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SENATE FLOOR VERSION
April 4, 2023
ENGROSSED HOUSE
BILL NO. 1618 By: Worthen of the House
and
Gollihare of the Senate
An Act relating to civil procedure; amending 12 O.S.
2021, Section 158.1, which relates to the licensure
of private process servers; deleting mailing
requirement; authorizing notice to be delivered by
electronic means; and providing an effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 12 O.S. 2021, Section 158.1, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 158.1 A. Service and return of process of court
documents may be by an authorized licensed private process server .
The presiding judge of the judicial administrative d istrict in which
the county is located, or an associate district judge or district
judge of the county a s may be designated by the presiding judge,
shall be authorized to issue a license to make service of proces s of
court documents to persons deemed quali fied to do so.
B. Any person who is:
1. Eighteen (18) years of age or older;
2. Of good moral character;
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3. Found ethically and mentally fit;
4. A resident of the State of Oklahoma for a period of not less
than six (6) months; and
5. A resident of the county or judicial admi nistrative district
in which the application is submitted for a period of not less than
thirty (30) days,
may obtain a license by filing an application with the court clerk
on a verified form to be prescribed by the Administrative Office of
the Courts. The form shall require the applicant to identify
whether the applicant has had a process server lice nse issued by the
State of Oklahoma, a ny other state, or any county in Oklahoma at any
time prior to the current application.
Any person who has been convicte d of a violent crime, as defined
in Section 571 of Title 57 of the Okla homa Statutes, or a crime t hat
requires the person to register pu rsuant to the Sex Offenders
Registration Act in this state or another state shall be prohibited
from applying for or obt aining a license to serve process in this
state. If a person is curren tly licensed to serve proce ss in this
state and the person has a previous felony conviction for a crime
enumerated in Section 571 of Title 57 of the Oklahoma St atutes or a
crime that requires the person to register pursuant to the Sex
Offenders Registratio n Act, the person shall be prohibited from
applying for renewal o f the license as provided for in subsection C
of this section.
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C. The applicant filing for a l icense to serve process a nywhere
in this state shall pay a license fee of One Hundred Fifty Dol lars
($150.00), and the regu lar docketing, posting, mailing, and f iling
fees prescribed by law . The license shall contain the full legal
name, address, county i n which the license was i ssued, a brief
description of the licensee and a recent photograph of the licensee.
The license shall state that the licensee is an off icer of the court
only for the purpose of service of process . The authority of the
licensee shall be statewide. The license shall be carried by the
licensee while on duty as a private proc ess server. At the end of
one (1) calendar year from the date of issuance of the initial
license, the license shall be renewed for a period of three (3)
years. The license shall be ren ewed each succeeding three (3)
years. A fee of Fifteen Dollars ($15.0 0) per renewal shall be
charged for each statewide license renewal . A license issued
pursuant to this subsection entitles the holder of the license to
serve process in any county in thi s state.
All fees collected pursuant to this section shall be deposit ed
in the court fund.
D. Upon the filing of an application for a l icense, the court
clerk shall give thirty (30 ) days of notice of hearing by causing
the notice to be continually posted for thirty (30) days on the
website of the county, or be posted in t he courthouse. The
applicant shall cause notice of the hearing to b e made no less than
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twenty (20) days prior to the hearing one time by publication in a
legal newspaper of the county, as defined in Section 106 of Title 25
of the Oklahoma Statutes, in whi ch the application is filed . The
applicant shall be responsible for payment of the publication fee,
and shall file in the case the proof of publication affidavit from
the newspaper prior to the hearing. The court clerk shall mail
deliver by electronic means or deliver a copy of the notice at least
twenty (20) days prior to the hearing to the distri ct attorney, the
sheriff in the county in which the application was filed, the
Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and the Administrative Office
of the Courts and. The notice shall contain the name of the
applicant and the time and place the presiding judge or, the
associate district judge , or district judge designate d by the
presiding judge, will act upon the application.
E. If, at the time of consideration of the application or
renewal, there are no protests and the applicant appears qualified,
the application for t he license shall be granted by the presiding
judge or such associate distric t judge or district judge as is
designated by the presiding judge and, upon executing bond running
to the State of Oklahoma in the amount of Five Thousand Dollars
($5,000.00) for faithful performance of his or her duties and filing
the bond with the court clerk, the applicant shall be authorized and
licensed to serve court documents in any county in this state. If,
at the time of consideration of the application for the license, th e
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presiding judge, associate district judge or dist rict judge as is
designated by the presiding judge determines that the applicant does
not meet all of the qualifications ne cessary for a license, the
applicant shall be prohibited from reapplying for a lic ense to serve
process for a period of not less than one (1) year from the da te of
denial.
F. If any citizen of this state files a written protest setting
forth objections to the licensing of the applicant, the district
court clerk shall so advise the pres iding judge or such associate
district judge or dis trict judge as is designa ted by the presiding
judge, who shall set a later date for hearing of application and
protest. The hearing shall be held within sixty (60) days and after
notice to all persons kno wn to be interested.
G. Proof of service of proces s shall be shown by affid avit as
provided for by subsection G of Section 2004 of this title.
H. The district attorney of t he county wherein a license
authorized under this act has been issued or the Attor ney General
may file a petition in the district cou rt to revoke the license
issued to any licensee, as authorized pursuant to the provisions of
this section, alleging the vio lation by the licensee of any of the
provisions of the law . After at least thirty (30) days of notice by
certified mail to the licen see, the chief or presidi ng judge,
sitting without jury, shall hear the petition and enter an order
thereon. If the license is revoked, the licensee shall not be
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permitted to reapply for a license for a p eriod of five (5) years
from the date of revocation . Notwithstanding any ot her provision of
this section, any licensee whose license has been revoked one time
shall pay the sum of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) as a renewal
fee. If a second revocation occurs, the chief or presiding judge
shall not allow an applicant to renew t he license.
I. Any person who knowingly and willfully serves process in
Oklahoma without a proces s server license issued by the State of
Oklahoma or who holds himself or herself o ut to be a process server
licensed by the State of Oklahoma when the person is not licensed as
such shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor. The
provisions of this subsection shall not apply to a process server
licensed in another state who is serving court documents issued by a
court in another state to a person in Ok lahoma.
J. The court clerk shall make available at all times in the
office of the court clerk the list of licensed private process
servers. Any person in need of the services of a process server may
designate one from the names o n the list, before presen ting summons
to the court clerk for issuance, without necessity for individual
judicial appointment.
K. No later than January 1, 2013, the Administrative Office of
the Courts shall establish and maintain a statewide registry which
shall contain a list of licensed private process servers. The
Administrative Office of the Courts shall promulgate rules for the
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creation and maintenance of the statewide registry . Rules for the
statewide registry for private process servers must have a pproval of
the Supreme Court.
SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2023.
COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY
April 4, 2023 - DO PASS