(C) state the name and address of the plaintiff’s attorney or — if unrepresented — of the plaintiff;
(D) state the time within which the defendant must appear and defend;
(E) notify the defendant that a failure to appear and defend will result in a default judgment against the defendant for the relief demanded in the complaint;
(F) be signed by the clerk; and
(G) bear the court’s seal.
(2) Amendments. The court may permit a summons to be amended.
(b) Issuance. On or after filing the complaint, the plaintiff may present a summons to the clerk for signature and seal. If the summons is properly completed, the clerk must sign, seal, and issue it to the plaintiff for service on the defendant. A summons — or a copy of a summons that is addressed to multiple defendants — must be issued for each defendant to be served.
(c) Service.
(1) In General. A summons must be served with a copy of the complaint. The plaintiff is responsible for having the summons and complaint served within the time allowed by Rule 4(m) and must furnish the necessary copies to the person who makes service.
(2) By Whom. Any person who is at least 18 years
old and not a party may serve a summons and
complaint.
(3) By a Marshal or Someone Specially
Appointed. At the plaintiff's request, the court
may order that service be made by a United
States marshal or deputy marshal or by a person
specially appointed by the court. The court must
so order if the plaintiff is authorized to proceed
in forma pauperis under 28 U.S.C. §1915 or as a
seaman under 28 U.S.C. § 1916.
(d) Waiving Service.
(1) Requesting a Waiver.
An individual,
corporation, or association that is subject to
service under Rule 4(e), (f), or (h) 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:
(A) be in writing and be addressed:
(i) to the individual defendant; or
(ii) for a defendant subject to service under
Rule 4(h), to an officer, a managing or
general agent, or any other agent
authorized by appointment or by law to
receive service of process;
(B) name the court where the complaint was
filed;
(C) be accompanied by a copy of the complaint,
two copies of a waiver form, and a prepaid
means for returning the form;
(D) inform the defendant, using text prescribed
in Form 5, of the consequences of waiving
and not waiving service;
(E) state the date when the request is sent;
(F) give the defendant a reasonable time of at
least 30 days after the request was sent —
or at least 60 days if sent to the defendant
outside any judicial district of the United
States — to return the waiver; and
(G) be sent by first-class mail or other reliable
means.
(2) Failure to Waive. If a defendant located within
the United States fails, without good cause, to
sign and return a waiver requested by a plaintiff
located within the United States, the court must
impose on the defendant:
(A) the expenses later incurred in making
service; and
(B) the reasonable expenses, including
attorney's fees, of any motion required to
collect those service expenses.
(3) 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 60 days after the request was
sent — or until 90 days after it was sent to the
defendant outside any judicial district of the
United States.
(4) 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.
(5) Jurisdiction and Venue Not Waived.
Waiving service of a summons does not waive
any objection to personal jurisdiction or to venue.
(e) Serving an Individual Within a Judicial
District of the United States. Unless federal law
provides otherwise, an individual — other than a
minor, an incompetent person, or a person whose
waiver has been filed — may be served in a judicial
district of the United States by:
(1) following state law for serving a summons in an
action brought in courts of general jurisdiction in
the state where the district court is located or
where service is made; or
(2) doing any of the following:
(A) delivering a copy of the summons and of the
complaint to the individual personally;
(B) leaving a copy of each at the individual's
dwelling or usual place of abode with
someone of suitable age and discretion who
resides there; or
(C) delivering a copy of each to an agent
authorized by appointment or by law to
receive service of process.
(f) Serving an Individual in a Foreign Country.
Unless federal law provides otherwise, an individual
— other than a minor, an incompetent person, or a
person whose waiver has been filed — may be served
at a place not within any judicial district of the
United States:
(1) by any internationally agreed means of service
that is reasonably calculated to give notice, such
as those authorized by the Hague Convention on
the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial
Documents;
(2) if there is no internationally agreed means, or if
an international agreement allows but does not
specify other means, by a method that is
reasonably calculated to give notice:
(A) as prescribed by the foreign country's law
for service in that country in an action in its
courts of general jurisdiction;
(B) as the foreign authority directs in response
to a letter rogatory or letter of request; or
(C) unless prohibited by the foreign country's
law, by:
(i) delivering a copy of the summons and of
the complaint to the individual
personally; or
(ii) using any form of mail that the clerk
addresses and sends to the individual
and that requires a signed receipt; or
(3) by other means not prohibited by international
agreement, as the court orders.
