InterLinc: County Sheriff: Civil Process Service Policy

Lancaster County

County Sheriff

Civil Process Service Policy

The Sheriff's Office in each county in Nebraska is designated by State Statute as the officer of the courts. Part of his/her duties as officer of the court is the service and execution of court process. If one is involved in a lawsuit as the plaintiff, defendant, or attorney, and needs to have documents regarding that suit served on an individual or business, a sheriff's deputy will be the person to do that in most cases. On the other hand, if one disobeys an order or ruling of the court, the Sheriff's Office is also the authority designated to carry out and satisfy court orders. Statute has granted the Office of the Sheriff extensive powers to enable it to enforce court orders in any type of suit. Sheriff Terry Wagner has designated a Civil Division within his office to handle process service.

General Information
The Lancaster County Sheriff's Office receives approximately 2500 civil and criminal writs per month. Of these, nearly 80% are successfully served. The number of writs received is expected to increase by approximately 4% over the next year. Process servers are commissioned deputy sheriffs assigned to the Civil Division. Generally, the hours of work are from 8:00 A.M. to 4:30 P.M., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. Certain priority papers, such as protection orders, may be served at alternative times or days. The telephone number to reach the Civil Division is (402)441-7724. Its location and mailing address is 575 So. 10th Street, Lincoln, Nebraska, 68508.

The civilian processing staff has almost 80 years of experience with the Sheriff's Office. Their expertise in this area allows them to provide professional service to the citizens of Lancaster County. They are not, however, licensed to give legal advice, and it is requested that any questions asked of them be limited to the processing and service of civil documents.

Service Fee Information
The courts send the majority of papers to be served directly to the Sheriff's Office. However, some kinds of writs are hand carried by the litigants. The Sheriff also receives many requests for service on Lancaster County residents from courts in other jurisdictions. In any case, litigants will need to leave a deposit for sheriff's fees in advance of any requested service. This deposit is separate from any filing fees paid to the Court Clerk to have a paper issued so it will be necessary to either come to the Sheriff's Office to leave the deposit or arrange with an attorney to advance the service fees.

Statute dictates what this office must charge to serve a paper. Fees for service of simple writs are:

$ 5.00 for the return of service (deputy's report to the court about how the paper was handled)
$10.00 service on each person
$ 0.475 per mile traveled to accomplish service

Therefore, one can see that the minimum deposit the Civil Division would need to charge for service of papers would be $25.00 and could easily be more depending on the number of people being served. Process being served outside the Lincoln city limits will require a larger deposit for mileage. The minimum suggested amount is $45.00. Feel free to call to inquire about a more specific amount.

Service of process from courts outside of Nebraska is a courtesy this office is pleased to extend, but it is not mandated by state statute nor can the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office be bound by another state's requirements for service. The deposit for process from courts outside the State of Nebraska is $35.00 for the first person to be served and $10.00 for each additional person named on the same writ. Successive writs are $35.00 apiece.

More complex writs such as executions, evictions, attachments and replevins require the Sheriff to perform different kinds of tasks, some of which may involve contracting with tow and storage companies, moving companies, and appraisers. Advance deposits are usually negotiated on a writ-by-writ basis. Action on complex writs is dependent upon advanced fees being on deposit at the Sheriff's Office. Some general cost guidelines follow:

$500.00 to execute upon a passenger vehicle (this does not include tractor trailers or larger construction vehicles)
$150.00 to execute upon real estate
$150.00 to perform an eviction lockout

Submitting Paperwork For Service
When preparing writs for service, please include any identifiers available for the person to be served such as;

full name including middle initial
date of birth
address
employer and employer's address

Several businesses have facilities spread throughout Lincoln/Lancaster County which makes it difficult and time consuming for the process servers to locate employees. Having an exact location and the person's working hours facilitates the service of process.

Please check to ensure the person or business to be served is within Lancaster County. Writs are often received that list addresses outside Lancaster County. The Sheriff's Office is not allowed to serve process outside it's jurisdiction. Paperwork is often received that shows a rural route as an address. A rural route specifies a general area of the county where the person resides and is not a specific address. Please consult the post office for the street address prior to submitting your paperwork. Process also cannot be served at a post office box. Papers which do not contain a street address or address directions for a business or person may be returned as unsatisfied.

Each writ submitted for service must include:

an original for return to the court
a service copy and praecipe for each person or business to be served. This is necessitated by changes in the procedure in how the courts issue documents.

The praecipe must provide instructions for the type of service and directions on where the person can be served. It is in the litigant's best interest to provide current and accurate information in order to have the best chances for service. Also, providing the litigant's telephone number allows the deputy to easily make contact with any questions he or she may have regarding service of papers. Requesting personal service when it is not required by statute significantly reduces the chances of effecting service. If requested service is not possible on the first attempt, service will be made according to statute requirements.

Please allow a minimum or three (3) days to effect service. The Sheriff's Office realizes that there are some circumstances which necessitate rush service, and for those occasions it strives to accomplish the task. It has found, however, that in most instances where rush service is requested, the case has been docketed for several months, and sufficient time for regular service could have been given. It would not be fair to those litigants who have their paperwork submitted in a timely manner to yield to last minute rush service requests not dictated by exigent circumstances. Again, the Sheriff's Office collects fees in advance of service. A deposit for fees will be accepted with papers, or an account may be established with the Sheriff's Office to facilitate the service of papers. Service will not be effected without deposit of the proper fees or an account balance sufficient to cover the fees.

Checking On Service
Process is tracked by a computerized system which can retrieve information by the name of the person to be served, by the docket and page number, or by an internally assigned process tracking number. Docket and page tracking is available online at the Sheriff's Office website.

If a litigant does not know his/her docket and page number or does not have online access available, he/she may call the Sheriff's Office Civil Division at (402)441-7724 between 8:00 A.M. and 4:30 P.M., Monday through Friday, to check on service of writs. The greatest number of calls regarding service occur late in the day, so checking before 4:00 P.M. is encouraged.

Returns for civil process issued from Lancaster County courts are made directly to the courts. Because the Sheriff's Office is not the keeper of the record for the returns, it is not appropriate for the Sheriff's Office to disseminate copies. Copies of the returns can be obtained by contacting the appropriate court.

Writs that are generated from out-of-county or out-of-state courts will be returned directly to the source from which they were received. Again, since it is not the keeper of the record for the outside court, the Sheriff's Office will not be able to provide additional copies of those returns.

The telephone number to access the Lancaster County Court Civil Division is (402)441-7271 and the Lancaster County District Court is (402)441-7328.

Recent Changes In Writ Service
Sheriff's Office policy regarding the service of writs of restitution now requires the use of the Sheriff's Office's contracted locksmith on any eviction where the immediate changing of the locks is desired. The Sheriff's Office will no longer stand by for lock changes done by privately contracted locksmiths or landowners/ landlords.

County Sheriff