Hiring a process server and getting the serve done is not the finish line. The court learns that service happened from one document: the affidavit of service, signed by the server who made the serve and filed with the court. Serve-to-file is Reliant's flagship finish — we serve, your server signs the affidavit of service, and we file that affidavit with the court.
Here is the actual sequence, what each step depends on, and what it means for your dates.
Step 1 — You file your case; we serve it
You (or your attorney) file the case and have the summons issued — that part of the matter is yours. You then upload the service-ready packet to us: summons, complaint, and every exhibit that belongs with it. O.C.G.A. § 9-11-4 has the server deliver the summons together with the complaint, so the packet you upload is exactly what goes to the door.
An appointed process server in that county takes the job. Each recipient at each address is a separate field job with its own attempts, its own photo and GPS record, and its own affidavit — because each defendant's answer clock runs from their own service date.
We route only to servers whose court appointment for that county is current and verified. If an appointment lapses, that server stops receiving work in that county automatically. It is not a courtesy check; it is the routing rule.
Step 2 — Your server signs the affidavit of service
The server who made the serve completes and signs the affidavit of service — the sworn, first-person record of who was served, where, when, and how. It is the server's own statement of what the server did; nobody else can write it. We quality-check the signed affidavit against the case caption and the service facts before anything moves further. See what the affidavit has to contain.
Step 3 — We file that affidavit with the court
With the affidavit signed and checked, we file it with the same court where your case is pending, and we keep the filing confirmation. This is a ministerial step — delivering the server's own proof of service to the clerk — and it is the step most often skipped by people who handled service themselves.
Skipping it is consequential: a defendant who was served but whose affidavit was never filed looks, on the docket, exactly like a defendant who was never served. The docket only knows what was filed.
What this changes for a pro se filer
The two purely administrative failure points in service are finding an appointed server in the right county and remembering the affidavit filing weeks later when the case has gone quiet. Serve-to-file hands both to us and leaves you with the part that is actually your case.
You still choose your court, file your own case, and write your own pleadings. We do not do any of that, and would not — we are not a law firm.
What this changes for a firm
The paralegal time in service is rarely the service. It is the chasing: checking whether the server went out, requesting the affidavit, filing the affidavit, then finding all of that again three weeks later when opposing counsel raises a defect.
A single order that serves and files the affidavit collapses that into one reference number, with the affidavit landing on the docket without anyone remembering to send it. Firms can submit one matter or a batch, apply saved instruction templates, and see everything needing a response in one place.
Statewide, with one honest caveat
Every order to serve in Georgia is accepted, statewide. Some Georgia courts appoint the individuals who may serve process for cases in that court; where the court your papers relate to requires a court-appointment step before service can begin, we say so before you pay, and that step's timing depends on the court.
Choose your finish
- Serve only — we serve and deliver the signed affidavit securely to you; you file it (or your attorney does).
- Serve and file the affidavit — the serve-to-file finish: we serve, your server signs, and we file the affidavit with the court and keep the confirmation.
Pricing shown covers Reliant's work. Any fee the court itself charges is set by the court.
What we will not do
Worth stating plainly, because it is the line that makes the rest trustworthy. We do not file your case, choose your venue, draft or review your pleadings, tell you what to claim, or advise you on deadlines. We handle service logistics and the ministerial filing of your server's own proof of service. When something requires a legal judgment, that is you or your attorney — and we will say so rather than guess.
This is a service description, not legal advice. Reliant Process Solutions is not a law firm. Court rules, fees, and timelines vary by county and court — confirm with the clerk or an attorney.