(g) Serving a Minor or an Incompetent Person. A
minor or an incompetent person in a judicial district
of the United States must be served by following
state law for serving a summons or like process on
such a defendant in an action brought in the courts of
general jurisdiction of the state where service is
made. A minor or an incompetent person who is not
within any judicial district of the United States must
be served in the manner prescribed by Rule 4(f)(2)(A),
(f)(2)(B), or (f)(3).
(h) Serving a Corporation, Partnership, or
Association. Unless federal law provides otherwise
or the defendant's waiver has been filed, a domestic
or foreign corporation, or a partnership or other
unincorporated association that is subject to suit
under a common name, must be served:
(1) in a judicial district of the United States:
(A) in the manner prescribed by Rule 4(e)(1) for
serving an individual; or
(B) by delivering a copy of the summons and of
the complaint to an officer, a managing or
general agent, or any other agent authorized
by appointment or by law to receive service
of process and — if the agent is one
authorized by statute and the statute so
requires — by also mailing a copy of each to
the defendant; or
(2) at a place not within any judicial district of the
United States, in any manner prescribed by Rule
4(f) for serving an individual, except personal
delivery under (f)(2)(C)(i).
(i) Serving the United States and Its Agencies,
Corporations, Officers, or Employees.
(1) United States.
To serve the United States, a
party must:
(A) (i) deliver a copy of the summons and of
the complaint to the United States
attorney for the district where the
action is brought — or to an assistant
United States attorney or clerical
employee whom the United States
attorney designates in a writing filed
with the court clerk — or
(ii) send a copy of each by registered or
certified mail to the civil-process clerk
at the United States attorney's office;
(B) send a copy of each by registered or certified
mail to the Attorney General of the United
States at Washington, D.C.; and
(C) if the action challenges an order of a
nonparty agency or officer of the United
States, send a copy of each by registered or
certified mail to the agency or officer.
(2) Agency; Corporation; Officer or Employee
Sued in an Official Capacity. To serve a
United States agency or corporation, or a United
States officer or employee sued only in an official
capacity, a party must serve the United States
and also send a copy of the summons and of the
complaint by registered or certified mail to the
agency, corporation, officer, or employee.
(3) Officer or Employee Sued Individually. To
serve a United States officer or employee sued in
an individual capacity for an act or omission
occurring in connection with duties performed on
the United States' behalf (whether or not the
officer or employee is also sued in an official
capacity), a party must serve the United States
and also serve the officer or employee under Rule
4(e), (f), or (g).
(4) Extending Time. The court must allow a party
a reasonable time to cure its failure to:
(A) serve a person required to be served under
Rule 4(i)(2), if the party has served either
the United States attorney or the Attorney
General of the United States; or
(B) serve the United States under Rule 4(i)(3), if
the party has served the United States
officer or employee.
(j) Serving a Foreign, State, or Local Government.
(1) Foreign State. A foreign state or its political
subdivision, agency, or instrumentality must be
served in accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 1608.
(2) State or Local Government. A state, a
municipal corporation, or any other state-created
governmental organization that is subject to suit
must be served by:
(A) delivering a copy of the summons and of the
complaint to its chief executive officer; or
(B) serving a copy of each in the manner
prescribed by that state's law for serving a
summons or like process on such a
defendant.
(k) Territorial Limits of Effective Service.
(1) In General.
Serving a summons or filing a
waiver of service establishes personal
jurisdiction over a defendant:
(A) who is subject to the jurisdiction of a court
of general jurisdiction in the state where the
district court is located;
(B) who is a party joined under Rule 14 or 19
and is served within a judicial district of the
United States and not more than 100 miles
from where the summons was issued;
(C) when authorized by a federal statute.
(2) Federal Claim Outside State-Court
Jurisdiction. For a claim that arises under
federal law, serving a summons or filing a
waiver of service establishes personal
jurisdiction over a defendant if:
(A) the defendant is not subject to jurisdiction
in any state's courts of general jurisdiction;
and
(B) exercising jurisdiction is consistent with the
United States Constitution and laws.
