May 4, 2007-
Supreme Court Certification:
Optional for some, imperative for others.
Anyone over eighteen years of age who is not a party to the suit or interested in
the outcome can still serve 100% of all TYPES of civil court process WITHOUT
being certified by the Texas Supreme Court. Supreme Court certification for
private process servers is currently an optional credential that provides a
convenient method for obtaining authorization to serve citations and other
notices regardless of which county the case is filed in. However, this is of no
consequence if a server cannot obtain a Rule 103/536 order or if the issuing
county does not maintain a blanket order.
The reason many courts rescinded their blanket orders (and the reason some
judges no longer sign 103/536 orders) is because they understood from the way
the Supreme Court's Misc. Docket Order No. 05-9122 read, as did the industry,
that certification was basically a "blanket order on steroids." They and the
industry understood that if a certified process server does not become
convicted of a felony or crime of moral turpitude, they update their training
every three years, and they file a timely renewal application, they could remain
certified. No one expected unauthorized regulation by the board assigned to
administer the program and rubber stamp applications.
But, unauthorized regulation is exactly what the Process Server Review Board
(PSRB) has done. For the first 21 months of the programs existence, the PSRB
conducted itself as if they were a lawfully created, full-blown regulatory agency.
By creating their own definition of "good cause", the PSRB has railroaded
process servers who have broken no laws. For those servers who have
become dependent on their certification, going back to blanket orders or
individual 103/536 orders is no longer an option.
For instance, blanket orders in some of the larger counties like Harris, Dallas
and Bexar no longer exist. For any certified process server who gets railroaded
by the out-of-control PSRB, this is a death sentence for their career. This type
of threat should only be possible with the protection of the Texas Legislature
and oversight of the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission. The private process
service industry in Texas currently has no such protection or oversight.
Story by:
Tod E. Pendergrass
Director, CCPSAT