Okla. Stat. tit. 12, § 12-158.1

Fees - Hearing - Notice - Protests - Proof of service - Revocation

of license - List of licensees - Statewide registry.

A. Service and return of process of court documents may be by

an authorized licensed private process server. The presiding judge

of the judicial administrative district in which the county is

located, or an associate district judge or district judge of the

county as may be designated by the presiding judge, shall be

authorized to issue a license to make service of process of court

documents to persons deemed qualified to do so.

B. Any person who is:

1. Eighteen (18) years of age or older;

2. Of good moral character;

3. Found ethically and mentally fit;

4. A resident of the State of Oklahoma for a period of not less

than six (6) months; and

5. A resident of the county or judicial administrative district

in which the application is submitted for a period of not less than

thirty (30) days,

may obtain a license by filing an application with the court clerk

on a verified form to be prescribed by the Administrative Office of

the Courts. The form shall require the applicant to identify

whether the applicant has had a process server license issued by the

State of Oklahoma, any other state, or any county in Oklahoma at any

time prior to the current application.

Any person who has been convicted of a violent crime, as defined

in Section 571 of Title 57 of the Oklahoma Statutes, or a crime that

requires the person to register pursuant to the Sex Offenders

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 12. Civil Procedure Page 67

Registration Act in this state or another state shall be prohibited

from applying for or obtaining a license to serve process in this

state. If a person is currently licensed to serve process in this

state and the person has a previous felony conviction for a crime

enumerated in Section 571 of Title 57 of the Oklahoma Statutes or a

crime that requires the person to register pursuant to the Sex

Offenders Registration Act, the person shall be prohibited from

applying for renewal of the license as provided for in subsection C

of this section.

C. The applicant filing for a license to serve process anywhere

in this state shall pay a license fee of One Hundred Fifty Dollars

($150.00), and the regular docketing, posting, mailing, and filing

fees prescribed by law. The license shall contain the full legal

name, address, county in which the license was issued, a brief

description of the licensee and a recent photograph of the licensee.

The license shall state that the licensee is an officer of the court

only for the purpose of service of process. The authority of the

licensee shall be statewide. The license shall be carried by the

licensee while on duty as a private process server. At the end of

one (1) calendar year from the date of issuance of the initial

license, the license shall be renewed for a period of three (3)

years. The license shall be renewed each succeeding three (3)

years. A fee of Fifteen Dollars ($15.00) per renewal shall be

charged for each statewide license renewal. A license issued

pursuant to this subsection entitles the holder of the license to

serve process in any county in this state.

All fees collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited

in the court fund.

D. Upon the filing of an application for a license, the court

clerk shall give thirty (30) days of notice of hearing by causing

the notice to be continually posted for thirty (30) days on the

website of the county, or be posted in the courthouse. The

applicant shall cause notice of the hearing to be made no less than

twenty (20) days prior to the hearing one time by publication in a

legal newspaper of the county, as defined in Section 106 of Title 25

of the Oklahoma Statutes, in which the application is filed. The

applicant shall be responsible for payment of the publication fee,

and shall file in the case the proof of publication affidavit from
nt shall cause notice of the hearing to be made no less than

twenty (20) days prior to the hearing one time by publication in a

legal newspaper of the county, as defined in Section 106 of Title 25

of the Oklahoma Statutes, in which the application is filed. The

applicant shall be responsible for payment of the publication fee,

and shall file in the case the proof of publication affidavit from

the newspaper prior to the hearing. The court clerk shall deliver

by electronic means or deliver a copy of the notice at least twenty

(20) days prior to the hearing to the district attorney, the sheriff

in the county in which the application was filed, the Oklahoma State

Bureau of Investigation and the Administrative Office of the Courts.

The notice shall contain the name of the applicant and the time and

place the presiding judge, the associate district judge, or district

judge designated by the presiding judge, will act upon the

application.

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 12. Civil Procedure Page 68

E. If, at the time of consideration of the application or

renewal, there are no protests and the applicant appears qualified,

the application for the license shall be granted by the presiding

judge or such associate district judge or district judge as is

designated by the presiding judge and, upon executing bond running

to the State of Oklahoma in the amount of Five Thousand Dollars

($5,000.00) for faithful performance of his or her duties and filing

the bond with the court clerk, the applicant shall be authorized and

licensed to serve court documents in any county in this state. If,

at the time of consideration of the application for the license, the

presiding judge, associate district judge or district judge as is

designated by the presiding judge determines that the applicant does

not meet all of the qualifications necessary for a license, the

applicant shall be prohibited from reapplying for a license to serve

process for a period of not less than one (1) year from the date of

denial.

F. If any citizen of this state files a written protest setting

forth objections to the licensing of the applicant, the district

court clerk shall so advise the presiding judge or such associate

district judge or district judge as is designated by the presiding

judge, who shall set a later date for hearing of application and

protest. The hearing shall be held within sixty (60) days and after

notice to all persons known to be interested.

G. Proof of service of process shall be shown by affidavit as

provided for by subsection G of Section 2004 of this title.

H. The district attorney of the county wherein a license

authorized under this act has been issued or the Attorney General

may file a petition in the district court to revoke the license

issued to any licensee, as authorized pursuant to the provisions of

this section, alleging the violation by the licensee of any of the

provisions of the law. After at least thirty (30) days of notice by

certified mail to the licensee, the chief or presiding judge,

sitting without jury, shall hear the petition and enter an order

thereon. If the license is revoked, the licensee shall not be

permitted to reapply for a license for a period of five (5) years

from the date of revocation. Notwithstanding any other provision of

this section, any licensee whose license has been revoked one time

shall pay the sum of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) as a renewal

fee. If a second revocation occurs, the chief or presiding judge

shall not allow an applicant to renew the license.

I. Any person who knowingly and willfully serves process in

Oklahoma without a process server license issued by the State of

Oklahoma or who holds himself or herself out to be a process server

licensed by the State of Oklahoma when the person is not licensed as

such shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor. The

provisions of this subsection shall not apply to a process server
ense.

I. Any person who knowingly and willfully serves process in

Oklahoma without a process server license issued by the State of

Oklahoma or who holds himself or herself out to be a process server

licensed by the State of Oklahoma when the person is not licensed as

such shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor. The

provisions of this subsection shall not apply to a process server

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 12. Civil Procedure Page 69

licensed in another state who is serving court documents issued by a

court in another state to a person in Oklahoma.

J. The court clerk shall make available at all times in the

office of the court clerk the list of licensed private process

servers. Any person in need of the services of a process server may

designate one from the names on the list, before presenting summons

to the court clerk for issuance, without necessity for individual

judicial appointment.

K. No later than January 1, 2013, the Administrative Office of

the Courts shall establish and maintain a statewide registry which

shall contain a list of licensed private process servers. The

Administrative Office of the Courts shall promulgate rules for the

creation and maintenance of the statewide registry. Rules for the

statewide registry for private process servers must have approval of

the Supreme Court.