Supplementary costs

Every charge is quoted first.Nothing appears by surprise.

Most assignments are quoted once and billed once. This page lists everything that can be added to that, what causes each charge, and where court costs fit — which aren’t ours, and work differently.

Nothing beyond your written quote is billed without your written approval. If a condition comes up mid-matter that carries a cost, the work stops, you get the figure, and it restarts only when you say so.

On every order

Two charges that always apply.

Both appear on your quote before you approve anything.

$25

Service execution fee

Flat, on completed personal service. Covers affidavit preparation, notarisation where the jurisdiction requires it, and secure retention of the record.

$20 or 4%

Administrative processing fee

Per order, whichever is greater. Covers order handling, documentation and the coordination that runs alongside every assignment.

Only when something changes

Charges that depend on the matter.

Quoted per matter rather than fixed, because the same condition costs differently in a dense county and a rural one. If it isn’t listed here, it doesn’t appear on your invoice.

Where the address is

DistanceTravel service feeThe address sits well outside a server’s normal radius — a rural county, or a long out-of-area drive each way. As quoted

AccessRestricted facility surchargeA correctional facility, secure campus or other site needing credentialing, clearance or an escorted visit. As quoted

Finding the person

Before dispatchAddress verificationConfirming the address before anyone travels — usually where it’s old, out of area, or you want it checked before expediting. As quoted

LocateSkip traceNo current address on file, an address returning vacant or unable-to-serve, or locate work you ask for before dispatch. As quoted

Sustained attemptsExtended observationA known address where the subject is present but ordinary-hours attempts haven’t connected, and you authorise sustained attempts. As quoted

Speed and volume

ExpeditedRush serviceExpedited dispatch, after-hours initiation, or a request outside standard processing windows. Subject to local field coverage. As quoted

ScaleHigh-volume document handlingDocument volume materially beyond a routine assignment — printing, collation and physical handling at scale. As quoted

When the method changes

Court-orderedService by publicationThe court has ordered publication. Covers newspaper selection, copy submission, run scheduling and collecting the publisher’s affidavit. The publication cost itself runs on the retainer below. As quoted

New addressRe-service elsewhereThe original address proves vacant, incorrect or inaccessible and you authorise a fresh set of attempts at a new one. As quoted

Client-side changeRe-issuing an affidavitWhere details changed on your side after delivery. Correcting our own error is never charged. As quoted

Cancellation

After dispatchWithdrawing an assignmentGoverned by the Refund & Cancellation Policy rather than this page, which sets out what applies at each stage. See policy

Court and authority charges

Some of the money was never ours.

Filing fees, clerk copy and certification charges, witness fees, publication costs and apostille fees are set by a court or authority and paid on your behalf. They never form part of our fee.

Step oneSet with your quoteA retainer figure sized to what the jurisdiction is expected to charge, shown on its own line.

Step twoDrawn downActual charges come out of it as they’re incurred, against the receipt.

Step threeReconciled afterUnder, and the difference is returned. Over, and you’re billed the difference.

We do this because we don’t set those charges and often can’t know them in advance — a clerk’s copy charge depends on the page count of a file nobody has pulled yet. Quoting a fixed figure would mean estimating high and keeping the difference.

The line between the two

What your quote already covers.

Included, no extra charge

Up to three diligent attempts at one address
A court-accepted affidavit of service
Notarisation of the proof where required
Each attempt recorded with date, time, address, method and observations
Status updates through the matter
A direct line to the coordinator who knows it
An affidavit of non-service where service can’t be completed
Court-format compliance review
Long-term retention of the record

Things we never charge for

Per-page fees for documents being served
Account setup or portal access
Asking a question or checking status
Reissuing an affidavit to fix our own error
Separate “diligence report” fees
Paying by cheque rather than card
“Rush triage” on standard assignments
Anything not itemised on the quote you approved

If something comes up

You always get the last word.

1Work pausesThe assignment stops rather than continuing and billing you afterwards.

2You get the figureIn writing, with what caused it and what it covers. Where there’s an alternative, you’re offered it.

3You decideApprove and it proceeds. Decline and the matter closes at work already done. Not answering is a valid answer — nothing runs.

Volume and law-firm accounts can pre-approve defined categories in writing — travel surcharges up to a threshold, for instance — under a Master Services Agreement.

Before you ask

Questions we get most.

Can I be billed for something I didn’t approve?

Not beyond your approved quote and the two standing charges, which are on that quote. An invoice line you don’t recognise is a mistake on our side — raise it and we’ll produce the authorisation behind it or take it off.

If a rush is approved and the matter still can’t be completed?

A rush fee buys expedited handling and dispatch, not an outcome. If the delay turns out to be on our side rather than the address, tell us and it’s adjusted. If it’s the address, you have a documented set of attempts — which is what a court wants to see.

Do these charges differ by state?

Our fees are quoted per matter rather than from a national table. Court costs differ far more and are set entirely by the court or authority. Coverage detail.

Where’s base pricing?

On the pricing page, which carries the rate card for all eight services. This page covers only what can be added to it.

Before anything runs

Send the matter.Get every line in writing.

A written quote showing our fee, any conditional charge that already applies, and the retainer for court costs — itemised, before you approve anything.

Choose a service See base pricing

Charges are quoted per matter and confirmed in your written quote before work begins; figures shown are current at the time of writing and are not a price list. Court, clerk, witness, publication and authority fees are charged by the relevant body rather than by Served 123 LLC, run through a separate retainer drawn down against the actual charge and reconciled after the work, and do not form part of the service fee. Turnaround is confirmed with your quote. This page is incorporated into the Terms of Service and controls on matters of supplementary cost. Served 123 LLC is a litigation support company, not a law firm, and does not provide legal advice. Coverage spans all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Member, National Association of Professional Process Servers, since 2023.