Process Server
Subcontractor Agreement.

Agreement and acceptance

This Process Server Subcontractor Agreement ("Agreement") is between Sapphire Legal LLC, Agency License #2138214-DCWP ("Sapphire Legal," "we," or "us"), and the independent process server who accepts it ("you" or "Server").

You accept this Agreement by checking the agreement box and typing your full legal name on the network application, or by accepting it in the Sapphire Legal platform. Your electronic acceptance has the same effect as a handwritten signature to the extent allowed by law. You must accept this Agreement before you can receive any assignment. This Agreement works together with our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy. If they conflict, this Agreement controls for your work as a server.

Independent contractor relationship

• You are an independent contractor, not an employee, partner, joint venturer, or agent of Sapphire Legal.
• You control how, when, and in what order you complete accepted assignments, as long as you meet the standards in this Agreement, the assignment instructions, and the law.
• You provide your own vehicle, phone, equipment, and supplies, and you pay your own expenses unless an assignment says otherwise.
• No taxes are withheld from your pay. You are responsible for your own taxes, licenses, insurance, and business registrations. You must provide a completed W-9 before receiving assignments, and 1099-NEC forms are issued where required.
• You may work for other agencies and clients.
• You may not hold yourself out as an employee or representative of Sapphire Legal, other than to identify yourself as a process server delivering papers on an assignment.

Assignments

• Service area: Manhattan. Sapphire Legal serves Manhattan (New York County), New York only, and every assignment is in Manhattan.
• Assignments are sent through the Sapphire Legal platform with the documents, the party to serve, the address, any special instructions, the deadline, and the pay rate.
• You may accept or decline any assignment. Once you accept, you are responsible for completing it to the standards in this Agreement or promptly telling us if you can't.
• Work is not guaranteed. Volume changes with busy and slow seasons.
• Assignment instructions from Sapphire Legal may add requirements to the standards below, but never lower them, and always comply with the law.
• You may not hand off, sublet, or reassign an assignment to anyone else without our written approval.

Your role: serve, photograph, document, and mail (as applicable)

Your job is focused and simple: serve the papers, take a GPS photo at every attempt, write a clear narrative for every attempt, and, only when substitute service or nail and mail is used, complete the mailing the law requires. Sapphire Legal handles intake, client communication, scheduling, invoicing, and affidavit preparation through our platform.

• Do not give legal advice, explain the case, or tell anyone what they should do about the papers. If asked, say the papers are legal documents and they should read them or talk to a lawyer.
• Do not alter, remove, or add to the documents you are given.
• Do not contact the client or the client's attorney directly about an assignment unless we ask you to. Send questions and updates through the platform.
• Never claim to be, or suggest you are, a police officer, court officer, or government employee.

Service standards

Serving an individual at a residential or business address

• Personal service first. Always attempt to deliver the papers directly to the party named in the assignment.
• No substitute service before the 3rd attempt. If substitute service becomes necessary, it may not be made until your 3rd attempt.
• At a residence, papers may be left only with a household member who is 18 years or older.
• At a business address, papers may be left only with a responsible person 18 years or older at the party's actual place of business.
• For any substitute service, record the person's full name (or note that they refused to give it), a physical description, and their relationship to the party being served or their job title.
• After any substitute service, you must complete the follow-up mailing yourself, as described in Required mailing below.
• When substitute service requires a mailing and you complete it, $15 is added to your pay for that job, only if your signed affidavit reflects the substitute service and the mailing.

Nail and mail (affix and mail)

• Only when the client has authorized it. The assignment will show whether nail and mail is authorized. Never use it otherwise.
• Only for an individual at their residence (their dwelling place or usual place of abode), and only where the law allows it. In New York, it is a recognized method of service (CPLR 308(4)).
• Only after due diligence. Nail and mail may be used only after the required attempts below (before 9 AM, after 5 PM, and on a Saturday, on different days) have failed to achieve personal or substitute service.
• Affix the papers securely to the door of the residence, take a GPS photo showing them affixed, and then complete the required mailing.
• When you complete an authorized nail and mail according to this Agreement, $15 is added to your pay for that job, only if your signed affidavit reflects the affixing and the mailing.

Serving a business, registered agent, or government office

• Deliver the papers to a person authorized to accept them, such as an officer, managing agent, or the registered agent's intake specialist.
• Record the person's full name, title, and description.

Attempts required for a valid non-service

Before a job can be returned as a non-service, you must make 3 attempts spread over time, morning and evening, unless an early non-service applies (see below):

• No Sunday service. Never attempt or make service on a Sunday. Sunday service is not permitted on any Sapphire Legal assignment, and New York law treats service on a Sunday as void.
• Attempts must be made on different days of the week whenever possible. Multiple attempts on the same day count as one day of effort.
• Early non-service. A job may be returned as a non-service before 3 attempts only when service isn't possible, such as a bad or nonexistent address, a party who has moved, or a location you can't lawfully access. Document what you saw and who told you, take a GPS photo, and update the job right away. Sapphire Legal confirms the early non-service.
• The job ends after the 3rd attempt, unless the assignment says otherwise. Some assignments, such as subscription jobs, call for continued attempts throughout the client's billing cycle, and the assignment states this before you accept. Otherwise, don't make a 4th attempt. Further attempts, even at the same address, are only made if a new job is assigned.
• Client cancellations. If a client cancels after your first attempt, the job closes as a non-service due to the client's cancellation request. Stop all attempts and complete your records and affidavit of non-service.
• Don't serve someone on a Saturday if you know they observe Saturday as their Sabbath. New York law restricts it, so make that attempt on another day.
• Follow any deadline or extra attempt instructions in the assignment, including rush jobs.

GPS photo at every attempt

• Take at least one photo at every attempt, at the service address, at the time of the attempt, using the Sapphire Legal platform or another method we approve that records GPS coordinates and a time stamp.
• The photo should clearly show the building, entrance, door, or unit number you attempted.
• Don't photograph the inside of a home, and don't photograph minors.
• Photos and GPS data must be real and taken at the time and place of the attempt. Never reuse a photo, take one from somewhere else, or change a time stamp or location.

Attempt narratives

Write a narrative in the platform for every attempt, on the same day as the attempt. Each narrative must be factual and include:

• Date and time of the attempt.
• Full address, including the unit or floor.
• What happened and the outcome: served, substitute served, no answer, refused, moved, vacant, or other.
• Who you spoke with, if anyone, and what they told you.
• A description of the person served or spoken to: sex, approximate age, height, weight, skin color, hair color, and any other identifying features, such as glasses or facial hair.
• Relationship or title of the person, for substitute or business service.
• Observations that support the attempt, such as lights on, vehicles present, a doorman's response, or a name on the mailbox.

Narratives become the basis for the affidavit of service. Write only what you saw and heard, never guesses presented as facts.

Required mailing (as applicable)

Mailing depends on how service is made. Personal service does not require a follow-up mailing. Whenever service requires a follow-up mailing, including substitute service, nail and mail, and any other method where the law requires it, you must mail the documents yourself and prove it in your affidavit.

• Follow New York rules. Mail according to New York law and court rules. The mailing must be made within 20 days of the delivery or affixing, by first-class mail, to the person's last known residence (or actual place of business where the law allows it), in an envelope marked "Personal and Confidential" with nothing on the outside showing that it is from an attorney or concerns a legal action.
• Mail promptly. Mail as soon as possible after the delivery or affixing, and never later than the law allows.
• Record the mailing. Log the date mailed, the full address mailed to, the mailing method, and that you mailed it yourself. Upload proof of mailing, such as a USPS receipt or Certificate of Mailing, to the platform.
• Prove it in your affidavit. Your affidavit must state the mailing details from your own personal knowledge. Never attest to a mailing you didn't do yourself.
• An assignment that requires mailing is not complete until the mailing is done, documented, and stated in your affidavit.

Affidavits and truthfulness

• Every affidavit you sign must be true and must match your attempt records, GPS photos, narratives, and proof of mailing.
• When mailing is required, your affidavit must include the mailing details: who mailed, when, where, and how.
• Our affidavit or the client's. You may be asked to sign an affidavit we prepare or the client's own affidavit form. Either is fine, but before signing, read it carefully and make sure every statement is accurate and matches what you personally did and saw: the attempts, dates, times, method of service, description of the person served, and any mailing. If anything is wrong or missing, don't sign it. Tell us so it can be corrected first.
• Only sign for service, attempts, and mailings you personally made, and never report an attempt that didn't happen. A false affidavit of service can lead to dismissed cases, license discipline, and criminal penalties, and will result in immediate removal from our network.
• Return signed affidavits through the platform. If an assignment requires notarization, it is complete only once the notarized affidavit is returned.
• If an affidavit has a mistake caused by your records or narrative, you must correct it promptly at no extra pay.

