A copy of the summons and petition shall be served together except when service is by publication.
Rule 54.04.Summons--Service.
Part I · Rule 54: Issuance and Service of Summons or Other Process · Last amended September 1, 1973 · Last verified July 22, 2026
In one sentenceExcept when service happens by publication, the summons and the petition must be served together as a single package, so a defendant who is personally or otherwise served always receives both documents at once.
Full Text of Rule 54.04
Amendment History
Adopted Jan. 19, 1973, eff. Sept. 1, 1973.
Plain-English Summary
Rule 54.04 is short but sets a firm pairing rule: the copy of the summons and the copy of the petition travel together. A defendant should not receive a bare summons without knowing what the lawsuit is about, and should not receive a petition without the formal notice that a case has been filed against them.
The one exception is service by publication. Because publication reaches an unknown or hard-to-locate party through a newspaper notice instead of physical delivery of documents, the notice itself carries the required content — under Rule 54.12 — instead of a literal copy of the summons and petition being handed over together.
In every other method of service — personal service in the state under Rule 54.13, service outside the state under Rule 54.14, mail-based acknowledgment under Rule 54.16, or service on a corporation or other entity — the summons and petition go out as a pair. This keeps the defendant’s notice complete: knowledge that a case exists and knowledge of what the plaintiff is claiming arrive together.
Frequently Asked Questions
Must a defendant receive the petition along with the summons?
Yes. Rule 54.04 requires that a copy of the summons and the petition be served together.
Is there an exception to serving the summons and petition together?
Yes, when service is by publication. In that case notice runs through a published notice under Rule 54.12 instead of physical delivery of both documents together.
Does this rule apply to service on a corporation the same way it applies to an individual?
Yes. Whatever method of service is used under Rule 54, the summons and petition travel together except in the publication scenario.
Why does the rule require both documents to go out at the same time?
So a defendant who is served gets both formal notice that a case has been filed and the substance of what is being claimed, not one without the other.
Does Rule 54.04 govern how service is carried out?
No, it only addresses what must be served together. The methods of service — personal, out-of-state, mail, or publication — are governed by the other Rule 54 provisions.
Source & verification. Rule text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Missouri State & Federal Court Rules, adopted by the
Supreme Court of Missouri. Last verified July 22, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: serving summons and petition togetherservice of process packagewhat must be servedservice by publication exception