§ 312-A — Personal service by mail

§ 312-a. Personal service by mail. (a) Service. As an alternative to\nthe methods of personal service authorized by section 307, 308, 310, 311\nor 312 of this article, a summons and complaint, or summons and notice,\nor notice of petition and petition may be served by the plaintiff or any\nother person by mailing to the person or entity to be served, by first\nclass mail, postage prepaid, a copy of the summons and complaint, or\nsummons and notice or notice of petition and petition, together with two\ncopies of a statement of service by mail and acknowledgement of receipt\nin the form set forth in subdivision (d) of this section, with a return\nenvelope, postage prepaid, addressed to the sender.\n (b) Completion of service and time to answer. 1. The defendant, an\nauthorized employee of the defendant, defendant's attorney or an\nemployee of the attorney must complete the acknowledgement of receipt\nand mail or deliver one copy of it within thirty (30) days from the date\nof receipt. Service is complete on the date the signed acknowledgement\nof receipt is mailed or delivered to the sender. The signed\nacknowledgement of receipt shall constitute proof of service.\n 2. Where a complaint or petition is served with the summons or notice\nof petition, the defendant shall serve an answer within twenty (20) days\nafter the date the signed acknowledgement of receipt is mailed or\ndelivered to the sender.\n (c) Affirmation. The acknowledgement of receipt of service shall be\nsubscribed and affirmed as true under penalties of perjury and shall\nhave the same force and effect as an affidavit.\n (d) Form. The statement of service by mail and the acknowledgement of\nreceipt of such service shall be in substantially the following form:\n Statement of Service by Mail and\n Acknowledgement of Receipt by Mail of\n Summons and Complaint or Summons and Notice\n or Notice of Petition and Petition\n A. STATEMENT OF SERVICE\n BY MAIL\nTo: (Insert the name and address of the person or entity to be served.)\nThe enclosed summons and complaint, or summons and notice, or notice of\npetition and petition (strike out inapplicable terms) are served\npursuant to section 312-a of the Civil Practice Law and Rules.\n To avoid being charged with the expense of service upon you, you must\nsign, date and complete the acknowledgement part of this form and mail\nor deliver one copy of the completed form to the sender within thirty\n(30) days from the date you receive it. You should keep a copy for your\nrecords or your attorney. If you wish to consult an attorney, you should\ndo so as soon as possible before the thirty (30) days expire.\n If you do not complete and return the form to the sender within thirty\n(30) days, you (or the party on whose behalf you are being served) will\nbe required to pay expenses incurred in serving the summons and\ncomplaint, or summons and notice, or notice of petition and petition in\nany other manner permitted by law, and the cost of such service as\npermitted by law will be entered as a judgment against you.\n If you have received a complaint or petition with this statement, the\nreturn of this statement and acknowledgement does not relieve you of the\nnecessity to answer the complaint or petition. The time to answer\nexpires twenty (20) days after the day you mail or deliver this form to\nthe sender. If you wish to consult with an attorney, you should do so as\nsoon as possible before the twenty (20) days expire.\n If you are served on behalf of a corporation, unincorporated\nassociation, partnership or other entity, you must indicate under your\nsignature your relationship to the entity. If you are served on behalf\nof another person and you are authorized to receive process, you must\nindicate under your signature your authority.\n It is a crime to forge a signature or to make a false entry on this\nstatement or on the acknowledgement.\n B. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF RECEIPT OF SUMMONS AND COMPLAINT\n OR SUMMONS AND NOTICE OR NOTICE OF PETITION AND PETITION\n I received a summons and complaint, or summons and notice, or notice\nof petition and petition (strike out inapplicable terms) in the\nabove-captioned matter at (insert address).\n PLEASE CHECK ONE OF THE FOLLOWING;\n IF 2 IS CHECKED, COMPLETE AS INDICATED:\n 1. / / I am not in military service.\n 2. / / I am in military service, and my rank and branch of service\nare as follows:\nRank:___________________________________\n Branch of Service:______________________\n TO BE COMPLETED REGARDLESS OF MILITARY STATUS:\n Date:_____________________________________________\n (Date this Acknowledgement is executed)\n I affirm the above as true under penalty of perjury.\n __________________________________\n Signature\n __________________________________\n Print name\n __________________________________\n Name of Defendant for which acting\n __________________________________\n Position with Defendant for which\n acting (i.e., officer, attorney,\n etc.)\n PLEASE COMPLETE ALL BLANKS INCLUDING DATES\n (e) Subsequent service. Where a duly executed acknowledgement is not\nreturned, upon the subsequent service of process in another manner\npermitted by law, the summons or notice of petition or paper served with\nthe summons or notice of petition shall indicate that an attempt\npreviously was made to effect service pursuant to this section.\n (f) Disbursements. Where the signed acknowledgement of receipt is not\nreturned within thirty (30) days after receipt of the documents mailed\npursuant to subdivision (a) of this section, the reasonable expense of\nserving process by an alternative method shall be taxed by the court on\nnotice pursuant to section 8402 of this chapter as a disbursement to the\nparty serving process, and the court shall direct immediate judgment in\nthat amount.\n