An individual, corporation, partnership, or association that is subject to service under Civ.R. 4 through 4.6 has a duty to avoid unnecessary expenses of serving the summons. The plaintiff may notify such a defendant that an action has been commenced and request that the defendant waive service of a summons. The notice and request must satisfy all of the following requirements:
1 Be in writing and be addressed as required by Civ.R. 4.2;
2 Name the court where the complaint was filed;
3 Be accompanied by a copy of the complaint, two copies of the waiver form appended to this Rule 4.7, and a prepaid means for returning the form;
4 Inform the defendant, using the form appended to this Rule 4.7, of the consequences of waiving and not waiving service;
5 State the date when the request is sent;
6 Give the defendant a reasonable time of at least twenty-eight days after the request was sent - or at least sixty days if sent to the defendant outside of the United States - to return the waiver;
7 Be sent by first-class mail or other reliable means.
The waiver of service provisions in this rule only apply in civil actions in the courts of common pleas, except that they do not apply to petitions seeking orders under Civ.R. 65.1 nor to domestic relations matters as defined in R.C. 3105.011.
If a defendant over which the court has personal jurisdiction fails, without good cause, to sign and return a waiver requested by a plaintiff, the court may impose on the defendant both of the following:
1 The expenses later incurred in making service;
2 The reasonable expenses, including attorney's fees, of any motion required to collect those service expenses.
D Time to answer after a waiver
A defendant who, before being served with process, timely returns a waiver need not serve an answer to the complaint until sixty days after the request was sent—or until ninety days after it was sent to the defendant in a foreign country.
E Results of filing a waiver
When the plaintiff files a waiver, proof of service is not required and these rules apply as if a summons and complaint had been served at the time of filing the waiver.
F Jurisdiction and venue not waived
Waiving service of a summons does not waive any objection to jurisdiction or to venue.
[Form] RULE 4.7 NOTICE OF A LAWSUIT AND REQUEST TO WAIVE SERVICE OF SUMMONS.
(Caption)
To (name the defendant or — if the defendant is a corporation, partnership, or association — name an officer or agent authorized to receive service):
WHY ARE YOU GETTING THIS?
A lawsuit has been filed against you, or the entity you represent, in this court under the number shown above. A copy of the complaint is attached.
This is not a summons, or an official notice from the court. It is a request that, to avoid expenses, you waive formal service of a summons by signing and returning the enclosed waiver. To avoid these possible expenses, you must return the signed waiver within (give at least 28 days or at least 60 days if the defendant is outside the United States) from the date shown below, which is the date this notice was sent. Two copies of the waiver form are enclosed, along with a stamped, self-addressed envelope or other prepaid means for returning one copy. You may keep the other copy.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
If you return the signed waiver, I will file it with the court. The action will then proceed as if you had been served on the date the waiver is filed, but no summons will be served on you and you will have 60 days from the date this notice is sent (see the date below) to answer the complaint (or 90 days if this notice is sent to you outside the United States).
If you do not return the signed waiver within the time indicated, I will arrange to have the summons and complaint served on you. And I will ask the court to require you, or the entity you represent, to pay the expenses of making service. Please read the enclosed statement about the duty to avoid unnecessary expenses.
I certify that this request is being sent to you on the date below.
Date: _____________________
Name of party requesting waiver of service of summons: ______________________
Individual issuing this request on behalf of that party:
Printed name: ____________________________
Signature: ________________________________
Address: _________________________________
E-mail address: _____________________________
Telephone number: __________________________
[Form] RULE 4.7 WAIVER OF THE SERVICE OF SUMMONS.
(Caption) To (name the plaintiff’s attorney or the unrepresented plaintiff):
I have received your request to waive service of a summons in this action along with a copy of the complaint, two copies of this waiver form, and a prepaid means of returning one signed copy of the form to you.
I, or the entity I represent, agree to save the expense of serving a summons and complaint in this case.
I understand that I, or the entity I represent, will keep all defenses or objections to the lawsuit, the court’s jurisdiction, and the venue of the action, but that I waive any objections to the absence of a summons or of service.
I also understand that I, or the entity I represent, must file and serve an answer or a motion under Rule 12 within 60 days from _____________________, the date when this request was sent (or 90 days if it was sent outside the United States). If I fail to do so, a default judgment could be entered against me or the entity I represent.
Name of party waiving service of summons: ________________________________
Individual signing on behalf of party waiving service of summons: Printed name: ____________________________
Relationship to party waiving service of summons: ________________________
Signature: ________________________________
Address: _________________________________
E-mail address: _____________________________
Telephone number: __________________________
(Attach the following)
DUTY TO AVOID UNNECESSARY EXPENSES OF SERVING A SUMMONS
Rule 4.7 of the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure requires certain defendants to cooperate in saving unnecessary expenses of serving a summons and complaint. A defendant who is subject to the court’s personal jurisdiction and who fails to return a signed waiver of service requested by a plaintiff may be required to pay the expenses of service, unless the defendant shows good cause for the failure.
“Good cause” does not include a belief that the lawsuit is groundless, or that it has been brought in an improper venue, or that the court has no jurisdiction over this matter or over the defendant or the defendant’s property.
If the waiver is signed and returned, you can still make these and all other defenses and objections, but you cannot object to the absence of a summons or of service.
If you waive service, then you must, within the time specified on the waiver form, serve an answer or a motion under Rule 12 on the plaintiff and file a copy with the court. By signing and returning the waiver form, you are allowed more time to respond than if a summons had been served.
