Several years ago, we started a series of jurisdiction-specific posts outlining the Hague Service Convention and options for serving in each place. How to Serve Process in France was first published in 2017 and has been periodically updated since– including some of my favorite travel pictures taken in the land I briefly called home for a few months in college. That post lays out general information about the Convention, France’s allowable means of service, and a short description of the judicial officers who serve in French actions. Rather than make you read up on the whole thing, I want you to have my quick and to-the-point advice:
Link to Just use the Central Authority. Just use the Central Authority.
My rationale is very simple. Going this route works, the method is unassailable, it doesn’t take very long (comparatively speaking), and it doesn’t require a herculean effort on the part of plaintiff’s counsel. You just have to do it the right way, and that’s where it can be challenging.
Yes, mail service is valid, but I contend that it’s a bad idea.
Yes, you can directly engage a judicial officer, but unless you speak French, you’re going to have a very tough time educating them about what needs to happen and how it needs to be proved up. I speak French fairly well, and it’s excruciating for me to get the point across.
But if you rely on the Central Authority, somebody who knows what they’re doing is going to handle the effort reliably. There’s no need for hand-wringing over strategy.
So how do you go about it?
- You can do it yourself. Any attorney can sign the necessary Hague Request (see here for a step-by-step guide).
- Use a sort of “assisted DIY” platform called Hague Envoy. It will walk you through completing the Request yourself. (Disclaimer: my wife built the thing by picking bits of information out of my lawyer brain.)
- Or just let my people handle the whole thing for you.
Good luck. Er… bonne chance.