Rule 54.01.Clerk to Issue Process--Separate or Additional Summons.

Rule 54.01 puts the clerk’s office at the front end of every case that needs service of process. As soon as a party files a pleading that requires it, the clerk has to issue the summons or other process without delay. There is no waiting period and no discretion to sit on the paperwork — the pleading triggers the duty.

The clerk does not necessarily serve the summons personally. Instead, the clerk delivers it to whoever will carry out service: the sheriff, a person the court has specially appointed to serve it, or the filing party itself, if that party has asked the clerk to hand the summons over directly. Whoever receives the summons from the clerk then takes on the job of serving it promptly, along with a copy of the pleading and any other paper that needs to go out with it.

The rule also covers situations where one summons is not enough. If a party needs a separate or additional summons — say, because a defendant needs to be served a second time, or because multiple defendants require multiple copies — the clerk issues whatever is requested. This keeps the mechanics of getting process out the door plain and puts the responsibility for actual delivery on a clearly identified person instead of leaving it in limbo.