Rule 4.10.Summons: Service upon Secretary of State or other governmental agent
Current through July 1, 2026 · Last verified July 13, 2026
In one sentenceRule 4.10 spells out the two-step process for serving a lawsuit through the Secretary of State or another government office that state law names as an agent for accepting service on someone’s behalf, from the request the plaintiff files through the agent’s duty to mail the papers on.
Full Text of Rule 4.10
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(A)1 In general. Whenever, under these rules or any statute, service is made upon the Secretary of State or any other governmental organization or officer, as agent for the person being served, service may be made upon such agent as provided in this rule.
(1)The person seeking service or his attorney shall:
(a)submit his request for service upon the agent in the praecipe for summons, and state that the governmental organization or officer is the agent of the person being served;
(b)state the address of the person being served as filed and recorded pursuant to a statute or valid agreement, or if no such address is known, then his last known mailing address, and, if no such address is known, then such shall be stated;
(c)pay any fee prescribed by statute to be forwarded together with sufficient copies of the summons, affidavit and complaint, to the agent by the clerk of the court.
(2)Upon receipt thereof the agent shall promptly:
(a)send to the person being served a copy of the summons and complaint by registered or certified mail or by other public means by which a written acknow- ledgment of receipt may be obtained;
(b)complete and deliver to the clerk an affidavit showing the date of the mailing, or if there was no mailing, the reason therefor;
(c)send to the clerk a copy of the return receipt along with a copy of the summons;
(d)file and retain a copy of the return receipt. 1 This rule contains no Subd. (B).
Amendment History
This rule’s current text took effect January 1, 1970. For the full history of earlier amendments and adoption orders, see the Indiana Office of Court Services.
Plain-English Summary
Indiana law sometimes designates a government office — most often the Secretary of State — as the person authorized to accept a lawsuit’s summons on someone else’s behalf. Dozens of Indiana statutes work this way: an out-of-state driver involved in a car accident, a corporation that never appointed a local agent, or an insurance company doing business here can all end up with the Secretary of State standing in as their agent for service. Rule 4.10 fills in the mechanics of how that hand-off works once a statute or another trial rule points to a governmental agent.
Section (A) splits the job into two halves. First, the person suing (or the attorney) has to do three things when requesting the summons: ask for service on the agent in the praecipe, tell the court that the government office is the legal agent for the person being sued, and give the address where that person can be found — the address on file under the statute or agreement that made the office an agent, or, failing that, the best last-known address, or a statement that no address is known at all. The requesting party also pays whatever fee the law sets for this kind of service, along with copies of the summons, affidavit, and complaint for the clerk to forward.
Second, once the agent gets those papers from the clerk, the rule requires four things done promptly: mail a copy of the summons and complaint to the person being served by registered or certified mail, or another method that produces a written receipt; fill out and send the clerk an affidavit noting when the mailing happened, or explaining why it did not; send the clerk a copy of the return receipt along with a copy of the summons; and keep a copy of that receipt on file. The rule has no separate lettered subdivision (B); everything sits under section (A).
Frequently Asked Questions
Who counts as a governmental agent under Rule 4.10?
Anyone a statute or another trial rule designates to accept service on someone else’s behalf — most commonly the Secretary of State, but the rule is written broadly enough to cover any government organization or officer given that role. Rule 4.10 does not create these agency relationships; it only supplies the procedure once a separate law has already made the government office an agent for a particular person or company.
What has to go in the praecipe when requesting service on a governmental agent?
The person seeking service, or the attorney, must ask for service on the agent, state that the government office is legally the agent of the person being sued, and give that person’s address — the one on file under the statute or agreement that created the agency, the last known address if no filed address exists, or a statement that no address is known at all. Any statutory fee for this kind of service, along with enough copies of the summons, affidavit, and complaint, goes to the clerk to forward to the agent.
What does the Secretary of State, or other agent, have to do after receiving the papers?
The agent must act promptly: mail a copy of the summons and complaint to the person being served by registered or certified mail, or another method that produces a written acknowledgment of receipt; complete and return an affidavit to the clerk showing the date of mailing, or explaining why none occurred; send the clerk a copy of the return receipt along with a copy of the summons; and keep a copy of the receipt on file.
What if the address of the person being served isn’t known?
Rule 4.10 still allows the request to go forward. The person seeking service states the address on file under the statute or agreement, or, if that’s unavailable, the last known mailing address, or, if even that is unknown, says so plainly in the request — the rule does not require a diligent search before falling back on agent service the way service by publication under Rule 4.13 does.
Is there a Rule 4.10(B)?
No. Everything in Rule 4.10 sits under section (A); the rule was written without a separate lettered subdivision (B).
How is service on a governmental agent different from mailing a summons directly to someone?
Rule 4.11 governs the mechanics of the mailing itself — what the return has to show, what happens if the mail comes back unclaimed. Rule 4.10 sits above that: it tells the clerk and the agent who gets the papers first, the government office rather than the person being sued, and what the agent must do before the mailing under Rule 4.11 even happens.
Source & verification. The rule text is reproduced verbatim from the
official Indiana Rules of Trial Procedure (T.R. 4.10). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of Indiana, under its inherent constitutional rulemaking power (reaffirmed by Ind. Code 34-8-1-1 and 34-8-2-1); originally enacted by the Indiana General Assembly in 1969. The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 13, 2026. ·
Official source
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