How Defendant Is Served

If the Judge issues the Order of Protection or Injunction Against Harassment, you must have the defendant served with the order before it will be effective. Once an order has been served, it will be in effect for 1 year.

Private Process or Police Department

You may use a private process server or you may use the Cottonwood Police Department for Orders of Protection and Injunctions Against Harassment.

Private Process Server

If you use a private process server, you are responsible for delivering the defendant's copy of the order to the process server and for paying the service fee and mileage. Other agencies may have fees for Injunctions Against Harassment without a dating relationship.

If you do not presently know where the defendant is, or do not have an accurate address, you should keep the certified copy of the order. As soon as you learn where the defendant is, you can contact a private process server or the police, so that they may attempt to serve the defendant. The order must be served within 1 year of being issued.

Police Department

If the defendant is in jail, the Police will serve the Order of Protection or the Injunction Against Harassment. You may be billed a flat fee for this service. If the Defendant is in the process of being released, there may not be enough time to have service completed before his or her release from custody.

Any Police Agency other than the Cottonwood Police Department can serve your order However, you may be billed for that service.

In an emergency situation, do not hesitate to call 9-1-1.