Terms & Conditions.
Clear terms, both ways.

Acceptance of these terms

By using our website, requesting services, or joining the Sapphire Legal Server Network, you agree to these Terms and Conditions and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please do not use our website or services.

Our services

Sapphire Legal is a premium process serving agency. We receive service requests from clients and law firms and assign each job to a vetted, independent, NYC-licensed process server in our network who knows Manhattan. We manage each job on our secure platform, powered by ServeManager, an independent third-party service of process system, including dispatch, attempt records, affidavits, and invoicing.

We focus exclusively on Manhattan (New York County), New York, and we serve Manhattan only. One agency. A vetted local server network. GPS-documented attempts. Digital affidavits. Direct accountability. We accept jobs from local New York clients and from out-of-state firms that need papers served in Manhattan. Our service is service of process for summonses and complaints in Manhattan. Landlord-tenant cases are accepted on monthly subscriptions only. Summons and complaint service is our primary focus. We do everything the right way. No corners cut.

Client responsibilities

When you request service, you agree to:

• Provide accurate and complete information, including correct recipient names and addresses
• Submit only lawful documents that are authorized for service and properly prepared and filed under the rules of your jurisdiction
• Tell us about any deadlines, court requirements, or special instructions when you submit the job
• File the executed affidavit of service with the court and track all related filing deadlines. Court filing is not part of our service.
• Pay invoices on time under these terms
• Not use our services for any unlawful, harassing, or fraudulent purpose

Service standards

• Turnaround. For routine service, the first attempt is made within 3 to 7 business days. For rush service, the first attempt is made within 1 to 3 business days. Turnaround is counted from when we receive a complete job, including the documents to be served and the details of the party to be served.
• Standard service includes electronic document intake, printing and preparation of service documents, dispatch to a qualified process server, up to 3 attempts on pay-per-job billing, or attempts throughout the billing cycle on included subscription jobs (unless returned sooner as a non-service because service can't proceed), on different days and times (including one before 9 AM, one after 5 PM, and one on a Saturday, never on a Sunday), GPS-verified attempt records and status updates, the mailing required after substitute service or nail and mail (completed by the server and stated in the affidavit), preparation and delivery of the executed affidavit of service, and digital delivery of the completed service package.
• On pay-per-job billing, each job includes up to 3 attempts and ends after the 3rd attempt. Any further attempts, even at the same address, are a new job at the full job rate. Included subscription jobs follow the subscription terms in Section 5.
• Rush service is available at the listed rush rate.
• Attempts are logged on our platform with GPS and time stamps, and you can follow status updates in real time.
• When service is completed, we provide an affidavit of service. Whether an affidavit is notarized is decided job by job and may change. If you prefer to use your own affidavit form, our server will sign it once they confirm it accurately reflects the service they performed. If anything on your form doesn't match, we'll ask you to correct it first.
• Non-service. A non-service is billed at the full job rate. It can be returned after 3 attempts, or sooner when service isn't possible, such as a bad or nonexistent address, a party who has moved, or a location the server can't access. You receive an affidavit of non-service.

Service is never guaranteed. We are not responsible for unsuccessful service caused by incorrect or incomplete information, recipients who avoid service, inaccessible locations, weather, or other events outside our control.

Pricing and payment

• Routine service is $125 and rush service is $175 per job. Delivery to a registered agent is $90 per job. Same-day service is not currently offered.
• Each case and each person or business served is a separate job with its own invoice, even when the same company or registered agent is served for multiple cases.
• The first 50 pages per set are included. Each additional 25 pages, or part of 25, adds $10. Color printing is $1.50 per page. Notarized affidavits are $10 each. Black-and-white printing carries no extra charge.
• Nail and mail. Where New York law allows it, you may authorize nail and mail (affix and mail) for individuals at their residence. It is used only after the required attempts fail to achieve personal or substitute service, and it adds $30 to that job. You are billed only on jobs where it is used.
• Prices on our website are the prices you pay. Your quote is calculated from the rates and add-on fees listed on our website, based on the job details you provide, and your invoice matches it. If the job details change (for example, the page count), the quote is updated to match the listed rates.
• Nothing outside the listed rates and add-ons is billed without your approval in advance.
• When you submit our new client form, your typed full legal name is your electronic signature accepting your quote, the listed rates and add-on fees, and these Terms.
• Payment terms. First-time individual clients pay 100% upfront (required). First-time law firms pay 100% upfront by default. Repeat law firms receive Net 15 terms once a payment history is established. Net 30 terms are offered only to long-time exclusive clients, by invitation, at our discretion. Payment terms are set per account and may be changed with written notice.
• Upfront payments are made when a job is submitted. For clients on Net 15 or Net 30 terms, each job is invoiced once service or non-service is completed, and payment is due within 15 or 30 days of the invoice date. On pay-per-job billing, we never invoice for jobs we don't receive.
• Address search (skip tracing). If you authorize it, when a party has moved or an address is bad, we search commercial public-record and data sources for a current address, solely for the purpose of serving legal papers. On pay-per-job billing, each search is $75 and is charged only if we find the party and serve them at the new address. The service or non-service fee for the job applies regardless of the search result. An address search is not a private investigation, and we do not guarantee that a current address will be found. If a party moved after an attempt was made, the original job closes as a non-service, and service at a new Manhattan address is a new job. If the new address is outside Manhattan, we will provide it to you at no search charge so you can arrange service there; the original job closes as a cancellation before the first attempt (no charge, and any upfront payment is refunded) or, if an attempt was made, as a non-service at the full job rate. On a subscription, a job closed before any attempt does not count toward the plan.
• Monthly subscriptions. Clients with recurring routine work may choose a monthly subscription on our new client form instead of paying per job. Subscription jobs are 20% less than our per-job rates. Plans cover up to a set number of routine jobs each month: Starter, up to 10 jobs, $999 per month; Essentials, up to 25 jobs, $2,499 per month; Professional, up to 50 jobs, $4,999 per month; or Firm, up to 100 jobs, $9,999 per month. The plan price is fixed for each billing month and is charged in full whether or not every included job is used; unused jobs do not roll over. Included jobs are routine service of summonses and complaints, including landlord-tenant cases, in Manhattan. Rush service is not offered on a subscription. Each included job is attempted on different days and times, never on a Sunday, throughout the billing cycle in which it is sent, until service is made or the job is returned as a non-service. An included job not served by the end of the billing cycle is closed with an affidavit of non-service. At the client's request, a job closed as a non-service or not served by the end of the cycle is reopened and rolled into the next billing cycle, where it counts as one of that month's included jobs. A job may be returned as a non-service sooner when service isn't possible, such as a bad or nonexistent address, a party who has moved, or a location that can't be accessed, and it counts as a used job, as does a cancellation after the first attempt. Subscription pricing is all-inclusive: color printing, any page count, and nail and mail (when authorized and used) are included at no extra charge. A notarized affidavit is $8 each. Each plan includes address searches each month: 2 on Starter, 5 on Essentials, 10 on Professional, and 20 on Firm. Unused searches do not roll over. An included search counts toward the plan only if the party is found and served. Additional searches are $60 each, charged only if the party is found and served, and invoiced with payment due within 15 days of the invoice date. Jobs beyond the plan are sent as new job requests at $99.90 each, on the same all-inclusive basis, and include up to 3 attempts. Extra jobs, notarized affidavits, rush jobs ($175), and registered agent deliveries ($90) are invoiced as each job is completed, with payment due within 15 days of the invoice date. Subscriptions are billed monthly in advance through a secure checkout we send after the account is approved. An invoice is still issued for each completed included job as a record, but it is not charged separately. Subscriptions renew month to month and may be cancelled in writing before the next billing date; the current month is not refunded. Landlord-tenant cases are accepted on subscriptions only. We do not offer separate bulk rates.

Cancellations

You may cancel a job at no charge before the first service attempt, and any upfront payment for that job is refunded in full. Once the first attempt has been made, a cancellation is billed at the full job rate, and the job is closed as a non-service due to your cancellation request.

Process Server Network

These terms apply to independent process servers who join the Sapphire Legal Server Network. Servers must also accept the Process Server Subcontractor Agreement before receiving any assignment. It sets out our service, mailing, GPS photo, and narrative standards.

