |