About Civil Process

1. Service on any person, firm, or corporation, an order, notice, summons, or any other civil process, except as herein otherwise provided, and for service on any person, firm, or corporation any process when the body is not taken and making a return thereof, except that no fee shall be charged for service pursuant to § 2.2-4022.
2. Summoning a witness or garnishee on an attachment.
3. Service on any person of an attachment or other process under which the body is taken and making a return thereon.
4. Service of any order of court not otherwise provided for, except that no fees shall be charged for protective orders issued pursuant to Chapter 11 (§ 16.1-226 et seq.) of Title 16.1.
5. Making a return of a writ of fieri facias where no levy is made or forthcoming bond is taken.
6. Summoning a witness in any case in which custody or visitation of a minor child or children is at issue.

1. Service and publication of any notice of a publicly advertised public sale.
2. Service of a writ of possession, except that there shall be an additional fee of $12 for each additional defendant.
3. Levying upon current money, bank notes, goods, or chattels of a judgment debtor pursuant to § 8.01-478.
4. Service of a declaration in ejectment on any person, firm, or corporation, except that there shall be an additional fee of $12 for each additional defendant.
5. Levying distress warrant or an attachment.
6. Levying an execution.

Except no fees shall be charged for the service of papers in connection with the prosecution of any misdemeanor or felony domestic violence offense, or in connection with the filing, issuance, registration, or service of a protective order or a petition for a protective order. A victim of domestic violence, stalking, or sexual assault shall not bear the costs associated with the filing of criminal charges against the offender, and no victim shall bear the costs associated with the filing, issuance, registration, or service of a warrant, protective order, petition for a protective order, or witness subpoena, issued inside or outside the Commonwealth.

Fees for processes returnable to states outside the Commonwealth of Virginia are to be paid in advance and are as follows:

• $75 per entity (corporation, individual)
• $75 per address where service is to be attempted
• $75 per document served
• $75 per case number assigned
• $150 two persons at one address
• $150 one person at two different addresses
• $5 notary fee (effective July 1, 2005, by Virginia Code § 47.1-19)

Service will be 'IN HAND' ONLY unless substitute service is authorized by you.

The Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office tax I.D. number is 540722061.

**Please note that the Virginia Code makes no distinction for the type of process served, nor the respective courts to which they are returnable when they are returnable to states outside the Commonwealth (“The process and service fee for serving any papers returnable out of state shall be $75”).

To reduce postage costs, it is not necessary that we have a full set of the process for our office copy. We make a copy of the first process for our records. When mailing your papers for service, please include a cover letter indicating to where the affidavit of service should be returned. If you would like your affidavit of service completed, please indicate so. Otherwise, we will use our affidavit of service. If you have special instructions on service, or information detrimental to obtaining service, please spell that out in your letter. Of course, if you feel the individual may avoid service, a photograph is helpful, but not mandatory. The fee for out-of-state services is $75 per person, per address, effective July 1, 2004.