Americans are accustomed to being notified when their latest online purchase has been delivered, but they may not receive confirmation for something far more important—being informed of a lawsuit, eviction, or divorce filed against them.
“Service of process”—the mechanism for notifying individuals that they’re being sued—remains one of the least standardized and documented parts of civil court proceedings. And people can’t participate in a civil case when they aren’t aware of being involved with one. For example, in debt collection lawsuits (the most common type of civil cases), when people who have been sued don’t appear for their hearing, courts can automatically rule in favor of the plaintiff, a decision known as a default judgment.
Some locales are taking steps to better ensure that people being sued have actually been notified of the lawsuit. For example, in 2025, California enacted legislation requiring GPS verification that service has occurred.
State research also shows that when people are served in person (rather than by mail), default judgment rates may be lower. In Oregon, for instance, an analysis found that counties that required serving court documents in person had lower default judgment rates (65%) than those with mail service (74%).
Requiring in-person service and GPS verification are relatively easy to implement and can have meaningful effects—reducing disputes over notification and ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to participate in their court cases.
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