Part 6: Sending and formal service
Scotland
| 6.1 | What is this Part about? | |
|---|---|---|
| (1) | This Part is about what has to be done when these Rules require something to be sent to someone. | |
| (2) | This Part is also about what has to be done when these Rules require a document to be formally served on someone. | |
| 6.2 | What is the difference between sending and formally serving? | |
| (1) | When these Rules require something to be “sent”, that may be done by anyone and in a number of ways. | |
| (2) | When these Rules require a document to be “formally served” on someone, that may only be done by certain people (sheriff officers, sheriff clerks or solicitors) and may only be done in certain ways. | |
| 6.3 | When must something be sent or formally served? | |
| (1) | If these Rules say that something must be sent or formally served within a period or number of days, it must be sent or formally served in time for it to arrive before the end of that period or the last day. | |
| (2) | If these Rules say that something must be sent or formally served by a particular day, it must be sent or formally served in time for it to arrive before the end of that day. | |
| (3) | If these Rules say that something must be sent to court within a period, number of days or by a particular day and the end of that period or that day is a Saturday, Sunday, public holiday or court holiday, then it must be sent so that it will be received before the end of the next working day. | |
| 6.4 | Can a party object to how sending or formal service was done? | |
| (1) | A party who responds to something (such as sending a Response Form in response to a Claim Form or objecting to an application) may not object to how that thing was sent or formally served. | |
| Sending | ||
| 6.5 | How can the court send something to a party? | |
| (1) | The court may send something to a party in one of F15 ways: | |
| (a) | handing it to that party or to that party's representative in person, | |
| (b) | posting it to that party or that party's representative, | |
| (c) | emailing it to that party or that party's representative, using an email address given on the Claim Form F2, Response Form or Time to Pay Application, | |
| (d) | making it available to that party F3or that party’s representative using the portal on the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service website. | |
| F4(e) | delivering it to a document exchange of which that party or that party’s representative is a member. | |
| 6.6 | How can a party send something to the court? | |
| (1) | A party may send something to the court in one of F54 ways: | |
| (a) | handing it in to the court in person, | |
| (b) | posting it to the court using a postal service which records delivery, | |
| (c) | submitting it to the court using the portal on the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service website. | |
| F6(d) | delivering it to a document exchange of which the sheriff clerk is a member. | |
| F7(2) | A claimant may also send a Claim Form to the court by submitting it to the court using the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service’s internet interface to its case management system. | |
| 6.7 | How can a party send something to another party? | |
| (1) | A party may send something to another party in one of F84 ways: | |
| (a) | posting it to that party or that party's representative using a next-day postal service which records delivery, | |
| (b) | emailing it to that party or that party's representative, using an email address given on the Claim Form F9, Response Form or Time to Pay Application, | |
| (c) | making it available to that party F10or that party’s representative using the portal on the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service website. | |
| F11(d) | delivering it to a document exchange of which that party or that party’s representative is a member. | |
| F12(2) | If none of those ways has worked, a party may send it to another party by sheriff officer using one of the methods of formal service mentioned in rule 18.3. | |
| Formal service | ||
| 6.8 | How can you formally serve a document on someone living within Scotland? | |
| (1) | Part 18 of these Rules is about formal service on someone living in Scotland. | |
| 6.9 | How can you formally serve a document on someone living outside Scotland? | |
| (1) | Part 19 of these Rules is about formal service on someone living outside Scotland. | |
| 6.10 | What if a person uses a trading name? | |
| (1) | If a person uses a trading name, a document may be formally served on that person at any place of business or office at which that business is carried on within the sheriffdom. | |
| (2) | If that person does not have a place of business or office within the sheriffdom, a document may be formally served on that person at any place where that business is carried on (including the office of the clerk or secretary of a company, association or firm). | |
| 6.11 | How can the Claim Form be formally served on the respondent? | |
| (1) | As well as following the rules for formal service in Part 18 or Part 19, there are some additional requirements when formally serving the Claim Form. | |
