A summons may be served by personal delivery of a copy of the summons and of the complaint to the person to be served. Service of a summons in this manner is deemed complete at the time of such delivery. The date upon which personal delivery is made shall be entered on or affixed to the face of the copy of the summons at the time of its delivery. However, service of a summons without such date shall be valid and effective.
§ 415.10.Personal Delivery
Title 5. Jurisdiction and Service of Process · Chapter 4. Service of Summons · Article 3. Manner of Service of Summons · Last amended 1976 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 415.10 governs personal service — handing a copy of the summons and complaint directly to the person being served — which is deemed complete the moment that delivery happens.
Full Text of § 415.10
Plain-English Summary
Section 415.10 describes the most direct method of service: personal delivery of a copy of the summons and of the complaint to the person to be served. Service in this manner is deemed complete at the time of delivery — there is no waiting period, and no separate mailing step required, unlike the substituted-service and mail methods elsewhere in this article.
The section calls for the date of personal delivery to be entered on or affixed to the face of the summons copy at the time of delivery. That date is a practical convenience for the record, not a condition of valid service — the statute expressly states that service without the date on the summons is still valid and effective.
Personal delivery under § 415.10 is the baseline method every other manner of service in this article departs from. Substituted service under § 415.20 is available only in lieu of, or when reasonable diligence cannot achieve, personal delivery under this section.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is personal service of a California summons considered complete?
Section 415.10 provides that service by personal delivery is deemed complete at the time the copy of the summons and complaint is delivered to the person being served.
Does the summons have to show the date it was personally delivered?
The date should be entered on or affixed to the summons at the time of delivery, but § 415.10 states that service without that date is still valid and effective.
Is personal delivery the only way to serve someone in California?
Amendment History
Amended by Stats. 1976, Ch. 789.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
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