Process Serving in Kentucky

Kentucky’s Circuit Court is the court of general jurisdiction, with original jurisdiction over all justiciable causes not vested exclusively in another court. The District Court has exclusive jurisdiction over civil cases in which the amount in controversy does not exceed $5,000, exclusive of interest and costs, except matters affecting title to real estate and matters of equity. Service of process is governed by the Kentucky Rules of Civil Procedure together with KRS Chapter 454, which directs process to the sheriff, allows the court to appoint a server for a particular process, and provides for service on nonresidents through the Secretary of State. The official civil summons form (AOC-105) cites CR 4.02 and gives the defendant 20 days after delivery to make a written defense. Court Runner USA connects you with process servers who serve papers across Kentucky.

General information, not legal advice. Last checked October 2026.

Sources:

• KRS 23A.010 — Circuit Court jurisdiction
• KRS 24A.120 — District Court civil jurisdiction
• KRS 454.140 — Officers to whom process is directed
• AOC-105 Civil Summons (Kentucky Court of Justice)

KRS 454.140(1) provides that every process in an action or proceeding is directed to the sheriff of the county; if the sheriff is a party or interested, to the coroner; if the coroner is interested, to the jailer; and if all of those officers are interested, to any constable. At the request of the party for whom it issues, a summons or an order for a provisional remedy may be directed to any of those officers who is not a party to or interested in the action (KRS 454.140(2)).

Under KRS 454.145, the court may, for good cause, appoint a person to serve a particular process or order. That person has the same power to execute it as a sheriff, must verify the return by affidavit, and is entitled to the fees allowed to sheriffs for similar services. The statutes cited here do not create a statewide licence or registration for private process servers. Whether an unappointed private adult may serve a summons depends on Civil Rule 4, which should be checked in its current form, together with local practice, before arranging private service.

Sources:

• KRS 454.140
• KRS 454.145 — Court may appoint person to serve process

Kentucky’s long-arm statute, KRS 454.210(3), provides that when personal jurisdiction over a nonresident is authorized, service may be made in any manner authorized by the Kentucky Rules of Civil Procedure; on the person, or any agent of the person, in any Kentucky county where found; or on the Secretary of State as statutory agent. For Secretary of State service, the clerk sends two copies of the summons and two attested copies of the complaint by certified mail, or transmits them through the Court of Justice e-filing system. The Secretary must mail them to the defendant by certified mail, return receipt requested, within seven days, and service is deemed made on the Secretary’s return.

The official civil summons (AOC-105) includes a field for the defendant’s service-of-process agent and a proof-of-service block for service by delivering a true copy of the summons and the complaint. Constructive service is limited: KRS 454.165 bars a personal judgment against a defendant who was constructively summoned and has not appeared, except as provided in KRS 454.210. The detailed rules for service at a residence, on businesses, by certified mail and by warning order are in Civil Rule 4, whose current text should be confirmed for the defendant involved.

Sources:

• KRS 454.210 — Nonresidents; Secretary of State service
• KRS 454.165
• AOC-105 Civil Summons

Under KRS 413.250, an action is deemed to commence on the date of the first summons or process issued in good faith from the court having jurisdiction of the cause of action. The official civil summons (AOC-105) tells the defendant that unless a written defense is made, by the defendant or an attorney, within 20 days following the day the paper is delivered, judgment by default may be taken for the relief demanded in the complaint.

Nonresidents served through the Secretary of State are deemed served on the Secretary’s return, after which the action proceeds under the Civil Rules; the Secretary must mail the papers to the defendant within seven days of receiving them (KRS 454.210(3)(c)). The statutes cited here do not set a fixed number of days within which a summons must be served after it is issued; confirm any deadline in the Civil Rules, a local rule or a court order before relying on a particular period. Limitation periods themselves vary by claim and are collected in KRS Chapter 413, Limitation of Actions.

Sources:

• KRS 413.250 — When action commences
• AOC-105 Civil Summons
• KRS 454.210

KRS 454.135 provides that, subject to KRS 421.180, a defendant has no privilege of exemption from service of process on a holiday or Sunday, except from an arrest, by reason of attending a muster, an election or an order of survey, or attending as a witness at any court or other place. KRS 454.125 adds that a process, writ, summons, affidavit or order for a provisional remedy is not objectionable because it was issued, made or dated on a holiday.

KRS 421.180 protects a witness from being sued in a county where the witness does not reside by being served with a summons there while going to, returning from or attending under a subpoena. KRS 454.020 bars a sheriff from executing civil process of arrest on a voter attending an election at which the voter may vote, or going to or returning from it; execution contrary to that section is void. Under KRS 454.140, process is not directed to an officer who is a party to or interested in the action, and passes instead to the next listed officer.

Sources:

• KRS 454.135
• KRS 454.125
• KRS 421.180
• KRS 454.020
• KRS 454.140

The official Kentucky civil summons (AOC-105) contains a Proof of Service block stating that the summons was served by delivering a true copy and the complaint (or other initiating document) to a named person on a stated date, signed by the server with the server’s title. A person specially appointed by the court under KRS 454.145 must verify the return by affidavit.

Where a nonresident is served through the Secretary of State, the clerk makes the usual return to the court and the Secretary of State files a separate return showing that the statutory steps were performed, attaching the registry receipt if there is one (KRS 454.210(3)(c)). KRS 454.170 allows a person who is conscientiously opposed to taking an oath to substitute an affirmation wherever a statute derived from the former Civil Code, or the Rules of Civil Procedure, requires an oath. The statutes cited here do not set a general notarization rule for a sheriff’s return; confirm the current return requirements in the Civil Rules for the method used.

Sources:

• AOC-105 Civil Summons
• KRS 454.145
• KRS 454.210
• KRS 454.170