Peoria protective orders and lawsuits: who serves which papers

Sorting protective order papers from lawsuit papers at a Peoria table to see who serves each

People often come to us asking for a process server when what they've actually got is an order of protection, or the other way round. The two get mixed up because both start in a courthouse and both have to be put in someone's hands. But in Arizona they're served by different people, under different rules, and one of them costs nothing to serve.

If your paperwork came from Peoria Municipal Court, a Maricopa County justice court or the Superior Court, here's how to tell which path you're on. This is general information. If you're in danger right now, call 911 first and sort out the paperwork after.

Peoria Municipal Court in brief

Peoria's city court sits on the municipal campus at 10100 N. 83rd Avenue, with a mailing address of 8401 W. Monroe Street. The city lists its hours as Monday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., and its phone as 623-773-7400. It handles criminal misdemeanors, traffic citations, city code violations, orders of protection and injunctions against harassment.

Orders of protection: law enforcement serves, and it's free

Arizona's order of protection statute, A.R.S. 13-3602, sets out who serves these orders. When a municipal court issues one, the law enforcement agency of that city or town serves it. In Peoria, that means the city's police. If the defendant can't be served inside the city, the county sheriff or a constable handles it. Orders from a justice court are served by the sheriff or a constable, or by a municipal police agency, and orders from Superior Court by the sheriff or a constable.

The statute is plain about cost: no fee is charged for filing the petition or for service.

It also sets a clock. An order that isn't served within one year of being issued expires. Once served, it lasts two years from the date of service. If the serving agency can't complete service within fifteen days, it has to tell the person who asked for the order and keep trying.

That fifteen-day notice is your cue. If police haven't been able to find the defendant, give them anything that helps: a new address, a workplace, a vehicle, a schedule. Keep a note of who you spoke to and when.

One limit worth knowing: a city or justice court can't issue an order of protection if the petition shows a pending divorce, legal separation, annulment or paternity case between the two people. In that situation the Superior Court handles it.

Civil lawsuits: a process server or sheriff, and you pay

A lawsuit is a different thing. If you're suing someone, or being sued, over money, a contract, property damage or an eviction, the summons and complaint have to be served under the civil rules, and that's the job of a certified private process server, a sheriff or a constable.

Peoria Municipal Court doesn't hear those cases. Smaller civil claims and evictions for Peoria addresses go to a Maricopa County justice court (many West Valley precincts share a building at 14264 W. Tierra Buena Lane in Surprise), and bigger ones go to Superior Court.

Under A.R.S. 12-3301, a certified private process server is an officer of the court and can serve the papers a sheriff or constable could, with some exceptions such as writs that require seizing property. Fees are set by agreement between you and the server. Our process server cost guide explains what usually drives the price.

Once served, the defendant generally has 20 days to file a written answer if served in Arizona, or 30 days if served outside the state, according to the Maricopa County Justice Courts' instructions for filing an answer.

Injunctions and other orders

Not every protective-sounding order follows the same path. Injunctions against harassment and workplace injunctions are separate from orders of protection, and service can work differently. Ask the court clerk how your specific order is to be served, and whether a private process server is an option.

When people use both

It's common for one situation to produce both kinds of paperwork. A tenant who's been threatened by a former roommate might get an order of protection from Peoria Municipal Court and later file a small claims case for damage to their property. The first is served by Peoria police for free. The second needs a process server.

If that's you, give each the same information about where the other person can be found, and keep copies of every proof of service in one folder.

Finding a process server in Peoria

For civil papers, compare the Peoria process servers we list, all on the Arizona Supreme Court's certified list, or look across the West Valley. Our explainer on what service of process is covers the basics if this is your first time.

If the address is in north Peoria near Vistancia or the lake, read our piece on serving papers in north Peoria before you book.

Other local listings are on the Peoria page. Look at the top of your first page: the court name tells you which of these two paths you're on.

See the board: everyone in Peoria · process servers only.