In the case of a sole applicant, the other party is known as a respondent. The court writes to the respondent letting them know that the divorce application has been issued and sending them a link to the digital portal where they are to complete the acknowledgement of service form. If the sole applicant does not have a postal address for the respondent, but has an email address an application can be made to the court for permission to notify the respondent of the divorce by email only. If the respondent does not complete the acknowledgement of service form the court will accept lots of different types of evidence that they have had the divorce application even though they have not returned the necessary form to say so. Failing that, we can arrange for them to be handed the documents personally by a bailiff. The court would then be satisfied by that bailiff’s evidence that the respondent knows about the divorce and application would be allowed to proceed. There are other routes too depending on your circumstances so it is important not to panic.