| (2) | The sheriff clerk may formally serve the Claim Form F13by a next-day postal service which records delivery if: | |
| (a) | the claimant is not a company, limited liability partnership or partnership, and | |
| (b) | the claimant is not legally represented. | |
| (3) | When formally serving a Claim Form, the envelope must contain only the following: | |
| (a) | a copy of the Claim Form, | |
| F14(b) | . . . | |
| (c) | a blank Response Form, | |
| (d) | a copy of the Notice of Claim, | |
| (e) | a copy of the Timetable, | |
| (f) | if the respondent can apply for time to pay, a blank Time to Pay Application, and | |
| (g) | any other document approved by the sheriff principal in that sheriffdom. | |
| (4) | If a solicitor or sheriff officer has formally served the Claim Form, then a Confirmation of Formal Service must be sent to the court at least 2 days before the last date for a response. | |
| 6.12 | What if the claimant does not know the respondent's address? | |
| (1) | The claimant must take all reasonable steps to find out the respondent's address. | |
| (2) | If the claimant does not know the respondent's address and cannot find it out, then the claimant does not need to formally serve a copy of the Claim Form on the respondent. | |
| (3) | The claimant must instead complete a Service by Advertisement Application and send it to court with the Claim Form. | |
| (4) | The sheriff may order the details of the claim to be publicised by advertisement on the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service website. | |
| (5) | The sheriff clerk must make a copy of the Claim Form available for the respondent to collect at the sheriff court. | |
| (6) | If the respondent's address becomes known, the sheriff must order: | |
| (a) | the Claim Form to be amended, | |
| (b) | the claimant to formally serve the Claim Form on the respondent, | |
| (c) | a change to the timetable. | |
| 6.13 | What if the sheriff considers that formal service of the Claim Form has not been done properly? | |
| (1) | If the sheriff considers that formal service of the Claim Form was not done correctly, then the sheriff may change the timetable. | |
| (2) | If the sheriff changes the timetable, the sheriff clerk must send a new Timetable to the claimant or to the parties. | |
Annotations
Textual amendments
- F1
Word in sch. 1 rule 6.5(1) substituted (28.11.2016) by Act of Sederunt (Rules of the Court of Session 1994 and Sheriff Court Rules Amendment) (No. 4) (Simple Procedure) 2016 (S.S.I. 2016/315), paras. 1(2), 7(3)(c)(i)
- F2
Words in sch. 1 rule 6.5(1)(c) substituted (30.7.2018) by Act of Sederunt (Simple Procedure Amendment) (Miscellaneous) 2018 (S.S.I. 2018/191), paras. 1(2), 2(2)(f)(i)
- F3
Words in sch. 1 rule 6.5(1)(d) inserted (30.7.2018) by Act of Sederunt (Simple Procedure Amendment) (Miscellaneous) 2018 (S.S.I. 2018/191), paras. 1(2), 2(2)(f)(ii)
- F4
Sch. 1 rule. 6.5(1)(e) inserted (28.11.2016) by Act of Sederunt (Rules of the Court of Session 1994 and Sheriff Court Rules Amendment) (No. 4) (Simple Procedure) 2016 (S.S.I. 2016/315), paras. 1(2), 7(3)(c)(ii)
- F5
Word in sch. 1 rule 6.6(1) substituted (28.11.2016) by Act of Sederunt (Rules of the Court of Session 1994 and Sheriff Court Rules Amendment) (No. 4) (Simple Procedure) 2016 (S.S.I. 2016/315), paras. 1(2), 7(3)(d)(i)
- F6
Sch. 1 rule 6.6(1)(d) inserted (28.11.2016) by Act of Sederunt (Rules of the Court of Session 1994 and Sheriff Court Rules Amendment) (No. 4) (Simple Procedure) 2016 (S.S.I. 2016/315), paras. 1(2), 7(3)(d)(ii)
- F7
Sch. 1 rule 6.6(2) inserted (31.3.2022) by Act of Sederunt (Simple Procedure Amendment) (Civil Online) 2022 (S.S.I. 2022/81), paras. 1(2), 2(3)(c)
- F8
Word in sch. 1 rule 6.7(1) substituted (28.11.2016) by Act of Sederunt (Rules of the Court of Session 1994 and Sheriff Court Rules Amendment) (No. 4) (Simple Procedure) 2016 (S.S.I. 2016/315), paras. 1(2), 7(3)(e)(i)
- F9
Words in sch. 1 rule 6.7(1)(b) substituted (30.7.2018) by Act of Sederunt (Simple Procedure Amendment) (Miscellaneous) 2018 (S.S.I. 2018/191), paras. 1(2), 2(2)(g)(i)
- F10
Words in sch. 1 rule 6.7(1)(c) inserted (30.7.2018) by Act of Sederunt (Simple Procedure Amendment) (Miscellaneous) 2018 (S.S.I. 2018/191), paras. 1(2), 2(2)(g)(ii)
- F11
Sch. 1 rule 6.7(1)(d) inserted (28.11.2016) by Act of Sederunt (Rules of the Court of Session 1994 and Sheriff Court Rules Amendment) (No. 4) (Simple Procedure) 2016 (S.S.I. 2016/315), paras. 1(2), 7(3)(e)(ii)
- F12
Sch. 1 rule 6.7(2) inserted (15.6.2017) by Act of Sederunt (Sheriff Court Rules Amendment) (Miscellaneous) 2017 (S.S.I. 2017/154), paras. 1(2), 2(2)(b)
- F13
Words in sch. 1 rule 6.11(2) inserted (31.5.2023) by Act of Sederunt (Simple Procedure Amendment) (Miscellaneous) 2022 (S.S.I. 2022/211), paras. 1(2), 2(2)(i) (with para. 3)
- F14
Sch. 1 rule 6.11(3)(b) omitted (31.5.2023) by virtue of Act of Sederunt (Simple Procedure Amendment) (Miscellaneous) 2022 (S.S.I. 2022/211), paras. 1(2), 2(2)(i), (ii) (with para. 3)
Notes on Schedule 1
Modifications
- C1
Sch. 1 modified (temp.) (1.12.2020) by Act of Sederunt (Simple Procedure Amendment) (Civil Online) 2020 (S.S.I. 2020/293), paras. 1(2), 2(3) (with para. 1(3))