(a) Summons. — Upon the filing of the complaint, the clerk shall issue forthwith a summons for each defendant and, as directed by the plaintiff, shall either deliver it, together with a copy of each paper filed, to the plaintiff or to the sheriff or mail it to the defendant by certified mail pursuant to Rule 3-121. Upon request of the plaintiff, more than one summons shall issue for a defendant.
Rule 3-112.Process — Issuance of summons
District Court · Last amended January 1, 2004 · Last verified July 13, 2026
In one sentenceOnce a District Court complaint is filed, the clerk issues a summons for each defendant right away and, depending on what the plaintiff wants, hands it to the plaintiff, to the sheriff, or mails it to the defendant by certified mail.
Full Text of Rule 3-112
(b) Delivery to another county. — When process is to be served by the sheriff of another county, the clerk may send the process to that sheriff for service. If a party requests personal delivery of the process at that party’s expense to the sheriff of another county, the clerk shall furnish the process to a person designated by the party and approved by the clerk to make delivery.
Amendment History
Amended Nov. 12, 2003, effective Jan. 1, 2004.
Committee Note & Source
Source. This Rule is derived as follows: Section (a) is derived from former M.D.R. 103 c and e and the 1980 version of Fed. R. Civ. P. 4 (a). Section (b) is derived from former Rule 103 j.
Plain-English Summary
Section (a) puts the clerk on the hook to issue a summons for every defendant as soon as the complaint is filed — there's no waiting period. What happens to that summons next depends on the plaintiff's instructions: the clerk can deliver it to the plaintiff to arrange service, hand it to the sheriff, or mail it directly to the defendant by certified mail under Rule 3-121. A plaintiff can also ask for more than one summons against the same defendant if that's useful — for example, to attempt service by more than one method.
Compare this to the circuit courts under Rule 2-112, where the clerk delivers the summons only to the sheriff or another person the plaintiff designates — there's no certified-mail option built into that rule, and no option to hand it straight to the plaintiff. The District Court's broader menu of delivery methods, including certified mail service under Rule 3-121, fits its docket of smaller, more summary civil matters where a faster, less formal path to service is often available.
Section (b) covers service in a county other than where the case is filed. The clerk can forward the process to the sheriff of that county, or, if a party is willing to pay for personal delivery, the clerk can hand the process to someone the party designates and the clerk approves, for hand delivery to the out-of-county sheriff.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the District Court clerk mail the summons directly to the defendant?
Yes. Under section (a), the clerk can mail the summons to the defendant by certified mail under Rule 3-121, in addition to the traditional options of delivering it to the plaintiff or the sheriff. That certified-mail option isn't available under the circuit courts' parallel rule, Rule 2-112.
How is this different from how the circuit court issues a summons?
Rule 2-112 in the circuit courts routes the summons only to the sheriff or a person the plaintiff designates for service. Rule 3-112 in the District Court adds two more paths — delivery straight to the plaintiff and mailing by certified mail — giving District Court plaintiffs more flexibility in getting a defendant served.
Can I get more than one summons for the same defendant?
Yes, on request. This is useful when a plaintiff wants to try more than one method of service, or hold a backup summons in reserve in case the first attempt fails.
What if the defendant needs to be served in a different county?
The clerk sends the process to the sheriff of that county. If a party wants to pay for personal delivery instead of relying on the mail between counties, the clerk can release the process to a person the party designates, as long as the clerk approves that person.
Source & verification. Rule text, Committee Note, Source note, and
amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the Maryland Rules, adopted by the
Supreme Court of Maryland. Last verified July 13, 2026. ·
Official source
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