If you serve process for long enough, you will eventually have to serve it to a business. In this post, we discuss the Florida laws surrounding service of process for some different types of businesses.
Florida’s 2021 Statutes of Civil Practice and Procedure, Chapter 48, goes into detail about how to serve process on different types of businesses. The state specifies procedures for:
- Partnerships
- Limited partnerships
- Limited liability companies (LLCs)
- Corporations
- Nonresidents doing business in Florida
- Agents of nonresidents doing business in Florida
- Financial institutions
- Insurance companies
- Dissolved corporations
- Public agencies and officers
- Labor unions
- The state of Florida itself
Going into the details of each of these types of businesses and the related process service procedures for each one would make this possibly the world’s longest blog post, so we’ll just focus on the most common business types: partnerships, LLCs, and corporations.
Serving a Partnership
Highlights of the rules governing the serving process on a Florida partnership include:
- You may serve either partner of the business, you do not have to serve both
- Either partner can designate an agent or employee to receive service in their stead
- After one unsuccessful attempt to service a partner or designee during normal business hours, you may serve the process on the employee in charge during normal business hours
- If you serve a designee or employee in charge, the plaintiff may not go after either partner’s individual assets, only the partnership assets
Serving an LLC
Highlights of the rules governing serving an LLC in Florida include:
- If the LLC has a Chapter 605 registered agent listed, service may be made upon this agent or their employee on the first service attempt during normal business hours, even if the registered agent is just temporarily out of their office
- If there is no Chapter 605 registered agent listed, or if the listed registered agent cannot, with due diligence, be served, the process may then be served depending on who actually manages the LLC.
- If the LLC is managed by its members, any one of those members may be served
- If the LLC is managed by external managers, any one of those managers may be served
- If neither a member nor manager are available during normal business hours to accept service, after only one unsuccessful attempt, process may be served upon whichever employee is in charge of the LLC’s operations during normal business hours
- If service cannot be made to any of the persons listed above, the Florida Secretary of State may be served as an agent for the LLC
Serving a Corporation
Highlights of the rules governing serving process on a corporation in Florida include:
- Corporations in Florida must list a registered agent and registered address to whom process may be served, in accordance with Part I of Chapter 607 of state law
- All corporations must be open at this registered address Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., excluding legal holidays
- A registered agent must be present at the address during these times to receive process
- A sign must be posted in a conspicuous place at the registered address displaying the name of the registered agent(s)
Service on a Business in Daytona Beach
If you need to serve process to a business in the Daytona Beach area, trust Accurate Serve® to get the job done right! Our knowledgeable servers stay updated on all relevant laws, ensuring 100% legally compliant service done quickly and discreetly. Call (386) 569-8475 or send us a work request online to get started today!