Licensing and legal compliance

• An NYC process server license is required. You must hold a current process server license from the NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) and keep it in good standing for as long as you are in our network. You will not receive assignments without one.
• You must follow all laws, court rules, and licensing rules for service of process, including record-keeping and electronic records rules that apply to licensed servers.
• Consequences. Failing to follow the law and the rules of your license, including mailing and record-keeping rules, can lead to fines, license suspension or revocation by your licensing authority (the NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection), and removal from our network.
• Tell us within 2 business days if your license is suspended, revoked, or expires, or if you are the subject of a complaint or investigation related to process serving.

Conduct and safety

• Be professional and courteous. Don't argue, threaten, or use force.
• Don't enter a home or locked area without permission, and don't break any law to complete a serve.
• Your safety comes first. If a situation feels unsafe, leave, document what happened, and update the job.
• Dress and act in a way that reflects well on you and on Sapphire Legal.

Updates and turnaround

• Log each attempt, photo, and narrative in the platform the same day it happens.
• Make your first attempt within the time stated in the assignment. If no time is stated, make the first attempt within 3 business days of accepting the job.
• Tell us right away about anything that could affect the job, such as a bad address, a deadline you can't meet, or a problem with the documents.

Pay

• Each assignment shows its pay rate before you accept. Base pay is $60 per job for routine assignments, $100 per job for rush assignments, and $30 for intake drop-offs, such as service on a registered agent through its intake specialist.
• Substitute service with mailing: when you complete substitute service and the required mailing, $15 is added to your pay for that job.
• Nail and mail: when a client has authorized nail and mail and you complete it according to this Agreement, including the required mailing, $15 is added to your pay for that job.
• These additions are paid only if your signed affidavit reflects what you did: the substitute service or affixing, and the mailing.
• Printing: you print the documents for each job. Up to 50 pages per set is included in your base pay. For larger sets, $10 is added for each additional 25 pages or part of 25, only if you request it in the platform before you sign the affidavit.
• The agreed rate is final. The rate shown when you accept, plus the additions above when they apply, is your full pay for the job. No other expenses, materials, or extra pay are reimbursed.
• An assignment is complete once service or non-service is documented in the platform, with GPS photos and narratives for each attempt, any required mailing is done and documented, and the affidavit is returned.
• Pay is issued every two weeks, through our platform only, for assignments with a signed affidavit completed during that pay period. Pay is based on the date the affidavit is completed, not the date the client is invoiced.
• Jobs returned without the required attempts, GPS photos, narratives, or proof of mailing are not complete and are not paid until they are fixed. Jobs that must be redone because of your error are completed at no extra pay.

Confidentiality

• Case documents, client information, and information about the people you serve are confidential. Use them only to complete the assignment.
• Don't share, post, or discuss assignment details with anyone outside Sapphire Legal, including on social media.
• Keep documents secure while in your possession, and return or destroy them as instructed when the job is done.

Clients

Clients are introduced to you through Sapphire Legal. While you are in our network, and for 12 months after you leave it, you agree not to solicit or accept process serving work directly from any client you served or learned about through a Sapphire Legal assignment.

Ratings and quality review

• We review attempt records, photos, narratives, and affidavits, and we may rate your performance.
• Higher-rated servers may receive priority on new assignments.
• We may audit any assignment and ask you to explain or correct your records.

Responsibility for your work

You are responsible for your own actions while completing assignments. You agree to cover Sapphire Legal for claims, losses, and costs, including reasonable attorneys' fees, that result from your negligence, misconduct, false statements, or failure to follow the law or this Agreement.

Term and termination

• This Agreement starts when you accept it and continues until either side ends it. Either side may end it at any time by notice through the platform or by email.
• When it ends, you must finish or return any open assignments as we direct, and return all documents and case information.
• Sapphire Legal may remove you from the network at any time, including for a violation of this Agreement.
• The sections on affidavits, confidentiality, clients, and responsibility for your work continue after this Agreement ends.

Changes to this Agreement

We may update this Agreement. We'll post the new version on this page with a new effective date and may ask you to accept it again in the platform before receiving new assignments. Assignments you've already accepted continue under the version in effect when you accepted them.

General

• This Agreement, together with our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy, is the full agreement between you and Sapphire Legal about your work as a server.
• If any part of this Agreement can't be enforced, the rest stays in effect.
• Not enforcing a part of this Agreement isn't a waiver of it.
• Questions: contact@sapphirelegalservices.com.