A Process Server Left Papers With Our Receptionist. Has Our Company Been Served?
Last updated: November 2026. Reviewed by Pavel Kolmogorov, California business litigation attorney (State Bar No. 321018).
Possibly, and the safe course is to assume so. A California corporation is served by delivering the summons and complaint to its agent for service or to an officer listed in Code of Civil Procedure section 416.10. Section 415.20 also allows the papers to be left at the office with the person apparently in charge, followed by a mailed copy. Service is then complete on the 10th day after mailing. The mailing rule changes on January 1, 2027. Kolmogorov Law, P.C. represents businesses on each side of these disputes.
Call (909) 235-6116 or contact us online to discuss papers your company received, or a company you cannot manage to serve.
Who may be served for a corporation or an LLC
The papers may be delivered to the agent the corporation designated for service of process. They may also go to the president, chief executive officer, or other head of the corporation, or to a vice president, secretary, treasurer, controller, chief financial officer, or general manager. Assistant secretaries, assistant treasurers, and anyone the corporation has authorized to receive service are included. (Code Civ. Proc., § 416.10, subds. (a), (b).) A receptionist is not on the list.
For a limited liability company, the Corporations Code adds a method to the Code of Civil Procedure rules. Personal delivery to the individual the LLC designated as its agent is valid service. Where the agent is a corporation, delivery is made at the agent's office to a person named in its latest filed certificate. (Corp. Code, § 17701.16, subds. (a), (b).)
Papers left at the office: substituted service
In lieu of personal delivery to one of those people, the papers may be left during usual office hours in that person's office with the person who is apparently in charge. A copy must then be mailed by first-class mail, postage prepaid, to the person to be served at the same place. Service made this way is deemed complete on the 10th day after the mailing. (Code Civ. Proc., § 415.20, subd. (a).) The subdivision for entities does not require earlier attempts at personal delivery.
Two questions follow. The first is whether the person who took the papers was apparently in charge of the office. In one case the only person who answered at a locked office refused the papers. The server left them outside the door, mailed copies to the company's principal officer, and the Court of Appeal upheld the service. (Khourie, Crew & Jaeger v. Sabek, Inc. (1990) 220 Cal.App.3d 1009, 1013.) A 2025 decision reached the opposite result where the papers went to a worker employed by a related company. The phrase "apparently in charge" does not cover any employee found at a business, and the proof of service should state basic facts showing why the person qualified. (Chinese Theater, LLC v. Starline Tours USA, Inc. (2025) 115 Cal.App.5th 1048.)
The second is the mailing. The copy must go to the person to be served, at the place where the papers were left. When a defendant challenges service, the plaintiff must prove the facts that make it valid.
What changes on January 1, 2027
The version of section 415.20 in force today is repealed by its own terms on January 1, 2027, and a new version becomes operative that day. For entities the rule stays the same, including the 10-day completion date, except for the follow-up mailing. It may then be sent by United States Postal Service first-class mail, Priority Mail with tracking, or Certified Mail with return receipt requested. (Code Civ. Proc., § 415.20, subd. (a), operative Jan. 1, 2027.)
For individuals, such as an owner sued along with the company, the new version defines reasonable diligence as good faith attempts on at least three occasions, on three different days, at three different times. (Code Civ. Proc., § 415.20, subd. (b)(2), operative Jan. 1, 2027.) The proof of service statute will require photographs of the place of service stamped with the date, time, and location, with exceptions. (Code Civ. Proc., § 417.10, subd. (a), operative Jan. 1, 2027.) For service attempted or completed on or after that date, a new section 473.2 puts the burden on the plaintiff to prove lawful service when a defendant moves to vacate a default with evidence that service was defective. (Code Civ. Proc., § 473.2, subds. (b), (c), (f).)
When the clock starts and what the summons must say
The summons directs a defendant to file a written response within 30 days after service. (Code Civ. Proc., § 412.20, subd. (a)(3).) After substituted service, that period runs from the 10th day after the mailing, not from the day the papers reached the front desk.
