Consent to Service of Process

It’s like when you intone ironically “So sue me!”

And they do. Or at least they can.

"Consent to service of process" is a legal acceptance of financial responsibility when you set up your company in whatever form in a given state. That is, when you consent to being served lawsuit papers at your address of record, it makes it all the easier for...whoever...to sue you.

They don't have to hunt you down in the woods, or wait for you to show up at your P.O. Box, or try to I.D. you in a “Where’s Waldo” drawing. All they have to do is send what’s called a process server (registered mail, basically) who identifies you, and then takes a selfie of him serving you papers, i.e. handing you an envelope stating that you are being served.

The state had to require this consent, because too many deadbeat companies absconded with unpaid bills, unserved responsibilities in contracts, and other omissions that finally force the government to say “enough!”

If you want to do business in our neck of the woods, then you’ll consent to being sued…easily.

Don’t worry though...it only hurts the first time.

Related or Semi-related Video

Finance: What is Consent To Service Of P...156 Views

00:00

Finance a la shmoop what is consent to service of process alright well it's [Woman appears on stage]

00:09

like when you in tone ironically so sue me and they do or at least they can

00:15

well this phrase consent to service of process is a legal acceptance of

00:20

financial responsibility when you set up your company in whatever form in [Women discussing company matters]

00:25

whatever given state that is when you consent to being served lawsuit papers

00:32

at your address of record it makes it all the easier for well whoever to sue [Lawyer gives woman a lawsuit]

00:37

you they don't have to hunt you down in the woods or wait for you to show up at

00:41

your PO-- box or to try to ID you in a you know Where's Waldo drawing it's hard [Waldo appears in a crowd and runs away]

00:47

to do well all they have to do is send what's called a process server basically

00:51

registered mail who identifies you and then he you know takes a selfie of [Man takes a selfie with a woman]

00:56

himself serving you papers ie handing you an envelope stating that you are

01:00

being served well the state had to require this consent because too many

01:05

deadbeat companies absconded with unpaid bills unserved responsibilities in

01:12

contracts and other omissions that finally force the government to say

01:16

enough if you want to do business in our neck of the woods then you'll consent to [Government working demanding consent]

01:20

being sued easily and being served yeah don't worry it only hurts the first time

Find other enlightening terms in Shmoop Finance Genius Bar(f)