Court documents in Cyprus, including those from a court abroad, are served by a private process server licensed by the Supreme Court. A demand letter needs proof of delivery.
Klitos Platis, advocate
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Court documents in Cyprus, including those from a court abroad, are served by a private process server licensed by the Supreme Court. A demand letter needs proof of delivery.
So a process server or a law firm abroad with papers for someone in Nicosia, Limassol or Paphos sends them to a licensed process server here, and what comes back is a sworn affidavit of service. This guide explains who serves in Cyprus, how service is made and proved, and what to send.
Who serves documents in Cyprus
A private process server licensed by the Supreme Court serves court documents in Cyprus. Rule 6.3(1)(a) of the Civil Procedure Rules 2023 gives to the private process server the service of:
- the claim form, a notice of appeal and the pleadings;
- any other court document;
- any document the court orders to be served.
Rule 6.3(1)(c) adds that a court document includes any document issued by a judicial authority abroad. Documents issued by a government department or service are outside the rule.
The licence is personal, and it covers the whole of Cyprus. Under Appendix I of Part 6 it is granted by the Supreme Court for two years at a time, it can be renewed or revoked, and it cannot be assigned or delegated to anyone else. Before taking up duties, the process server makes a declaration before a judge of the Supreme Court.
The process server holds the position of an officer of the court. The same Appendix says so in terms, and sets out the duties that go with it. The process server:
- may not refuse to serve a document without the consent of the Registrar;
- proceeds with the service with dispatch and diligence;
- keeps a register of every document received, and serves in the order received.
Applications for interim measures, and the orders made on them, are served first.
How a claim form is served
Service is made on the person wherever that is practicable. Under rule 6.4(3)(a) the copy is left with the person to be served. If the person is not found at home or at the usual place of work, service is still made by leaving the copy with:
- a member of the family who appears to be 16 or over and who was then in the person’s town or village or its area; or
- a person who appears to be 16 or over and is in charge of the person’s place of work.
The time and place are wide. Under rule 6.4(4), service on the person can be made at any hour of the day or night, at any place and on any day of the week, and the same applies to a copy left with a member of the family. A copy left with the person in charge of a place of work is left there during working hours.
A company is served through the people who run it, or at its office. Rule 6.4(7) allows service on the chairman, a director or another senior officer, the treasurer or the secretary, or at the registered office or principal place of business on a person who appears authorised to accept it. A company not incorporated in Cyprus can be served at its place of business here or, if it has none, on any person in Cyprus who appears authorised to conduct its business here. Where a law makes its own provision for service on a particular body, service can follow it.
The parties can also agree the method and place of service of the claim form. Under rules 6.1 and 6.2 the agreement must be in writing, which includes an exchange by email or letter, and it can be made before or after service.
Proof of service: the affidavit
Service is proved by the process server’s sworn affidavit. For a claim form, rule 6.4(3)(b) requires the affidavit of service to be sworn and filed within seven days of service, endorsed on a copy of the document served or with the copy attached to it as an exhibit. Where the copy was left with someone other than the person to be served, the affidavit must say that the person was not found at home or at the usual place of work.
Every step is recorded. Under Appendix I the process server enters in the register each service, or each failure to serve, with any remarks, and notifies it without delay. Where service succeeds, the documents are filed at the court registry and the party or its lawyer is told.
When the affidavit is to be used abroad, the receiving court may ask for it to be certified. We arrange the apostille or other certification it asks for.
When the person cannot be found
A failed attempt does not end the instruction. Under Appendix I, after a second failed attempt within the same instruction the process server notifies the party or its lawyer and asks for further details, so that service at the same address can still be made where that is possible. Where service proves impossible for any reason, the documents are returned to the party or its lawyer with the reason.
That reason is the starting point for the next step. Another address, a place of work or, for a company, its registered office may settle it.
In proceedings in Cyprus, the court can order another method. Under rule 6.13(1), where it appears to the court that service cannot be made in time in the ways Part 6 provides, it may order substituted or other service, including by email, or by publication in an electronic medium. Under rule 6.14 the application is supported by an affidavit giving the reasons.
