{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-12-12-158.1","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 12, § 12-158.1","heading":"Private process servers - Licensing - Qualifications -","body":"Fees - Hearing - Notice - Protests - Proof of service - Revocation\n\nof license - List of licensees - Statewide registry.\n\nA. Service and return of process of court documents may be by\n\nan authorized licensed private process server. The presiding judge\n\nof the judicial administrative district in which the county is\n\nlocated, or an associate district judge or district judge of the\n\ncounty as may be designated by the presiding judge, shall be\n\nauthorized to issue a license to make service of process of court\n\ndocuments to persons deemed qualified to do so.\n\nB. Any person who is:\n\n1. Eighteen (18) years of age or older;\n\n2. Of good moral character;\n\n3. Found ethically and mentally fit;\n\n4. A resident of the State of Oklahoma for a period of not less\n\nthan six (6) months; and\n\n5. A resident of the county or judicial administrative district\n\nin which the application is submitted for a period of not less than\n\nthirty (30) days,\n\nmay obtain a license by filing an application with the court clerk\n\non a verified form to be prescribed by the Administrative Office of\n\nthe Courts. The form shall require the applicant to identify\n\nwhether the applicant has had a process server license issued by the\n\nState of Oklahoma, any other state, or any county in Oklahoma at any\n\ntime prior to the current application.\n\nAny person who has been convicted of a violent crime, as defined\n\nin Section 571 of Title 57 of the Oklahoma Statutes, or a crime that\n\nrequires the person to register pursuant to the Sex Offenders\n\nRegistration Act in this state or another state shall be prohibited\n\nfrom applying for or obtaining a license to serve process in this\n\nstate. If a person is currently licensed to serve process in this\n\nstate and the person has a previous felony conviction for a crime\n\nenumerated in Section 571 of Title 57 of the Oklahoma Statutes or a\n\ncrime that requires the person to register pursuant to the Sex\n\nOffenders Registration Act, the person shall be prohibited from\n\napplying for renewal of the license as provided for in subsection C\n\nof this section.\n\nC. The applicant filing for a license to serve process anywhere\n\nin this state shall pay a license fee of One Hundred Fifty Dollars\n\n($150.00), and the regular docketing, posting, mailing, and filing\n\nfees prescribed by law. The license shall contain the full legal\n\nname, address, county in which the license was issued, a brief\n\ndescription of the licensee and a recent photograph of the licensee.\n\nThe license shall state that the licensee is an officer of the court\n\nonly for the purpose of service of process. The authority of the\n\nlicensee shall be statewide. The license shall be carried by the\n\nlicensee while on duty as a private process server. At the end of\n\none (1) calendar year from the date of issuance of the initial\n\nlicense, the license shall be renewed for a period of three (3)\n\nyears. The license shall be renewed each succeeding three (3)\n\nyears. A fee of Fifteen Dollars ($15.00) per renewal shall be\n\ncharged for each statewide license renewal. A license issued\n\npursuant to this subsection entitles the holder of the license to\n\nserve process in any county in this state.\n\nAll fees collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited\n\nin the court fund.\n\nD. Upon the filing of an application for a license, the court\n\nclerk shall give thirty (30) days of notice of hearing by causing\n\nthe notice to be continually posted for thirty (30) days on the\n\nwebsite of the county, or be posted in the courthouse. The\n\napplicant shall cause notice of the hearing to be made no less than\n\ntwenty (20) days prior to the hearing one time by publication in a\n\nlegal newspaper of the county, as defined in Section 106 of Title 25\n\nof the Oklahoma Statutes, in which the application is filed. The\n\napplicant shall be responsible for payment of the publication fee,\n\nand shall file in the case the proof of publication affidavit from\nnt shall cause notice of the hearing to be made no less than\n\ntwenty (20) days prior to the hearing one time by publication in a\n\nlegal newspaper of the county, as defined in Section 106 of Title 25\n\nof the Oklahoma Statutes, in which the application is filed. The\n\napplicant shall be responsible for payment of the publication fee,\n\nand shall file in the case the proof of publication affidavit from\n\nthe newspaper prior to the hearing. The court clerk shall deliver\n\nby electronic means or deliver a copy of the notice at least twenty\n\n(20) days prior to the hearing to the district attorney, the sheriff\n\nin the county in which the application was filed, the Oklahoma State\n\nBureau of Investigation and the Administrative Office of the Courts.