(l) Proving Service.
(1) Affidavit Required.
Unless service is waived,
proof of service must be made to the court.
Except for service by a United States marshal or
deputy marshal, proof must be by the server's
affidavit.
(2) Service Outside the United States. Service
not within any judicial district of the United
States must be proved as follows:
(A) if made under Rule 4(f)(1), as provided in
the applicable treaty or convention; or
(B) if made under Rule 4(f)(2) or (f)(3), by a
receipt signed by the addressee, or by other
evidence satisfying the court that the
summons and complaint were delivered to
the addressee.
(3) Validity of Service; Amending Proof. Failure
to prove service does not affect the validity of
service. The court may permit proof of service to
be amended.
(m) Time Limit for Service. If a defendant is not
served within 120 days after the complaint is filed,
the court — on motion or on its own after notice to
the plaintiff — must dismiss the action without
prejudice against that defendant or order that service
be made within a specified time. But if the plaintiff
shows good cause for the failure, the court must
extend the time for service for an appropriate period.
This subdivision (m) does not apply to service in a
foreign country under Rule 4(f) or 4(j)(1).
(n) Asserting Jurisdiction over Property or Assets.
(1) Federal Law. The court may assert jurisdiction
over property if authorized by a federal statute.
Notice to claimants of the property must be
given as provided in the statute or by serving a
summons under this rule.
(2) State Law. On a showing that personal
jurisdiction over a defendant cannot be obtained
in the district where the action is brought by
reasonable efforts to serve a summons under this
rule, the court may assert jurisdiction over the
defendant's assets found in the district.
Jurisdiction is acquired by seizing the assets
under the circumstances and in the manner
provided by state law in that district.
(a) In General. Process — other than a summons under
Rule 4 or a subpoena under Rule 45 — must be
served by a United States marshal or deputy marshal
or by a person specially appointed for that purpose.
It may be served anywhere within the territorial
limits of the state where the district court is located
and, if authorized by a federal statute, beyond those
limits. Proof of service must be made under Rule 4(l).
(b) Enforcing Orders: Committing for Civil
Contempt. An order committing a person for civil
contempt of a decree or injunction issued to enforce
federal law may be served and enforced in any
district. Any other order in a civil-contempt
proceeding may be served only in the state where the
issuing court is located or elsewhere in the United
States within 100 miles from where the order was
issued.
Rule 5. Serving and Filing Pleadings and Other
Papers
(a) Service: When Required.
(1) In General.
Unless these rules provide
otherwise, each of the following papers must be
served on every party:
(A) an order stating that service is required;
(B) a pleading filed after the original complaint,
unless the court orders otherwise under
Rule 5(c) because there are numerous
defendants;
(C) a discovery paper required to be served on a
party, unless the court orders otherwise;
(D) a written motion, except one that may be
heard ex parte; and
(E) a written notice, appearance, demand, or
offer of judgment, or any similar paper.
(2) If a Party Fails to Appear. No service is
required on a party who is in default for failing
to appear. But a pleading that asserts a new
claim for relief against such a party must be
served on that party under Rule 4.
(3) Seizing Property. If an action is begun by
seizing property and no person is or need be
named as a defendant, any service required
before the filing of an appearance, answer, or
claim must be made on the person who had
custody or possession of the property when it
was seized.
(b) Service: How Made.
(1) Serving an Attorney.
If a party is represented
by an attorney, service under this rule must be
made on the attorney unless the court orders
service on the party.
(2) Service in General. A paper is served under
this rule by:
(A) handing it to the person;
(B) leaving it:
(i) at the person's office with a clerk or
other person in charge or, if no one is in
charge, in a conspicuous place in the
office; or
(ii) if the person has no office or the office is
closed, at the person's dwelling or usual
place of abode with someone of suitable
age and discretion who resides there;
(C) mailing it to the person's last known
address — in which event service is
complete upon mailing;
(D) leaving it with the court clerk if the person
has no known address;
(E) sending it by electronic means if the person
consented in writing — in which event
service is complete upon transmission, but is
not effective if the serving party learns that
it did not reach the person to be served; or
(F) delivering it by any other means that the
person consented to in writing — in which
event service is complete when the person
making service delivers it to the agency
designated to make delivery.
