{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-12-12-2005","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 12, § 12-2005","heading":"Service and filing of pleadings and other papers","body":"SERVICE AND FILING OF PLEADINGS AND OTHER PAPERS\n\nA. SERVICE: WHEN REQUIRED. Except as otherwise provided in\n\nthis title, every order required by its terms to be served, every\n\npleading subsequent to the original petition unless the court\n\notherwise orders because of numerous defendants, every paper\n\nrelating to discovery required to be served upon a party or any\n\nother person unless the court otherwise orders, every written motion\n\nother than one which may be heard ex parte, and every written\n\nnotice, appearance, demand, offer of judgment, and similar paper\n\nshall be served upon each of the parties. No service need be made\n\non parties in default for failure to appear except that:\n\n1. Pleadings asserting new or additional claims for relief\n\nagainst them shall be served upon them in the manner provided for\n\nservice of summons in Section 2004 of this title; and\n\n2. Service of judgments, decrees or appealable orders against\n\nthem shall be made in accordance with subsection B of Section 696.2\n\nof this title.\n\nB. SERVICE: HOW MADE. Whenever pursuant to this act service is\n\nrequired or permitted to be made upon a party represented by an\n\nattorney the service shall be made upon the attorney unless service\n\ndirectly upon the party is ordered by the court or final judgment\n\nhas been rendered and the time for appeal has expired. Service upon\n\nthe attorney or upon a party shall be made by delivering a copy to\n\nthe attorney or the party or by mailing it or sending it by third-\n\nparty commercial carrier for delivery within three (3) calendar days\n\nto the attorney or the party at the last-known address of the\n\nattorney or the party or by electronic means if the attorney or\n\nparty consents in writing to receiving service in a particular case\n\nby electronic means and the attorney or party provides instructions\n\nfor making the electronic service consented to by the attorney or\n\nparty. The required written consent and electronic service\n\ninstructions may be made in the entry of appearance filed by the\n\nattorney or the party pursuant to subsection A of Section 2005.2 of\n\nthis title or may be made in another pleading filed by the attorney\n\nor party in the case. For purposes of this subsection, “electronic\n\nmeans” includes communications by facsimile or electronic mail\n\nthrough the internet, commonly known as e-mail. If no mailing\n\naddress, physical address or electronic means address for the\n\nattorney or party is known, service is effected by leaving it with\n\nthe clerk of the court. Delivery of a copy within this section\n\nmeans:\n\n1. Handing it to the attorney or to the party; or\n\n2. Leaving it at the office of the attorney or the party with\n\nthe attorney’s or party’s clerk or other person in charge thereof;\n\nor\n\n3. If there is no one in charge, leaving it in a conspicuous\n\nplace therein; or\n\n4. If the office is closed or the person to be served has no\n\noffice, leaving it at his or her dwelling house or usual place of\n\nabode with some person residing therein who is fifteen (15) years of\n\nage or older.\n\nExcept for service of the summons and the original petition, service\n\nby mail is complete upon mailing, service by commercial carrier is\n\ncomplete upon delivery to the commercial carrier, and service by\n\nelectronic means is complete upon transmission, unless the party\n\nmaking service is notified that the copy or paper served was not\n\nreceived by the party served. If the court clerk or a party is\n\nrequired to serve a judgment or other paper by first-class mail,\n\nservice in accordance with any method permitted by this section is\n\nsufficient to comply with such requirement.\n\nC. SERVICE: NUMEROUS DEFENDANTS. In any action in which there\n\nare unusually large numbers of defendants, the court, upon motion or\n\nof its own initiative, may order that service of the pleadings of\n\nthe defendants and replies thereto need not be made as between the\ny first-class mail,\n\nservice in accordance with any method permitted by this section is\n\nsufficient to comply with such requirement.\n\nC. SERVICE: NUMEROUS DEFENDANTS. In any action in which there\n\nare unusually large numbers of defendants, the court, upon motion or\n\nof its own initiative, may order that service of the pleadings of\n\nthe defendants and replies thereto need not be made as between the\n\ndefendants and that any cross-claim, counterclaim, or matter\n\nconstituting an avoidance or affirmative defense contained therein\n\nshall be deemed to be denied or avoided by all other parties and\n\nthat the filing of any such pleading and service thereof upon the\n\nplaintiff constitutes due notice of it to the parties. A copy of\n\nevery such order shall be served upon the parties in such manner and\n\nform as the court directs.\n\nD. FILING. All papers after the petition required to be served\n\nupon a party shall be filed with the court either before service or\n\nwithin a reasonable time thereafter, but the court may on motion of\n\na party or on its own initiative order that depositions upon oral\n\nexamination and interrogatories, requests for documents, requests\n\nfor admission, and answers and responses thereto not be filed unless\n\non order of the court or for use in the proceeding. All papers\n\nfiled with the court shall include a statement setting forth the\n\nnames of the persons served and the date, place, and method of\n\nservice.\n\nE. FILING WITH THE COURT DEFINED.\n\n1. The filing of papers with the court as required by this act\n\nshall be made by filing them with the clerk of the court, except\n\nthat the judge may permit the papers to be filed with him or her, in\n\nwhich event he or she shall note thereon the filing date and\n\nforthwith transmit them to the office of the clerk.\n\n2. A duplicate of any paper shall be acceptable for filing with\n\nthe court and shall have the same force and effect as an original.\n\nFor purposes of this section a duplicate is a copy produced on\n\nunglazed white or eggshell paper by mechanical, chemical or\n\nelectronic means, or by other equivalent technique, which accurately\n\nreproduces the original. A duplicate that is acceptable for filing\n\nshall not be refused because any signatures thereon are duplicates.\n\nA carbon copy shall not be considered a duplicate for purposes of\n\nthis section.\n\n3. Papers may be filed by facsimile or other electronic\n\ntransmission directly to the court or the court clerk as permitted\n\nby a rule of court. The Administrative Office of the Courts shall\n\npromulgate rules for the district court for the filing of papers\n\ntransmitted by facsimile or other electronic transmission device.\n\nRules for facsimile or other electronic transmission filing must\n\nhave the approval of the Supreme Court.\n\n4. The clerk shall not refuse to accept for filing any paper\n\nsolely because it is not presented in proper form as required by\n\nthese rules or any local rules or practices.","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":"aa450bead9383cf35cdcac0dc66b314bc7f871825fc3a68580311fb165f032e2","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-12-12-2004.3","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-12-12-2005.1"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}