# Questions about serving a summons **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 29, 2011, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-serving-a-summons/607756 "2011-12-29T20:51:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-serving-a-summons/607756/1 "2011-12-29T20:51:19Z")
I knoww, YANAL, YANML, You do not even watch Law & Order. My ex-landlord used a mail drop through a Mailbox Etc. type place. Think of it like a private PO Box. I need to serve him for a court case (returning my deposit). I sent him the required notice by my state but he did not reply. Preleminary records searches come up with his mail box address and I don’t want to spend a lot of money for internet searches if I’m only going to get the same worthless information. Yes I can send the summons to his mailing address through the court via certified mail but this is a last resort. 1. Is there a **cheap** way to find someone’s address if they use a mail box? 2. If I give it to the sherrif to serve, do I have to give them an address or can they find it through their police methods? 3. He filed bankrupcy back in 2009 and his bankrupcy attorney is on public record. Can I serve the ex-landlord through that attorney? ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-serving-a-summons/607756/2 "2011-12-29T21:13:44Z")
It’s common that the address of a property owner is part of the record of ownership of that property. So you may be able to find this landlord’s true address at your county’s Registry of Deeds. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2011, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-serving-a-summons/607756/3 "2011-12-30T02:31:29Z")
I’ve been told, sorry no cite, that if a PO Box is used for a business that the PO can furnish the REAL address of the box holder. This [eHow](http://www.ehow.com/how_4963140_name-post-office-box-holder.html) seems to have the answers you need. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2011, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-serving-a-summons/607756/4 "2011-12-30T02:44:45Z")
Requests for legal advice go in IMHO, so I’ll move it there for you (from GQ). ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2011, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-serving-a-summons/607756/5 "2011-12-30T03:36:06Z")
Most states have very specific rules for service, including very specific rules for what you do when you are unable to effect personal service, and when you’re allowed to give up on effecting personal service. What state are you in, and what court are you in (State trial court, small claims, federal district court, other?) ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2011, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-serving-a-summons/607756/6 "2011-12-30T09:33:11Z")
> [@GaryM](#): > > I’ve been told, sorry no cite, that if a PO Box is used for a business that the PO can furnish the REAL address of the box holder. > > This [eHow](http://www.ehow.com/how_4963140_name-post-office-box-holder.html) seems to have the answers you need. Problem is that it is a private box not a USPS one. But, I could ask the company if they would provide the address. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2011, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-serving-a-summons/607756/7 "2011-12-30T16:01:56Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > Most states have very specific rules for service, including very specific rules for what you do when you are unable to effect personal service, and when you’re allowed to give up on effecting personal service. This. You need to determine the rules that apply here and then follow those rules. No one here will really be able to help you with this aspect of your OP, and you really shouldn’t rely on anyone’s advice anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2011, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-serving-a-summons/607756/8 "2011-12-30T17:30:41Z")
I’ve had a box at a Mailbox Etc (now UPS store) for 14 years. When I got the box they were recommended in some books as ways to avoid getting served with a summons, so you’d use that address for everything so people can’t find your physical address. Over the years my rental agreement changed as laws changed, and one of the things that changed was you can serve a summons against the box, and it counts as having served the person. I’m in California. And what **Rand Rover** said. ---
**Author:** ![Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimmy_Gibbler)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2011, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-serving-a-summons/607756/9 "2011-12-30T17:34:42Z")
If I recall correctly, you are filing in small claims court in Colorado? If so, you may find [this](http://www.courts.state.co.us/userfiles/File/Self_Help/Small_Claims/Small_Claims_rules(1).pdf) helpful. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-serving-a-summons/607756/10 "2012-01-03T21:08:24Z")
But the question still remains. How can I cheaply find someone’s adress that uses a UPS Store mail drop? ---
**Author:** ![Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimmy_Gibbler)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-serving-a-summons/607756/11 "2012-01-03T21:31:04Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > But the question still remains. How can I cheaply find someone’s adress that uses a UPS Store mail drop? Why do you think that mail service, authorized by the Colorado rules, on the Mailboxes Etc. maildrop is not acceptable? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-serving-a-summons/607756/12 "2012-01-03T23:22:08Z")
> [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](#): > > Why do you think that mail service, authorized by the Colorado rules, on the Mailboxes Etc. maildrop is not acceptable? It is but as a last resort. Even the court clerk said to do what it takes to find a physical address