(3) Using Court Facilities. If a local rule so
authorizes, a party may use the court's
transmission facilities to make service under
Rule 5(b)(2)(E).
(c) Serving Numerous Defendants.
(1) In General. If an action involves an unusually
large number of defendants, the court may, on
motion or on its own, order that:
(A) defendants' pleadings and replies to them
need not be served on other defendants;
(B) any crossclaim, counterclaim, avoidance, or
affirmative defense in those pleadings and
replies to them will be treated as denied or
avoided by all other parties; and
(C) filing any such pleading and serving it on
the plaintiff constitutes notice of the
pleading to all parties.
(2) Notifying Parties. A copy of every such order
must be served on the parties as the court
directs.
(d) Filing.
(1) Required Filings; Certificate of Service. Any
paper after the complaint that is required to be
served — together with a certificate of service —
must be filed within a reasonable time after
service. But disclosures under Rule 26(a)(1) or
(2) and the following discovery requests and
responses must not be filed until they are used
in the proceeding or the court orders filing:
depositions, interrogatories, requests for
documents or tangible things or to permit entry
onto land, and requests for admission.
(2) How Filing Is Made — In General. A paper is
filed by delivering it:
(A) to the clerk; or
(B) to a judge who agrees to accept it for filing,
and who must then note the filing date on
the paper and promptly send it to the clerk.
(3) Electronic Filing, Signing, or Verification.
A court may, by local rule, allow papers to be
filed, signed, or verified by electronic means that
are consistent with any technical standards
established by the Judicial Conference of the
United States. A local rule may require
electronic filing only if reasonable exceptions are
allowed. A paper filed electronically in
compliance with a local rule is a written paper
for purposes of these rules.
(4) Acceptance by the Clerk. The clerk must not
refuse to file a paper solely because it is not in
the form prescribed by these rules or by a local
rule or practice.
Rule 5.1. Constitutional Challenge to a Statute —
Notice, Certification, and Intervention
(a) Notice by a Party. A party that files a pleading,
written motion, or other paper drawing into question
the constitutionality of a federal or state statute must
promptly:
(1) file a notice of constitutional question stating the
question and identifying the paper that raises it,
if:
(A) a federal statute is questioned and the
parties do not include the United States, one
of its agencies, or one of its officers or
employees in an official capacity; or
(B) a state statute is questioned and the parties
do not include the state, one of its agencies,
or one of its officers or employees in an
official capacity; and
(2) serve the notice and paper on the Attorney
General of the United States if a federal statute
is questioned — or on the state attorney general
if a state statute is questioned — either by
certified or registered mail or by sending it to an
electronic address designated by the attorney
general for this purpose.
(b) Certification by the Court. The court must, under
28 U.S.C. § 2403, certify to the appropriate attorney
general that a statute has been questioned.
(c) Intervention; Final Decision on the Merits.
Unless the court sets a later time, the attorney
general may intervene within 60 days after the notice
is filed or after the court certifies the challenge,
whichever is earlier. Before the time to intervene
expires, the court may reject the constitutional
challenge, but may not enter a final judgment
holding the statute unconstitutional.
(d) No Forfeiture. A party's failure to file and serve the
notice, or the court's failure to certify, does not forfeit
a constitutional claim or defense that is otherwise
timely asserted.
Rule 5.2. Privacy Protection For Filings Made with
the Court
(a) Redacted Filings. Unless the court orders
otherwise, in an electronic or paper filing with the
court that contains an individual's social-security
number, taxpayer-identification number, or birth
date, the name of an individual known to be a minor,
or a financial-account number, a party or nonparty
making the filing may include only:
(1) the last four digits of the social-security number
and taxpayer-identification number;
(2) the year of the individual's birth;
(3) the minor's initials; and
(4) the last four digits of the financial-account
number.
(b) Exemptions from the Redaction Requirement.
The redaction requirement does not apply to the
following:
(1) a financial-account number that identifies the
property allegedly subject to forfeiture in a
forfeiture proceeding;
(2) the record of an administrative or agency
proceeding;
(3) the official record of a state-court proceeding;
(4) the record of a court or tribunal, if that record
was not subject to the redaction requirement
when originally filed;
(5) a filing covered by Rule 5.2(c) or (d); and
(6) a pro se filing in an action brought under 28
U.S.C. §§ 2241, 2254, or 2255.
