Rule 355.Methods of Service

Last amended July 1, 2019 · Last verified July 1, 2026

In one sentenceRule 355 sets out how papers must be served in the expedited process, covering personal delivery, mail, publication, and electronic service, and requires proof of that service, usually by affidavit, before the court will act on whatever was filed.

Full Text of Rule 355

Text sizeJump to: (355.01) (355.02) (355.03) (355.04)

355.01 Generally

Subdivision 1. Service Required. Except for ex parte motions allowed by statute or these rules, every document filed with the court shall be served on all parties and the county agency.

Subd. 2. Service Upon Attorney for Party. If a party, other than the county agency, is represented by an attorney as shown by a certificate of representation in the court file, service shall be made upon the party’s attorney, unless personal service upon the represented party is required under these rules. Except where personal service upon the county agency is required under these rules, service upon the county agency shall be accomplished by serving the county attorney.

355.02 Types of Service

Subdivision 1. Personal Service.

(a) Upon Whom.

(1) Upon an Individual. Personal service upon an individual in the state shall be accomplished by delivering a copy of the summons and complaint, notice, motion, or other document to the individual personally or by leaving a copy at the individual’s house or usual place of residence with some person of suitable age and discretion who presently lives at that location. If the individual has, pursuant to statute, consented to any other method of service or appointed an agent to receive service, or if a statute designates a state official to receive service, service may be made in the manner provided by such statute. If the individual is confined to a state institution, personal service shall be accomplished by also serving a copy of the document upon the chief executive officer at the institution. Personal service upon an individual outside the state shall be accomplished according to the provisions of Minn. Stat. ch. 518C (2000) and Minn. Stat. § 543.19 (2000). Personal service may not be made on a legal holiday or election day.

(2) Upon the County Agency. Personal service upon the county agency shall be accomplished by serving the director of the county human services department or the director’s designee.

(b) By Whom Served. Unless otherwise ordered by the child support magistrate, personal service shall be made only by the sheriff or by any other person who is at least 18 years of age who is not a party to the proceeding. Pursuant to Minn. Stat. § 518A.46, subd. 2(c)(4) (2006), an employee of the county agency may serve documents on parties.

(1) Admission or Acknowledgement or Waiver of Service. Service may be accomplished when the party to be served signs an admission or waives service as provided in Minn. R. Civ. P. 4.05.

(2) Service by Publication.

(A) Service. Service by publication means the publication of the entire summons or notice in the regular issue of a qualified newspaper, once each week for 3 weeks. Service by publication shall be permitted only upon order of a child support magistrate. The child support magistrate may order service by publication upon the filing of an affidavit by the serving party or the serving party’s attorney stating that the person to be served is not a resident of the state or cannot be found within the state, the efforts that have been made to locate the other party, and either that the serving party has mailed a copy of the summons or notice to the other party’s place of residence or that such residence is not known to the serving party. When the person to be served is not a resident of the state, statutory requirements regarding long-arm jurisdiction shall be met.

(B) Defense by Noninitiating Party. If the summons or notice is served by publication and the noninitiating party receives no actual notification of the proceeding, either before judgment or within one year of entry of judgment the noninitiating party may seek relief pursuant to Minn. R. Civ. P. 4.043.

Subd. 2. Service by United States Mail. Service by United States mail means mailing a copy of the document by first-class mail, postage prepaid, addressed to the person to be served at the person’s last known address. Service by mail shall be made only by the sheriff or by any other person who is at least 18 years of age who is not a party to the proceeding. Pursuant to Minn. Stat. § 518A.46, subd. 2(c)(4) (2006), an employee of the county agency may serve documents on the parties.

Subd. 3. Service by Electronic Means. Unless these rules require personal service, any document may be served by electronic means under Rule 14 upon any party who has agreed to or is required to accept service by electronic means.

355.03 Completion of Service Personal service is complete upon delivery of the document. Service by U.S. mail is complete upon mailing. Service by publication is complete 21 days after the first publication. Completion of service by electronic means under Rule 14 is governed by Rule 14 of these rules.

