How to Serve a Divorce Petition in the UK

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For expert, prompt service of Divorce Petitions, across the Country, look no further than PB Process Servers UK.  Established in 2002, we pride ourselves on our dedication to helping clients serve Divorce Petitions on even the most difficult cases.

If you want to know how to serve a Divorce Petition, or if you are looking for a quick, reliable and cost-effective way to serve your Divorce Petition in England or Wales, PB Process Servers UK can assist you! 

We offer fast, efficient service and can have your Divorce Petition served in as little as 2-3 working days. Once you instruct PB Process Servers UK, you can rest assured that the process of serving a Divorce Petition will be as stress-free and speedy as possible. Discover today how our experienced professional Process Servers can help make this procedure faster and smoother for you.

How do you serve a Divorce Petition in the UK?

There is a formal process to serving a Divorce Petition. If you are unsure what to do next, you should always seek legal advice from a Solicitor. The procedure is designed to ensure the Court has evidence that your spouse has received the divorce papers. 

If the Respondent fails to acknowledge, to the Court, they have received the papers, then the options for service are usually service by a Court Bailiff or Process Server.

One of the quickest ways you can get a Divorce Petition served, is to instruct a Process Server. A Process Server is a person who delivers ("serves") court papers, like Divorce Petitions, for a living. Once they have served the divorce petition for you, they will provide you with proof of when, how and where the petition was served on the Respondent.

PB Process Servers UK have helped the legal service sector, serve Divorce Petitions, since 2002.  We provide a competitive fixed fee service and have a very high success rate, even on cases where the Court Bailiff has been unable to serve the Petition. We are able to assist you almost immediately, anywhere in England and Wales providing you with the means to get a Petition served quickly.

How can our Process Servers Help Serve the Divorce Petition?

Our team of experienced, local Process Servers will attend the address to serve the Divorce Petition for you. Your Process Server will make several attempts at service, including evening or weekend visits when necessary. Once served, we will send you proof of service. Proof of service is in a court compliant format and will confirm the time, date and place the Petition was served.

• We serve Divorce Petitions Nationwide
• Very High Success Rate
• Competitive, Fixed Fee Service
• Affidavits and Statements Included

What if you cannot Serve the Divorce Petition on the Respondent?

The Petition needs to be handed to or left with the Respondent. Sometimes it is not possible for the Court Bailiff to serve the Divorce Petition or the Process Server to do this, for various reasons such as your spouse is evasive. However, it is possible to demonstrate to the court the reasonable efforts made to serve the Petition. Our part is done through a statement of attempted service signed by the Process Server which confirms all the efforts made to try and personally serve the papers. Depending on the circumstances, you could then use this as evidence to apply for deemed service, to dispense with service altogether or to make an application for substituted service which is service by an alternative method. If permission is granted by the court, you can hopefully move forward with your Divorce. Your Solicitor will be able to advise you on the options you have available. 

How do I instruct a Process Server to serve my Divorce Petition?

To instruct a Process Server to serve your Divorce Petition you will need to post or email us the Divorce papers for service together with a further copy so we can exhibit this to our Affidavit or Statement of Service. A photograph or description of the Respondent is also useful to help identify the person we are serving the papers on. We are normally sent the Divorce Petition, Notice of Proceedings and Acknowledgment of Service or more recently, the Application for Divorce and Invitation to file acknowledgement. If you do not have copies of these, you can ask the court where you issued the proceedings to send them to you or the Process Server.

Choose PB Process Servers UK and you are choosing an established and experienced process serving firm you may rely on. This s why we are used regularly by many top UK law firms.

Tags | Court Bailiff Cannot Serve my Spouse | Court Bailiff Cannot Serve Divorce Petition | How to serve a Divorce Petition | Help Serving a Divorce Petition | 

Getting your Sole Divorce Petition served under the new law by a Process Server, is quick and easy.

As of 6th April 2022 the new divorce law will remove the need to find fault and require the applicant(s) to produce a statement of irretrievable breakdown. Previously the person applying for divorce would have needed to show the marriage had irretrievably broken down on one of the 5 facts: –

1. Adultery
2. Unreasonable Behaviour
3. 2 years of Separation (by consent)
4. Desertion
5. 5 years separation

Under the new rules, the applicant in a sole application may serve the application on the respondent, on request to the court. In a joint application there is no requirement to serve the papers on the other party. 

Once you have issued the Sole Divorce Petition, simply send the Application for Divorce, Notice of Issue and form to respond / acknowledge service, to a Process Server. The court will be able to send send you copies of the documents you need to serve. The Process Server will then attend the address and serve the Petition on the Respondent and provide you with evidence of service which you must then file a court.

PB Process Servers UK offers fixed fee nationwide service. You can quickly and easily organise service of your Sole divorce petition anywhere in the UK. To make a start, simply get a fee estimate from us.  

As we are sure you'll appreciate, we are Process Servers, so we do not provide legal advice. if you are unsure, you should seek legal advice from a Solicitor specialising with Divorce matters.

Information for Professionals can be found here. My HMCTS: How to apply online for a divorce or dissolution - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 

The timescales can vary for serving a Divorce Petition. A Divorce Petition could be served by a Process Server the same day as they receive it. Normal turnaround will be 7-10 days unless the Respondent is evasive. 

The new Divorce laws allow you to serve the Petition on application to the court. This could in theory significantly speed up service of the Petition for Sole Divorce Applications.

You should be wary of the so called Quickie Divorce.  On average it may take around 6 moths or more to get divorced. The Quickie Divorce sites may seem like a cheap option for you. 

The Court will post the Petition to the respondent. The respondent should file an D10 acknowledgment of service. This can can take several weeks and they may decide not to file one at all. 

If the Respondent does not return the acknowledgment of  service, then you will need to consider instructing the Court Bailiff or a Private Process Server to serve the Petition for you. This is so the Court has evidence the Petition has been served (delivered to them) 

The Court Bailiff can take several weeks or months to serve the Petition whereas a Private Process Server will normally make a first visit to the address within 2-3 working days or sooner.  Expect a 7-10 day turnaround time for service by process server.

The Court will normally post the Petition to the respondent to begin with, along with the acknowledgement of service form for them to complete. 

The respondent is given time to file the acknowledgment of service and this may take several weeks or they may choose to not file an acknowledgment of  service. You will need to prove to the Court the respondent has received the Petition. If this is the case, then you will need to consider instructing the Court Bailiff or a Private Process Server to serve the Petition. The Court Bailiff can take several weeks or months to serve the Petition due to backlogs at Court whereas a Private Process Server will normally attend the address within 2-3 working days or sooner.  Once served, a Process Server will provide you with a court compliant statement of service to confirm the date and time the Petition was served on the Respondent.

The new divorce laws that came into effect on 6th April 2022 allow you to apply to court to serve the Petition. If it is a joint divorce, there is no need to serve the petition.  A Process Server could serve the divorce petition for you very quickly.