Terms of Service

These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your use of the Canadian Process Server website and platform, operated by Court Runner Inc. as Canadian Process Server (“Canadian Process Server,” “CPS,” “we,” “us” or “our”). By creating an account, submitting a request or accepting a job, you agree to these Terms and to our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, do not use the service.

What Canadian Process Server does

Canadian Process Server is an online platform for ordering service of legal documents at addresses in Canada, in all ten provinces and three territories. Clients submit requests and upload the documents to be served. Independent process servers accept jobs and attempt service. Canadian Process Server coordinates each job, processes payments, shows the progress of each attempt and delivers the affidavit.

The service is offered only for documents to be served at addresses in Canada. Service in Quebec is done by a huissier de justice (bailiff), so Quebec requests are quoted. Requests for Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut are quoted too: there is no instant price, and nothing is charged until you accept a price.

Not a law firm, no legal advice

Canadian Process Server is not a law firm and does not give legal advice. Using the service does not create a lawyer-client relationship with Canadian Process Server or with any process server.

We do not decide whether a particular method of service, document, deadline or affidavit meets the rules that apply to your case. Guides and other information on our website, including our Resources section and province pages, are general information only. If you are unsure what the rules require, consult a lawyer or paralegal.

Accounts

• You must be at least 18 years old and able to enter into a binding contract to create an account.
• The information you give us must be accurate and kept up to date.
• You are responsible for keeping your sign-in details confidential and for everything done through your account. Tell us through our contact page right away if you believe your account has been used without your permission.
• If you use the service on behalf of a law firm, company or other organization, you confirm that you are authorized to accept these Terms for it.

Your responsibilities as a client

When you submit a request, you are responsible for:

• Accurate information. The name and details of the person or entity to be served, the service address, the court, the court file number and style of cause, and any instructions must be correct and complete. Wrong or incomplete details can lead to failed attempts or improper service.
• Correct documents. The PDF you upload must be the complete, correct set of documents to be served, ready for service.
• Lawful use. You must have a lawful reason and the right to have the documents served.
• Court rules. You are responsible for knowing and following the rules that apply to your case, including who may serve the documents, which methods of service are allowed, the time limits for service and how proof of service must be filed.
• Timing. Choose a service type and deadline that leave enough time to attempt service before your court deadline.
• Reviewing and filing the affidavit. Check the affidavit before you file it and file it as the court requires.

What the standard price includes

The standard price covers:

• service on one recipient at one address;
• up to 3 documented attempts on different days and times;
• printing of the first 50 pages;
• GPS-tracked updates for each attempt; and
• a sworn affidavit of service, or of attempted service, as a PDF, sworn or affirmed before a commissioner for taking affidavits or a notary public.

Prices, add-ons and payment

• Canadian dollars. All prices, quotes, charges, refunds and payouts are in Canadian dollars (CAD).
• Add-ons. Rush and same-day service, a rural or distant service address, printing beyond the first 50 pages and a mailed original affidavit cost extra. Each add-on you choose is shown with its price before you submit.
• Special jobs. Jobs such as serving an evasive person, a stakeout, a remote location or skip tracing are priced by quote. Process servers send quotes, you choose one, and the price of the quote you choose is the price of the job.
• The “Up to” price. Before you submit a standard request, you see an “Up to” price for the service and the add-ons you chose. When a process server accepts the job, you see the confirmed price. The confirmed price is never higher than the “Up to” price.
• Service fee. Every price you see includes our Service fee.
• GST/HST. Prices, including the “Up to” price and quotes, are before GST/HST. GST/HST is added at checkout as its own line, at the rate for the province or territory of the service address. It is shown on the payment page before you pay and on your receipt, with our GST/HST registration number.
• Payment after acceptance. You pay the confirmed price plus GST/HST by card through Stripe, in Canadian dollars, after a process server accepts your job. Canadian Process Server does not store full card numbers. Stripe’s terms also apply to your payment.
• Payment held until the job closes. Your payment is held until the job closes, which happens 48 hours after the affidavit is delivered to you if no problem has been reported. The process server is paid after that.

Because you pay only after a process server accepts your job, you are not charged for a request that no server accepts.

After 3 attempts

If service is not completed after 3 documented attempts, the job closes with a sworn affidavit of attempted service. The attempts are the service you paid for, so the price is kept. You can order service again from your dashboard, for example at a different address.

Cancellations

Before you pay, you can cancel a request from your dashboard. After you pay, contact us through our contact page as soon as possible to cancel. Canadian Process Server decides cancellations after payment case by case. We consider how far the job has progressed, including whether attempts have been made and what costs have been incurred. Where we approve a refund, it is returned in Canadian dollars to the card used for payment through Stripe.

Problems, disputes and refunds

If something went wrong with a job, report a problem from the job page in your dashboard within 48 hours of receiving the affidavit. While a report is open, the job stays open and the process server is not paid.

