House Bill 157 (HB 157) amends Florida Statutes concerning the service of process, particularly focusing on the roles and responsibilities of registered agents. The bill mandates that registered agents maintain office hours for service of process from 10 a.m. to 12 noon and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., and allows for service on their employees in the absence of the agent. It also introduces provisions for serving process on receivers of domestic entities in receivership and specifies that substituted service must be issued in the name of the party to be served, in care of the Secretary of State. Key changes include the deletion of the requirement for the Secretary of State to maintain certain records and the introduction of new notification requirements for parties served through substituted service.

Additionally, the bill clarifies that the Secretary of State and the Department of State are not parties to lawsuits and cannot be served with additional court filings related to those lawsuits. It establishes that former Florida residents who have become nonresidents are deemed to have appointed the Secretary of State as their agent for service of process concerning business conducted in the state. The amendments will take effect on October 1, 2025, and the bill ensures that service of process is valid if it complies with the updated statutes or previous laws in effect before January 2, 2023. It does not extend the time for challenging the validity of service of process or revive previously waived challenges.

Statutes affected:
H 157 Filed: 48.101, 48.161