(c) Limitations on Remote Access to Electronic
Files; Social-Security Appeals and Immigration
Cases. Unless the court orders otherwise, in an
action for benefits under the Social Security Act, and
in an action or proceeding relating to an order of
removal, to relief from removal, or to immigration
benefits or detention, access to an electronic file is
authorized as follows:
(1) the parties and their attorneys may have remote
electronic access to any part of the case file,
including the administrative record;
(2) any other person may have electronic access to
the full record at the courthouse, but may have
remote electronic access only to:
(A) the docket maintained by the court; and
(B) an opinion, order, judgment, or other
disposition of the court, but not any other
part of the case file or the administrative
record.
(d) Filings Made Under Seal. The court may order
that a filing be made under seal without redaction.
The court may later unseal the filing or order the
person who made the filing to file a redacted version
for the public record.
(e) Protective Orders. For good cause, the court may
by order in a case:
(1) require redaction of additional information; or
(2) limit or prohibit a nonparty's remote electronic
access to a document filed with the court.
(f) Option for Additional Unredacted Filing Under
Seal. A person making a redacted filing may also file
an unredacted copy under seal. The court must
retain the unredacted copy as part of the record.
(g) Option for Filing a Reference List. A filing that
contains redacted information may be filed together
with a reference list that identifies each item of
redacted information and specifies an appropriate
identifier that uniquely corresponds to each item
listed. The list must be filed under seal and may be
amended as of right. Any reference in the case to a
listed identifier will be construed to refer to the
corresponding item of information.
(h) Waiver of Protection of Identifiers. A person
waives the protection of Rule 5.2(a) as to the person's
own information by filing it without redaction and
not under seal.
Rule 6. Computing and Extending Time; Time
for Motion Papers
(a) Computing Time. The following rules apply in
computing any time period specified in these rules or
in any local rule, court order, or statute:
(1) Day of the Event Excluded. Exclude the day
of the act, event, or default that begins the
period.
(2) Exclusions from Brief Periods. Exclude
intermediate Saturdays, Sundays, and legal
holidays when the period is less than 11 days.
(3) Last Day. Include the last day of the period
unless it is a Saturday, Sunday, legal holiday, or
— if the act to be done is filing a paper in court
— a day on which weather or other conditions
make the clerk's office inaccessible. When the
last day is excluded, the period runs until the
end of the next day that is not a Saturday,
Sunday, legal holiday, or day when the clerk's
office is inaccessible.
(4) "Legal Holiday" Defined. As used in these rules, "legal holiday" means:
(A) the day set aside by statute for observing
New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Jr.'s
Birthday, Washington's Birthday, Memorial
Day, Independence Day, Labor Day,
Columbus Day, Veterans' Day,
Thanksgiving Day, or Christmas Day; and
(B) any other day declared a holiday by the
President, Congress, or the state where the
district court is located.
(b) Extending Time.
(1) In General. When an act may or must be done
within a specified time, the court may, for good
cause, extend the time:
(A) with or without motion or notice if the court
acts, or if a request is made, before the
original time or its extension expires; or
(B) on motion made after the time has expired if
the party failed to act because of excusable
neglect.
(2) Exceptions. A court must not extend the time
to act under Rules 50(b) and (d), 52(b), 59(b), (d),
and (e), and 60(b), except as those rules allow.
(c) Motions, Notices of Hearing, and Affidavits.
(1) In General.
A written motion and notice of the
hearing must be served at least 5 days before the
time specified for the hearing, with the following
exceptions:
(A) when the motion may be heard ex parte;
(B) when these rules set a different time; or
(C) when a court order — which a party may,
for good cause, apply for ex parte — sets a
different time.
(2) Supporting Affidavit. Any affidavit
supporting a motion must be served with the
motion. Except as Rule 59(c) provides otherwise,
any opposing affidavit must be served at least 1
day before the hearing, unless the court permits
service at another time.
(d) Additional Time After Certain Kinds of Service.
When a party may or must act within a specified time
after service and service is made under Rule
5(b)(2)(C), (D), (E), or (F), 3 days are added after the
period would otherwise expire under Rule 6(a).