Canadian Process Server reviews the job record, including the attempts, their times, GPS locations and photos, and the affidavit, and may ask you or the process server for more information. We then decide whether to give a full or partial refund, arrange service again, or give no refund, and we tell you our decision. Refunds are returned to the card used for payment through Stripe.

Chargebacks

If you have a problem with a charge, contact us first so we have a chance to resolve it. If you dispute a charge with your card issuer, we may share the job record, including the attempt records and the affidavit, with the card issuer to respond to the dispute. We may suspend your account while the dispute is open.

No guarantee that service will succeed

Service of process depends on things outside our control, such as whether the person can be found at the address, whether they avoid service, access to the property and the accuracy of the information you provide. We do not guarantee that service will be completed, that it will be completed by a particular date, or that a court will accept it. The record of attempts for your job remains available in your dashboard.

Affidavits

When a job ends, an affidavit of service or of attempted service is prepared from the job record. The process server swears or affirms it before a commissioner for taking affidavits or a notary public and uploads it to your dashboard. The process server is responsible for the truth of the statements they swear or affirm. You are responsible for reviewing the affidavit and filing it with the court. If you find an error, report it within 48 hours of receiving the affidavit, as described in Problems, disputes and refunds, and before you file it.

Independent process servers

Process servers on Canadian Process Server are independent contractors. They are not employees, agents or partners of Canadian Process Server. Each server decides whether to accept a job and is responsible for carrying it out lawfully, and for their own taxes, including registering for GST/HST where the law requires it. Process servers also agree to our Independent Contractor Agreement, which sets out how they work through the platform.

Licences and insurance

Process servers must hold any licence or registration that a province, municipality or court requires for the work they do. We record a licence or registration number where a process server holds one. Insurance is optional. Before a process server is approved, our team reviews their government-issued photo ID and approves their application. Where we have set a licence, registration or insurance requirement for an area, a process server receives jobs there only while our team has approved current proof of it. These reviews do not guarantee how a server will perform any particular job.

Documents and confidentiality

Your documents are stored privately. Only the process server assigned to your job (after payment) and Canadian Process Server administrators can access your documents and service details. Your phone number and email address are never shared with process servers. There is no direct communication channel between clients and servers on the platform; Canadian Process Server coordinates each job and sends email notifications when its status changes. Our Privacy Policy explains how we handle personal information under Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).

You keep ownership of the documents and information you upload. You give Canadian Process Server permission to store, process and share them as needed to provide the service, including with the assigned process server and the providers described in our Privacy Policy. You confirm that you have the right to upload them.

Prohibited use

You may not use Canadian Process Server to:

• serve documents you know to be false, forged or not issued for a real legal proceeding;
• harass, stalk, threaten or locate a person for any purpose other than lawful service of process;
• impersonate another person or misrepresent your authority to act for someone;
• break any law or court rule, or help someone else do so;
• upload malware or interfere with the security or operation of the platform;
• access accounts, documents or data that are not yours, or copy the site with automated tools; or
• arrange jobs outside the platform with clients or process servers you met through it.

Suspension and termination

We may suspend or close an account, or refuse or cancel a request or job, if we believe these Terms have been broken, if the service is being misused, or if we are required to by law. You may stop using the service at any time. Sections of these Terms that by their nature should continue, such as payment obligations, disclaimers and limitation of liability, continue after an account is closed.

Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms as the service changes. Each update is published as a new version, with its date at the top of this page. You must accept a new version before you place your next order, and process servers must accept it before they take their next job. We keep a record of which version you accepted and when. We may send notices about these Terms to the email address on your account.

Disclaimers

The service is provided “as is” and “as available.” To the fullest extent the law allows, Canadian Process Server gives no warranties or promises about the service other than those stated in these Terms. We do not promise that the service will be uninterrupted or error-free.

Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent the law allows, Canadian Process Server will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, or for lost profits, lost data or missed deadlines, arising from your use of the service. Our total liability for any claim relating to a job will not exceed the amount you paid for that job. Some laws do not allow certain limits on liability, so some of these limits may not apply to you.

Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Canadian Process Server from claims, losses and expenses, including reasonable legal fees, arising from the documents or information you provide, your instructions, your violation of these Terms or your violation of any law or the rights of another person.

Disputes and governing law

If you have a concern about the service, report a problem from your dashboard or contact us first through our contact page so we have a chance to resolve it informally.

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada that apply there, without regard to conflict of law rules. A claim that is not resolved informally may be brought in the courts of Ontario, including the Small Claims Court if it qualifies, except where the law gives you the right to bring it somewhere else.

Contact us

If you have a question about these Terms, contact us through our contact page. You may also reach us at info@canadianprocesssserver.ca, by phone at (647) 450-3736, or by mail at Canadian Process Server (a service of Court Runner Inc.), 10 Four Seasons Pl, Suite 1000, Toronto, ON M9B 6H7.