Minnesota Court of Appeals Help Topics

Any time you submit a document to the Clerk of the Appellate Courts for filing, a copy must also be provided to all other parties at or before the time of filing. This is called “service.” 

If a party has an attorney, you must serve the attorney rather than the party.  If a party does not have an attorney, you may serve that party directly.  

There are three methods of service:

• In person ("personal service"), by having another person hand-deliver the document.  The person who hand-delivers the document must be 18 years or older and not a party to the appeal.  You cannot serve the documents in person yourself.
• By mail, by depositing the documents, correctly addressed, in the U.S. Mail, with adequate first-class postage.  You can serve appellate-court documents by mail yourself.
• Electronically: If you choose to file electronically using the appellate courts' e-filing system, E-MACS, you can serve the respondents electronically as well, if the respondents are registered in E-MACS.  Information about electronic service can be found on the Clerk of the Appellate Courts’ webpage.

If the recipient consents to another method of delivery, such as email or fax, you could also use that method for service.   

No matter what method of service you use, you must also submit proof of service to the Clerk’s Office.

 

Every document submitted to the Clerk of the Appellate Courts for filing must be accompanied by a form stating that the document was served on the other parties to the appeal.  This is called “proof of service.”

If you use E-MACS to serve papers on the other parties or attorneys to the appeal, no separate proof of service is required, because the Clerk of the Appellate Courts will receive information about service along with the e-filing.  If you serve papers in person, by postal mail, or by another delivery method (with the consent of the recipient), separate proof of service is required.  

Usually, proof of service is (1) a notarized Affidavit of Service or (2) a Certificate of Service.  A less frequently used third option for proof of service is a written admission by the person who was served, stating that the document was received. See Minn. R. Civ. App. P. 125.04. 

The person who served the document in person or by mail must complete the Affidavit of Service or Certificate of Service, which must include a description of the documents that were served, the date and time of service, the method of service (by mail, in person, or other method with consent), the name of the person who was served, and the address to which any documents served by mail were sent.  The affidavit or certificate of service must be signed by the person who served the documents.  

Affidavit of Service. An affidavit of service must be signed in front of a notary by the person who served the document. The notary must also sign and date the document. Notary services are available at many financial institutions for a small fee. The Office of the Clerk of the Appellate Courts will notarize an affidavit of service at no charge. 

Certificate of Service. A certificate of service does not need to be notarized. A certificate of service must contain a statement by the person who signs the certificate that the person declares under penalty of perjury that everything stated in the document is true and correct. The certificate must show the date of signing and the county and state where the certificate was signed.  A form certificate of service is attached to this packet. 

Affidavit of Service by U.S. Mail Delivery
Affidavit of Service by Personal Delivery
Certificate of Service by U.S. Mail Delivery
Certificate of Service by Personal Delivery

Be sure to make extra copies of the certificate/affidavit of service form(s) so you can submit one with every document you submit for filing.  You may file one Affidavit of Service or Certificate of Service listing multiple documents if you serve those documents on the same date and on the same parties.