• Our role. Sapphire Legal LLC is a process serving agency. We distribute, process, and administer assignments and create network opportunities.
• Independent contractor. You are an independent contractor. Nothing in these terms or in your participation in the network creates an employment, partnership, joint venture, or agency relationship with Sapphire Legal LLC. You run your own business and are responsible for your own taxes, licenses, insurance, equipment, and expenses.
• Invitation. Approved servers receive an email invitation to the Sapphire Legal platform and must accept it before receiving assignments.
• No guaranteed work. Joining the network does not guarantee assignments. Volume may vary with busy and slow seasons.
• No obligation. Each assignment is sent to you through our platform with the rate and job details. You may accept or decline any assignment.
• Assignment standards. Assignments include up to 3 attempts on different days, including one before 9 AM, one after 5 PM, and one on a Saturday, and end after the 3rd attempt. A job may close early as a non-service when service isn't possible or the client cancels after the first attempt. Every attempt must include a GPS and time-stamped photo and a same-day narrative documented in our platform.
• Required mailing. When service requires a follow-up mailing, including after substitute service or nail and mail, the server must complete the mailing according to New York law (within 20 days, by first-class mail, in an envelope marked "Personal and Confidential"), upload proof of mailing, and state the mailing details in the affidavit. Failing to follow the law and licensing rules can lead to fines, license suspension, and removal from the network.
• Completion. An assignment is complete once service or non-service is documented in our platform, any required mailing is done and documented, and the affidavit is returned. If the job requires notarization, it is complete only once the notarized affidavit is returned.
• Pay. Base pay is $60 per routine job, $100 per rush job, and $30 for intake drop-offs, such as service on a registered agent through its intake specialist. When a server completes substitute service with a required mailing, or an authorized nail and mail, $15 is added to the server's pay for that job, only if the signed affidavit reflects it. Servers print up to 50 pages per set as part of their base pay; for larger sets, $10 per additional 25 pages or part of 25 is added only if the server requests it in our platform before signing the affidavit, and a request made after the affidavit is signed is void. The agreed rate is the server's full pay for the job; no other expenses or extra pay are reimbursed. Each assignment shows its rate before you accept. Pay is issued every two weeks, through our platform only, for all 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.
• W-9 and tax forms. After approval, you must upload a completed W-9 and a copy of your NYC process server license through our platform before receiving assignments. 1099-NEC forms are issued where required.
• Service area and licensing. Network assignments are in Manhattan only. Every server must hold a current NYC process server license from the NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP), stay in good standing, and follow all laws and court rules that apply to service of process.
• Confidentiality. Case and recipient information may be used only to complete the assignment and must not be shared with anyone else.
• Ratings and priority. Server performance may be rated, and higher-rated servers may receive priority on new assignments.
• Network membership. Sapphire Legal may decline an application or remove a server from the network at its discretion.

Confidentiality

We treat case documents and recipient information as confidential and use them only to provide the services you requested, except where disclosure is required by law or needed to complete service.

We keep contact details, form submissions, and our communications in HubSpot, our customer relationship management (CRM) system. By submitting a form, signing up, or emailing us, you agree that we may send you marketing emails about our services until you unsubscribe. Every marketing email includes an unsubscribe link. Messages about your jobs, invoices, and account will continue. See our Privacy Policy for details.

Intellectual property

All content on this website, including text, graphics, logos, and design, belongs to Sapphire Legal LLC and may not be copied, distributed, or used without our written permission.

Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent allowed by law, Sapphire Legal is not liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential damages, including damages from the inability to locate or serve a recipient, delays outside our control, or the outcome of any legal matter. Our total liability for any job is limited to the fees paid for that job.

Use of this website

You agree not to attempt unauthorized access to our systems, upload malicious content, submit false information through our forms, or use the website for any unlawful activity. Website content is for general information and is not legal advice.

Changes to these terms

We may update these terms at any time. Changes take effect when posted on this page with a new effective date. Continuing to use our website or services after a change means you accept the updated terms.

Contact us

Questions about these terms:

Sapphire Legal LLC
Email: contact@sapphirelegalservices.com
Mailing address:
Sapphire Legal LLC
99 Wall Street #1612
New York, New York 10005
Agency License #2138214-DCWP