2023 New York Laws › CVP - Civil Practice Law and Rules › Article 3 - Jurisdiction and Service, Appearance and Choice of Court › 312-A - Personal Service by Mail.

§  312-a.  Personal service by mail. (a) Service. As an alternative to
the methods of personal service authorized by section 307, 308, 310, 311
or 312 of this article, a summons and complaint, or summons and  notice,
or notice of petition and petition may be served by the plaintiff or any
other  person  by mailing to the person or entity to be served, by first
class mail, postage prepaid, a copy of the  summons  and  complaint,  or
summons and notice or notice of petition and petition, together with two
copies  of a statement of service by mail and acknowledgement of receipt
in the form set forth in subdivision (d) of this section, with a  return
envelope, postage prepaid, addressed to the sender.
(b)  Completion  of  service  and time to answer. 1. The defendant, an
authorized  employee  of  the  defendant,  defendant's  attorney  or  an
employee  of  the  attorney must complete the acknowledgement of receipt
and mail or deliver one copy of it within thirty (30) days from the date
of receipt. Service is complete on the date the  signed  acknowledgement
of   receipt   is   mailed  or  delivered  to  the  sender.  The  signed
acknowledgement of receipt shall constitute proof of service.
2. Where a complaint or petition is served with the summons or  notice
of petition, the defendant shall serve an answer within twenty (20) days
after  the  date  the  signed  acknowledgement  of  receipt is mailed or
delivered to the sender.
(c) Affirmation. The acknowledgement of receipt of  service  shall  be
subscribed  and  affirmed  as  true under penalties of perjury and shall
have the same force and effect as an affidavit.
(d) Form. The statement of service by mail and the acknowledgement  of
receipt of such service shall be in substantially the following form:
Statement of Service by Mail and
Acknowledgement of Receipt by Mail of
Summons and Complaint or Summons and Notice
or Notice of Petition and Petition
A. STATEMENT OF SERVICE
BY MAIL
 
To:  (Insert the name and address of the person or entity to be served.)
The enclosed summons and complaint, or summons and notice, or notice  of
petition  and  petition  (strike  out  inapplicable  terms)  are  served
pursuant to section 312-a of the Civil Practice Law and Rules.
To avoid being charged with the expense of service upon you, you  must
sign,  date  and complete the acknowledgement part of this form and mail
or deliver one copy of the completed form to the  sender  within  thirty
(30)  days from the date you receive it. You should keep a copy for your
records or your attorney. If you wish to consult an attorney, you should
do so as soon as possible before the thirty (30) days expire.
If you do not complete and return the form to the sender within thirty
(30) days, you (or the party on whose behalf you are being served)  will
be  required  to  pay  expenses  incurred  in  serving  the  summons and
complaint, or summons and notice, or notice of petition and petition  in
any  other  manner  permitted  by  law,  and the cost of such service as
permitted by law will be entered as a judgment against you.
If you have received a complaint or petition with this statement,  the
return of this statement and acknowledgement does not relieve you of the
necessity  to  answer  the  complaint  or  petition.  The time to answer
expires twenty (20) days after the day you mail or deliver this form  to
the sender. If you wish to consult with an attorney, you should do so as
soon as possible before the twenty (20) days expire.
If   you  are  served  on  behalf  of  a  corporation,  unincorporated
association, partnership or other entity, you must indicate  under  your
signature  your  relationship to the entity. If you are served on behalf
of another person and you are authorized to receive  process,  you  must
indicate under your signature your authority.
It  is  a  crime to forge a signature or to make a false entry on this
statement or on the acknowledgement.
B. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF RECEIPT OF SUMMONS AND COMPLAINT
OR SUMMONS AND NOTICE OR NOTICE OF PETITION AND PETITION
I received a summons and complaint, or summons and notice,  or  notice
of  petition  and  petition  (strike  out  inapplicable  terms)  in  the
above-captioned matter at (insert address).
PLEASE CHECK ONE OF THE FOLLOWING;
IF 2 IS CHECKED, COMPLETE AS INDICATED:
1. / / I am not in military service.
2. / / I am in military service, and my rank and branch of service
are as follows:
Rank:___________________________________
Branch of Service:______________________
TO BE COMPLETED REGARDLESS OF MILITARY STATUS:
Date:_____________________________________________
Date this Acknowledgement is executed)
I affirm the above as true under penalty of perjury.
__________________________________
Signature
__________________________________
Print name
__________________________________
Name of Defendant for which acting
__________________________________
Position with Defendant for which
acting (i.e., officer, attorney,
etc.)
PLEASE COMPLETE ALL BLANKS INCLUDING DATES
(e) Subsequent service. Where a duly executed acknowledgement  is  not
returned,  upon  the  subsequent  service  of  process in another manner
permitted by law, the summons or notice of petition or paper served with
the summons or  notice  of  petition  shall  indicate  that  an  attempt
previously was made to effect service pursuant to this section.
(f)  Disbursements. Where the signed acknowledgement of receipt is not
returned within thirty (30) days after receipt of the  documents  mailed
pursuant  to  subdivision (a) of this section, the reasonable expense of
serving process by an alternative method shall be taxed by the court  on
notice pursuant to section 8402 of this chapter as a disbursement to the
party  serving process, and the court shall direct immediate judgment in
that amount.