Effective Date: July 1, 2020
Amended: July 1, 2022; July 2024
Staff Note (July 1, 2020 Amendment)
Rule 4.7 is based on the federal rule permitting waiver of service. Paragraph (A) states what the present rule implies: the defendant has a duty to avoid costs associated with the service of a summons not needed to inform the defendant regarding the commencement of an action. The text of the rule also sets forth the requirements for a Notice and Request for Waiver sufficient to put the cost-shifting provision in place. These requirements are illustrated in the forms appended to the rule. Pursuant to Rule 4(D), only those persons who are identified in Rule 4.2 and who are eighteen years of age or older and not under a disability may waive service. Paragraph (A)(7) permits the use of alternatives to the United States mails in sending the Notice and Request. While private messenger services or electronic communications may be more expensive than the mail, they may be equally reliable and on occasion more convenient to the parties. Especially with respect to transmissions to foreign countries, alternative means may be desirable, for in some countries facsimile transmission or electronic mail are the most efficient and economical means of communication. If electronic means such as facsimile transmission or electronic mail are employed, the sender should maintain a record of the transmission to assure proof of transmission if receipt is denied, but a party receiving such a transmission has a duty to cooperate and cannot avoid liability for the resulting cost of formal service if the transmission is prevented at the point of receipt.
A defendant failing to comply with a request for waiver shall be given an opportunity to show good cause for the failure, which is the case under paragraph (B), but sufficient cause should be rare. It is not a good cause for failure to waive service that the claim is unjust or that the court lacks jurisdiction. Sufficient cause not to shift the cost of service would exist, however, if the defendant did not receive the request or was insufficiently literate in English to understand it. It should be noted that the provisions for shifting the cost of service apply only if the defendant is subject to the court’s personal jurisdiction.
Paragraph (C) is a cost-shifting provision. The costs that may be imposed on the defendant could include, for example, the cost of the time of a process server required to make contact with a defendant residing in a guarded apartment house or residential development. The paragraph is explicit that the costs of enforcing the cost-shifting provision are themselves recoverable from a defendant who fails to return the waiver. In the absence of such a provision, the purpose of the rule would be frustrated by the cost of its enforcement, which is likely to be high in relation to the small benefit secured by the plaintiff.
Paragraph (D) extends the time for answer if, before being served with process, the defendant waives formal service. The extension is intended to serve as an inducement to waive service and to assure that a defendant will not gain any delay by declining to waive service and thereby causing the additional time needed to effect service. By waiving service, a defendant is not called upon to respond to the complaint until 60 days from the date the notice was sent to it—90 days if the notice was sent to a foreign country— rather than within the 28-day period from date of service specified in Rule 12.
Paragraph (E) clarifies the effective date of service when service is waived. The device of requested waiver of service is not suitable if a limitations period which is about to expire is not tolled by filing the action. Unless there is ample time, the plaintiff should proceed directly to the formal methods for service identified in Rules 4-4.6.
The procedure of requesting waiver of service should also not be used if the time for service under Rule 4(E) will expire before the date on which the waiver must be returned. The court could refuse a request for additional time unless the plaintiff can demonstrate good cause as to why service was not made within that period. It may be noted that the presumptive time limit for service under Rule 4(E) does not apply to out-of-state service or service in a foreign country.
Paragraph (F) of Rule 4.7 is explicit that a timely waiver of service of a summons does not prejudice the right of a defendant to object by means of a motion authorized by Rule 12(B) to the absence of jurisdiction, or to assert improper venue under Rule 12(B)(3). The only issues eliminated are those involving the sufficiency of the summons or the sufficiency of the method by which it is served.
Staff Note (July 1, 2022 Amendment)
Division (B) is amended to eliminate this method of service for domestic relations cases as well as civil protection order cases. The additional time required to obtain a waiver, and the automatic extension of Answer Day interject too much delay in these categories of cases.
Staff Note (July 1, 2024, Amendment)
Division (B) of this rule is amended with Civ.R. 4(D) to clarify that service of summons may be waived in any type of action. No substantive change is intended. The signature blocks of the forms are amended to promote clarity.
Effective in 2020 and modeled on a similar federal practice, division (A) lets a plaintiff send an individual, corporation, partnership, or association a written request to waive service, so long as the request meets seven conditions: it is addressed as Rule 4.2 requires, names the court, comes with the complaint and two copies of the waiver form plus a prepaid way to return it, explains the consequences of waiving or not waiving, states the date it was sent, gives the defendant at least twenty-eight days to respond (sixty if the defendant is outside the United States), and is sent by first-class mail or another reliable means.
Division (B) limits this option to civil actions in the courts of common pleas and excludes petitions for orders under Rule 65.1 and, since 2022, domestic relations matters, where the extra time a waiver adds was found to slow cases down too much. If a defendant who is subject to the court’s jurisdiction fails, without good cause, to sign and return a requested waiver, division (C) lets the court make that defendant pay both the expenses of completing service later and the reasonable expenses, including attorney’s fees, of any motion needed to collect them.
A defendant who timely returns a waiver gets sixty days after the request was sent to answer — ninety if the request went abroad — instead of the usual twenty-eight, under division (D). Division (E) treats a filed waiver as though the summons and complaint had been served on the date of filing, so no separate proof of service is required. Division (F) preserves the defendant’s right to contest personal jurisdiction or venue despite having waived service itself. The rule also appends the official notice and waiver forms sent to defendants.