355.04 Proof of Service

Subdivision 1. Parties. All documents filed with the court shall be accompanied by an affidavit of service, an acknowledgment of service by the party or party’s attorney if served by alternative service, or, if served by publication, by the affidavit of the printer or the printer’s designee. An affidavit of service shall describe what was served, state how the document was served, upon whom it was served, and the date, time, and place of service. When a document has been served through the E-Filing System in accordance with Rule 14, the record of service on the E-Filing System shall constitute proof of service.

Subd. 2. Court Administrator. If the court administrator is required or permitted under these rules to serve a document, service may be proved by filing an affidavit of service, by filing a copy of the written notice, or by making a notation in the court’s computerized records that service was made.

End

Advisory Committee Comments

Advisory Committee Comment–2008 Amendment

Rule 355.02, subds. 1 & 2, are amended to reflect the recodification, effective on January 1, 2007, of portions of the relevant statutes, that became part of Minn. Stat. ch. 518A.

Advisory Committee Comment–2019 Amendment

Rule 355.02, subd. 1(c)(1), is amended to reflect the amendment of Rule 4.05 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, effective July 1, 2018, to create a new means of obtaining consent to service under the rule. The former rule’s reference to “service by mail” is potentially misleading, as the procedure set forth in the rule only accomplished service if the party to be served returned the acknowledgment of service.

Amendment History

(Amended effective July 1, 2015.)
(Amended effective July 1, 2019.)
(Amended effective July 1, 2015.)
(Amended effective July 1, 2015.)

Plain-English Summary

Rule 355 requires that every document filed with the court also be served on the other parties and the county agency, with one shortcut: if a party has a lawyer of record, service goes to the lawyer rather than the party directly, unless these rules specifically require personal service on the party. Service on the county agency likewise goes through the county attorney rather than the caseworker, except where these rules specifically require personal service on the county agency itself, which must then go to the director of the county human services department.

The rule recognizes several ways to accomplish that service. Personal service means handing the papers to someone directly or leaving them at a home with a person old enough and sensible enough to receive them, and it cannot happen on a legal holiday or election day. A sheriff or any adult who is not a party can make personal service, and county agency employees may serve documents themselves. When someone cannot be found, service by publication in a newspaper is available, but only with a magistrate's order and a supporting affidavit describing the search that was made. Mail service works too, using first-class postage to the person's last known address, and so does electronic service under the court's e-filing system for parties who have agreed to accept it that way.

None of this matters unless it can be proven. Every filed document needs proof that service happened: an affidavit describing what was served, how, on whom, and when, or an acknowledgment of service where the rules allow it, or the printer's affidavit when service was by publication. Filing through the court's electronic system automatically creates that proof, so no separate affidavit is needed in that situation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who gets served when I file a document in the expedited process?

Every party and the county agency must be served, unless the document is for an ex parte motion the statute or rules allow without notice. If a party is represented by an attorney of record, service goes to the attorney instead of the party directly, unless personal service on that party is specifically required elsewhere in these rules. The same kind of exception applies to the county agency: routine service goes to the county attorney, but personal service on the county agency, when these rules require it, must go to the director of the county human services department instead.

Can papers be served on someone at their home if they are not there?

Yes. Personal service can be made by leaving a copy at the person's house or usual place of residence with someone of suitable age and discretion who lives there, rather than handing it to the person directly.

What happens if the other party cannot be located to be served?

A party can ask a child support magistrate to allow service by publication in a qualified newspaper, supported by an affidavit describing the efforts made to locate the other party and stating that person's residence is unknown or outside the state.

Can documents be served by mail in the expedited process?

Yes, as long as it is sent first-class, postage prepaid, to the person's last known address, and the mailing is done by the sheriff or by any other person at least 18 years old who is not a party to the case.

How do I prove that I served the other party?

File an affidavit of service describing what was served, how, on whom, and when, unless the rules allow an acknowledgment of service instead, or, for service by publication, the printer's affidavit. Serving a document through the court's electronic filing system creates its own proof automatically.

Source & verification. The rule text and Advisory Committee Comments are reproduced verbatim from the official Minnesota Rules of Family Court Procedure (Minn. R. Gen. Prac. 355). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of Minnesota (Minn. Stat. § 480.051). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 1, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: how to serve documents expedited processpersonal service child support caseservice by publication child supportproof of service affidavit requirementelectronic service Rule 14 child support