Attempts at direct service of process have been unsuccessful;
Attempts at direct service have been proven to the court to be reasonably diligent; and
The court issues an order that service can be made upon the entity by hand delivering to the Secretary of State‘s office in Sacramento, as substituted service of process upon the entity, the following:

A copy of the process (generally the summons and complaint) to be served;
A copy of the court order permitting the service; and
The statutory $50.00 fee.

Substituted service of process in this manner is not permitted by mail. The order, process to be served and $50.00 fee must be hand delivered to our public counter in Sacramento office during regular business hours of 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday (excluding state holidays ), at 1500 11th Street, 3rd Floor, Room 390. Substituted service of process through the Secretary of State’s office is only available in Sacramento.

*You can only access the lobby of the Secretary of State. There is a service of process form that must be filled out. The form is located on a desk in the lobby. After you complete the form, you call (916) 695-1212. Someone will come the lobby to accept service of process.

Do you need Substituted service of process through the Secretary of State’s office? We are Sacramento Process Servers and we serve documents to the Secretary of State daily.  Complete the form below to order substituted service on the Secretary of State.