This bill amends several sections of Florida law regarding the service of process, primarily by mandating that all process must be served by the sheriff of the county where the individual to be served is located. It eliminates provisions that previously allowed other individuals, such as special process servers and certified process servers, to serve process. Specifically, it repeals sections related to the certification and appointment of special process servers, thereby centralizing the authority for serving process with the sheriff's office. Additionally, the bill authorizes sheriffs to serve spouses with substituted service at any location within the county, provided certain conditions are met.

The bill also makes conforming amendments to other statutes to reflect these changes, including the repeal of sections that pertained to the certification of process servers and their responsibilities. The effective date for this legislation is set for July 1, 2025. Overall, the bill aims to streamline the process of serving legal documents by consolidating authority within the sheriff's office and removing the involvement of other authorized individuals.

Statutes affected:
S 826 Filed: 48.021, 48.031, 48.27, 48.29, 48.31, 113.07, 316.29545