Demand letters and other papers that are not court documents
A demand letter is not a court document, and what it needs is proof that it arrived. Rule 6.3 is written for court documents and for documents a court orders to be served. A letter demanding payment is neither, so the question is not who may deliver it but how its delivery will be proved later.
The proof that counts names who received the letter, where, and when. We have the letter delivered by hand at the address you give us, and send you a sworn affidavit of service.
If the demand is not met, the next step may be proceedings in Cyprus. How a claim is brought and enforced here is set out in our guide to debt recovery in Cyprus for foreign creditors, and the procedure itself in our guide to the Civil Procedure Rules 2023.
Documents from a court abroad
A document issued by a court abroad is a court document under the Cyprus Rules, so a licensed private process server serves it. Rule 6.3(1)(c) says so in terms.
Whether service in Cyprus satisfies the court that issued the document is a question for that court’s own rules. They decide what proof of service it accepts, and whether a particular channel between states, such as the Hague Service Convention, must be used. Check that before the papers are sent, and tell us what the court abroad expects. We serve under the Cyprus Rules and send you the affidavit.
A judgment that has already been given abroad is a different matter: its recognition and enforcement here are explained in our article on enforcing foreign judgments and arbitral awards in Cyprus.
What this means in practice
A process server or a law firm abroad does not need its own presence in Cyprus to have documents served here. Send us the papers and we instruct a licensed process server, follow the attempts, and send you the sworn affidavit. To start, send:
- the document to be served, and who issued it;
- the full name of the person or company to be served;
- every address you have for them in Cyprus, such as home, work and registered office;
- any deadline that the document carries or that applies to you;
- whether the affidavit will be used abroad, and what certification the receiving court asks for.
Our Cyprus counsel for international law firms covers the rest of a Cyprus matter, from registry searches to local proceedings. The opposite arrangement, a party abroad appointing someone in Cyprus to accept service on its behalf, is our Cyprus process agent service.
In Cyprus, service is made by a licensed officer of the court, and proved by that officer’s affidavit.
Questions we are asked
Can a process server from abroad serve documents in Cyprus?
Under the Cyprus Rules, court documents, including documents issued by a court abroad, are served by a private process server licensed by the Supreme Court of Cyprus. So the papers go to a licensed process server here, and you receive the sworn affidavit of service. We instruct the process server and follow the service through for you.
Does a demand letter have to be served by a licensed process server?
The rule on private process servers is written for court documents and documents a court orders to be served, and a demand letter is neither. What you need is proof that it reached the right person at the right address. We have it delivered by hand and send you a sworn affidavit of service.
At what times can documents be served in Cyprus?
For a claim form, rule 6.4(4) allows service on the person at any hour of the day or night, at any place and on any day of the week. The same applies to a copy left with a member of the family. A copy left with the person in charge of a place of work is left there during working hours.
How is a company served in Cyprus?
Under rule 6.4(7), a claim form can be served on the chairman, a director or another senior officer, the treasurer or the secretary, or left at the registered office or principal place of business with a person who appears authorised to accept it. A company not incorporated in Cyprus can be served at its place of business here or, if it has none, on a person in Cyprus who appears authorised to conduct its business here.
What should my first message say?
What the document is and who issued it, the full name of the person or company to be served, every address you have for them in Cyprus, any deadline that applies, and whether the affidavit will be used abroad and needs an apostille or other certification.
Sources
- Civil Procedure Rules 2023, Part 6 (service), rules 6.1 to 6.4, 6.13 and 6.14 and Appendix I, consolidated, CyLaw
- Civil Procedure Rules 2023 (13/2023) and amending Rules 23/2023, 24/2023 and 4/2024, index, CyLaw
Need advice on your own matter?
Your first message costs nothing: within one working day we tell you whether we can help and what it would cost.
klitos@kleanthousplatis.com
Kleanthous & Platis LLC Registered law company Cyprus Bar Association HE 441973
Further reading
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Laws and their application can change, and individual circumstances differ. For advice on your own matter, contact Klitos Platis at klitos@kleanthousplatis.com.
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