\n\nThe notice shall contain the name of the applicant and the time and\n\nplace the presiding judge, the associate district judge, or district\n\njudge designated by the presiding judge, will act upon the\n\napplication.\n\nE. If, at the time of consideration of the application or\n\nrenewal, there are no protests and the applicant appears qualified,\n\nthe application for the license shall be granted by the presiding\n\njudge or such associate district judge or district judge as is\n\ndesignated by the presiding judge and, upon executing bond running\n\nto the State of Oklahoma in the amount of Five Thousand Dollars\n\n($5,000.00) for faithful performance of his or her duties and filing\n\nthe bond with the court clerk, the applicant shall be authorized and\n\nlicensed to serve court documents in any county in this state. If,\n\nat the time of consideration of the application for the license, the\n\npresiding judge, associate district judge or district judge as is\n\ndesignated by the presiding judge determines that the applicant does\n\nnot meet all of the qualifications necessary for a license, the\n\napplicant shall be prohibited from reapplying for a license to serve\n\nprocess for a period of not less than one (1) year from the date of\n\ndenial.\n\nF. If any citizen of this state files a written protest setting\n\nforth objections to the licensing of the applicant, the district\n\ncourt clerk shall so advise the presiding judge or such associate\n\ndistrict judge or district judge as is designated by the presiding\n\njudge, who shall set a later date for hearing of application and\n\nprotest. The hearing shall be held within sixty (60) days and after\n\nnotice to all persons known to be interested.\n\nG. Proof of service of process shall be shown by affidavit as\n\nprovided for by subsection G of Section 2004 of this title.\n\nH. The district attorney of the county wherein a license\n\nauthorized under this act has been issued or the Attorney General\n\nmay file a petition in the district court to revoke the license\n\nissued to any licensee, as authorized pursuant to the provisions of\n\nthis section, alleging the violation by the licensee of any of the\n\nprovisions of the law. After at least thirty (30) days of notice by\n\ncertified mail to the licensee, the chief or presiding judge,\n\nsitting without jury, shall hear the petition and enter an order\n\nthereon. If the license is revoked, the licensee shall not be\n\npermitted to reapply for a license for a period of five (5) years\n\nfrom the date of revocation. Notwithstanding any other provision of\n\nthis section, any licensee whose license has been revoked one time\n\nshall pay the sum of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) as a renewal\n\nfee. If a second revocation occurs, the chief or presiding judge\n\nshall not allow an applicant to renew the license.\n\nI. Any person who knowingly and willfully serves process in\n\nOklahoma without a process server license issued by the State of\n\nOklahoma or who holds himself or herself out to be a process server\n\nlicensed by the State of Oklahoma when the person is not licensed as\n\nsuch shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor. The\n\nprovisions of this subsection shall not apply to a process server\nense.\n\nI. Any person who knowingly and willfully serves process in\n\nOklahoma without a process server license issued by the State of\n\nOklahoma or who holds himself or herself out to be a process server\n\nlicensed by the State of Oklahoma when the person is not licensed as\n\nsuch shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor. The\n\nprovisions of this subsection shall not apply to a process server\n\nlicensed in another state who is serving court documents issued by a\n\ncourt in another state to a person in Oklahoma.\n\nJ. The court clerk shall make available at all times in the\n\noffice of the court clerk the list of licensed private process\n\nservers. Any person in need of the services of a process server may\n\ndesignate one from the names on the list, before presenting summons\n\nto the court clerk for issuance, without necessity for individual\n\njudicial appointment.\n\nK. No later than January 1, 2013, the Administrative Office of\n\nthe Courts shall establish and maintain a statewide registry which\n\nshall contain a list of licensed private process servers. The\n\nAdministrative Office of the Courts shall promulgate rules for the\n\ncreation and maintenance of the statewide registry. Rules for the\n\nstatewide registry for private process servers must have approval of\n\nthe Supreme Court.","path":["OK Code","Title 12"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os12.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"4be1aa7cc9a05687ffb0db1fc4332baad5b53ec6c4c0f15684a97a3a6dda19f5","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-12-12-1579","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-12-12-158.2"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}