In a suit against a corporation, the served copy of the summons must also carry a notice that the person is served on behalf of the named entity. Without it, no default may be taken against the corporation. (Code Civ. Proc., § 412.30.) Our page on default judgments explains what a default costs.
If the agent cannot be found: the Secretary of State
If a corporation's agent has resigned and not been replaced, or cannot with reasonable diligence be found at the designated address, the plaintiff may apply to the court. On an affidavit showing that the other methods will not work, the court may order service by hand delivery to the Secretary of State. That service is deemed complete on the 10th day after delivery. (Corp. Code, § 1702, subd. (a).) The LLC statute has a parallel procedure. (Corp. Code, § 17701.16, subd. (c).)
The Secretary of State forwards the papers to the company's principal office by registered mail. (Corp. Code, § 1702, subd. (b).) A company whose filed address is out of date may never see them. Our page on setting aside a default covers the remedy.
If your company doubts the service
A defendant may move to quash service of summons on or before the last day to plead. (Code Civ. Proc., § 418.10, subd. (a)(1).) Order matters, because a general appearance is equivalent to personal service. (Code Civ. Proc., § 410.50, subd. (a).) Filing a demurrer or motion to strike without the motion waives the objection to inadequate service. (Code Civ. Proc., § 418.10, subd. (e)(3).) Quashing service does not by itself end the lawsuit.
Our guide to the first 30 days after your business is sued covers the rest of the response. Companies based outside the state should read our page on the motion to quash.
If you are the plaintiff
Look up the entity's agent in the Secretary of State's records and serve the agent by personal delivery where you can. If you use substituted service, address the mailed copy to a named agent or officer, not to the company alone. Check that the entity notice is on the summons, and count the response period from the completion date. Our guide on how to sue a company covers the steps before service.
What to bring to the first meeting
- Every page that was delivered, and the envelope of anything mailed.
- The date, time, and place of delivery, and who accepted the papers.
- Your company's current Secretary of State filing showing its agent and addresses.
- For plaintiffs: the proofs of service and the process server's notes.
Frequently asked questions
A process server left papers with our receptionist. Has our company been served?
It may have been. California allows substituted service on a corporation by leaving the summons and complaint at the office during usual office hours with the person apparently in charge, then mailing a copy. If both steps happened, service is complete on the 10th day after the mailing. Whether a receptionist was apparently in charge depends on the facts, so treat the deadline as running.
We cannot find anyone to serve at the company we are suing, and its registered agent has resigned. What can we do?
California Corporations Code section 1702 provides a route. On an affidavit showing that the agent has resigned or cannot be found with reasonable diligence, and that other methods will not work, the court may order service by hand delivery to the Secretary of State. Service is complete on the 10th day after that delivery.
Who can be served on behalf of a corporation in California?
Code of Civil Procedure section 416.10 lists them. The designated agent for service of process is listed first. The others are the president or other head of the corporation, a vice president, a secretary, a treasurer, a controller or chief financial officer, and a general manager. A California corporation may also authorize someone else to receive service.
What changes in CCP 415.20 on January 1, 2027?
A new version of the California statute becomes operative that day. For corporations and other entities, the follow-up mailing may go by first-class mail, Priority Mail with tracking, or Certified Mail with return receipt requested. For individuals, reasonable diligence will mean at least three good faith attempts on three different days at three different times.
When do the 30 days to respond start after substituted service?
In California the response period runs from the date service is complete. For substituted service under Code of Civil Procedure section 415.20, that is the 10th day after the copy was mailed, and the summons allows 30 days from then.
Talk to a California business litigation attorney
If your company received a summons and you doubt the service, or you need to serve a company that is hard to reach, call (909) 235-6116 or contact us online. Kolmogorov Law, P.C. is a business litigation firm in Irvine, California. See also our civil litigation page.
This page provides general information about California law and is not legal advice. Outcomes depend on how and when the papers were delivered, the entity's filings, and the court.