Rule 4-I.Service by Publication

When a defendant cannot be reached through the standard methods in Rule 4, DC Superior Court may authorize notice by publication instead. Rule 4-I governs how that publication must happen: the notice must run for the prescribed time — set by the order or the law that requires publication in that case — in at least one legal newspaper or periodical of daily circulation, and in any additional newspaper or periodical the court specifically designates.

Not just any publication qualifies. Rule 4-I(c) defines a qualifying legal newspaper or periodical as one devoted primarily to publishing opinions, notices, and other information from DC's courts, circulated generally to the legal community, and published on every weekday the Superior Court is in session. That three-part definition keeps publication service tied to outlets the legal community and the public can reasonably expect to find court notices in, rather than any general-circulation paper.

Proof that publication happened comes from an affidavit sworn by an officer or agent of the publisher, stating the dates the notice ran, with a copy of the order as published attached. Because publication can be costly, Rule 4(e)(4) gives the court a further option in appropriate cases: where a plaintiff cannot afford the cost of publishing without substantial financial hardship, the court may allow the publication requirement to be satisfied instead by posting the order on the court's own website.