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Rule 4.2 – Process: Who May be Served

May 14, 2021 | Civil Procedure, Ohio

Service of process pursuant to Civ.R. 4 through Civ.R. 4.6, except service by publication as provided in Civ.R. 4.4(A), shall be made as follows:

(A) Upon an individual, other than a person under sixteen years of age or an incompetent person, by serving the individual;
(B) Upon a person under sixteen years of age by serving either the person’s guardian or any one of the following persons with whom the person to be served lives or resides: a parent or the individual having the care of the person; or by serving the person if the person neither has a guardian nor lives or resides with a parent or a person having his or her care;
(C) Upon an incompetent person by serving either the incompetent’s guardian or the person designated in division (E) of this rule, but if no guardian has been appointed and the incompetent is not under confinement or commitment, by serving the incompetent;
(D) Upon an individual confined to a penal institution of this state or of a subdivision of this state by serving the individual, except that when the individual to be served is a person under sixteen years of age, the provisions of division (B) of this rule shall be applicable;
(E) Upon an incompetent person who is confined in any institution for the mentally ill or mentally deficient or committed by order of court to the custody of some other institution or person by serving the superintendent or similar official of the institution to which the incompetent is confined or committed or the person to whose custody the incompetent is committed;
(F) Upon a corporation either domestic or foreign: by serving the agent authorized by appointment or by law to receive service of process; or by serving the corporation at any of its usual places of business by a method authorized under Civ.R. 4.1(A)(1); or by serving an officer or a managing or general agent of the corporation;
(G) Upon a limited liability company by serving the agent authorized by appointment or by law to receive service of process; or by serving the limited liability company at any of its usual places of business by a method authorized under Civ.R. 4.1(A)(1); or by serving a manager or member;
(H) Upon a partnership, a limited partnership, or a limited partnership association by serving the entity by certified or express mail at any of its usual places of business by a method authorized under Civ.R. 4.1(A)(1) or by serving a partner, limited partner, manager, or member;
(I) Upon an unincorporated association by serving it in its entity name at any of its usual places of business by a method authorized under Civ.R. 4.1(A)(1); or by serving an officer of the unincorporated association;
(J) Upon a professional association by serving the association in its corporate name at the place where the corporate offices are maintained by a method authorized under Civ. R. 4.1(A)(1); or by serving a shareholder;
(K) Upon this state or any one of its departments, offices and institutions as defined in division (C) of section 121.01 of the Revised Code, by serving the officer responsible for the administration of the department, office or institution or by serving the attorney general of this state;
(L) Upon a county or upon any of its offices, agencies, districts, departments, institutions or administrative units, by serving the officer responsible for the administration of the office, agency, district, department, institution or unit or by serving the prosecuting attorney of the county;
(M) Upon a township by serving one or more of the township trustees or the township clerk or by serving the prosecuting attorney of the county in which the township is located, unless the township is organized under Chapter 504, of the Revised Code, in which case service may be made upon the township law director;
(N) Upon a municipal corporation or upon any of its offices, departments, agencies, authorities, institutions or administrative units by serving the officer responsible for the administration of the office, department, agency, authority, institution or unit or by serving the city solicitor or comparable legal officer;
(O) Upon any governmental entity not mentioned above by serving the person, officer, group or body responsible for the administration of that entity or by serving the appropriate legal officer, if any, representing the entity. Service upon any person who is a member of the “group” or “body” responsible for the administration of the entity shall be sufficient.

Service of process pursuant to Civ.R. 4 through 4.6, except service by publication as provided in Civ.R. 4.4(A), may be made upon an address confidentiality “program participant,” as defined by R.C. 111.41(G), by serving the Secretary of State.

Ohio. Civ.R. 4.2

Effective:July 1, 1970; amended effective July 1, 1971;July 1, 1996;July 1, 1997;July 1, 2009;July 1, 2012;July 1, 2016;July 1, 2017.

Staff Note (July 1, 2017 Amendment)

At the request made by the Legislature in Section 3 of 2016 Sub.H.B. No. 359, the 2017 amendment adds a final paragraph to the rule to allow service of process to be made upon an address confidentiality “program participant,” as defined by R.C. 111.41(G), by serving the Secretary of State as the program participant’s agent. “Program participants” include victims of domestic violence and other persons who would be at risk of harm should their addresses be disclosed.

Staff Note (July 1, 2016 Amendments)

Division 4.2(B) of the rule is amended to substitute “a parent” for “father” and “mother” as a person upon whom service of process may be made to effectuate service of process upon a person under sixteen years of age. The amendment is made in accordance with the July 26, 2015 Administrative Action of the Ohio Supreme Court, 06/26/2015 Administrative Actions, 2015-Ohio-2568, which ordered that the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure be construed and amended as gender neutral where appropriate to comply with the decision of U.S. Supreme Court in Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. ___ , 135 S.Ct. 2584 (2015).

Staff Note (July 1, 2012 Amendment)

Divisions (F) through (J) are amended to permit service of process to be made at a place of business not only by United States certified or express mail as previously authorized, but also by a commercial carrier service under the 2012 amendments to Civ. R. 4.1(A)(1)

Staff Note (July 1, 2009 Amendments)

Division (G) is inserted into Civ.R. 4.2 to provide for service on a limited liability company in a manner similar to the provisions of Civ.R. 4.2(F) for service upon a corporation, and the remaining divisions of the rule are re-lettered.

Staff Note (July 1, 1997 Amendment)

Prior to the 1997 amendment, service of process under this rule was permitted only by certified mail. It appears that service of process by express mail, i.e. as that sort of mail is delivered by the United States Postal Service, can always be obtained return receipt requested, and thus could accomplish the purpose of notification equally well as certified mail. Therefore, the amendment provides for this additional option for service.

Other amendments to this rule are nonsubstantive grammatical or stylistic changes, including lettering of the divisions (A-N) in place of the previous numbering (1-14).

Staff Note (July 1, 1996 Amendment)

In 1991, the General Assembly enacted Chapter 504 of the Ohio Revised Code to give townships an option to organize the “limited self-government form” of government. Townships electing this form of government are required by law to appoint a law director who “shall be the legal advisor to the board of township trustees … and all other township officers.” R.C. 504.15. Upon attaining Chapter 504 status, then, the prosecuting attorney of the county in which the township is located no longer serves as the “legal advisor” of the township. The amendment recognizes this statutory development and should facilitate service of process in actions against Chapter 504 townships.