When Civ.R. 4.3 or Civ.R. 4.4 or both allow service upon a person outside this state and service is to be effected in a foreign country, service of the summons and complaint shall be made as provided in this rule.
Rule 4.5.Process: Alternative Provisions for Service in a Foreign Country
Last amended July 1, 2014 · Last verified July 1, 2026
In one sentenceRule 4.5 governs service on a defendant who must be reached in a foreign country — a Hague Convention method when the country has signed that treaty, and a menu of backup options, such as the foreign country’s own procedure, a letter rogatory, personal delivery, or mail with a signed receipt, when it has not.
Full Text of Rule 4.5
A Hague Convention Signatory
If the foreign country is a signatory to the Hague Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters, service shall be pursuant to a method allowed by the Articles of that Convention, including any method allowed by Article 8 or Article 10 to which the foreign country has not objected in accordance with Article 21.
B Other cases
In all cases to which division (A) does not apply, service may be made in a manner provided by Civ.R. 4.3(B)(1) or, if applicable, Civ.R. 4.4, and may also be made:
1 In the manner prescribed by the law of the foreign country for service in that country in an action in any of its courts of general jurisdiction when service is calculated to give actual notice;
2 As directed by the foreign authority in response to a letter rogatory when service is calculated to give actual notice;
3 Upon an individual by delivery to him or her personally;
4 Upon a corporation or partnership or association by delivery to an officer, a managing or general agent;
5 By any form of delivery requiring a signed receipt, when the clerk of the court addresses the delivery to the party to be served and delivers the summons to the person who will make the service;
6 As directed by order of the court.
Service under division (B)(3) or (B)(6) of this rule may be made by any person not less than eighteen years of age who is not a party and who has been designated by order of the court, or by the foreign court. On request the clerk shall deliver the summons to the plaintiff for transmission to the person or the foreign court or officer who will make the service.
C Return
Proof of service may be made as prescribed by Civ.R. 4.1(B), or by the law of the foreign country, or by order of the court. Failure to make service within the twenty- eight-day period and failure to make proof of service do not affect the validity of service.
When delivery is made pursuant to division (B)(5) of this rule, proof of service shall include a receipt signed by the addressee or other evidence of delivery to the addressee satisfactory to the court.
Amendment History
Effective Date: July 1, 1970
Amended: July 1, 1997; July 1, 2012; July 1, 2014
Staff Note (July 1, 1997 Amendment)
Rule 4.5 Process Alternative provisions for service in a foreign country
The 1997 amendment changed a cross-reference in division (B) necessitated by the relettering of Civ.R. 4.1, also effective July 1, 1997. Other amendments to this rule are nonsubstantive grammatical or stylistic changes.
Staff Note (July 1, 2012 Amendment)
Rule 4.5 is amended to provide that when service is to be made in a foreign country that is a signatory to the Hague Convention, the provisions of that Convention supersede the other methods for service in a foreign country that are described in the rule. Pursuant to the 2012 amendments to Civ.R. 4.1(A) and Civ.R. 4.3(B)(1), delivery by commercial carrier service, requiring a signed receipt, is also authorized when the Hague Convention does not apply.
Staff Note (July 1, 2014 Amendment)
Rule 4.5(C) is amended to be consistent with the provision of Civ.R. 4.1(B) relating to personal service within the state which specifies, “Failure to make service within the twenty-eight-day period and failure to make proof of service do not affect the validity of service.”
Plain-English Summary
This rule only comes into play once Rule 4.3 or Rule 4.4 already authorizes service outside Ohio and that service must happen in another country. If the country is a signatory to the Hague Service Convention, division (A) requires using a method the Convention allows, including any method under Article 8 or Article 10 the country has not formally objected to.
For every other country, division (B) offers several paths: service under that country’s own procedure for its courts, service through a letter rogatory, personal delivery to an individual, delivery to an officer or agent of a corporation or partnership, delivery by any mail requiring a signed receipt, or whatever method the court orders. A non-party at least eighteen years old, or the foreign court itself, can carry out several of these methods.
Division (C) accepts a signed receipt or other satisfactory evidence as proof of service, and, as with service inside the United States, missing the twenty-eight-day window or delaying proof of service does not by itself invalidate service that was otherwise properly made.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the Hague Convention control service on a defendant overseas?
Yes, if the foreign country has signed the Hague Service Convention. In that case, service must be made by a method the Convention allows, and that requirement overrides the rule’s other listed methods.
What if the foreign country has not joined the Hague Convention?
Rule 4.5(B) then allows several alternatives: the foreign country’s own method for serving its own court papers, a letter rogatory, personal or corporate delivery, mail requiring a signed receipt, or a method the court specifically orders.
Does service abroad have to happen within twenty-eight days?
No particular urgency is required. Failing to complete service within twenty-eight days, or failing to promptly file proof of service, does not by itself affect the validity of service made under this rule.
Source & verification. The rule text, Effective Date, Amended dates, and Staff Notes are reproduced verbatim from the
official Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure (Ohio R. Civ. P. 4.5). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of Ohio (Ohio Constitution, Art. IV, § 5(B)). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 1, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: foreign serviceHague Convention serviceservice abroadletters rogatory