What is "substituted service" in legal terms?

Substituted service refers specifically to a method of serving legal documents to a defendant who cannot be personally served. This situation may arise when the defendant is evading service, is out of jurisdiction, or cannot be found after reasonable attempts. In such cases, courts often allow parties to serve documents through alternative means that can include mailing documents to a defendant’s last known address, delivering them to a family member, or using publication in a newspaper.

This approach ensures that defendants still receive notice of legal actions against them, thereby upholding due process rights while balancing the practical challenges that can arise in serving legal documents. By allowing for substituted service, legal systems facilitate the efficient progress of cases without allowing defendants to escape notice purely by avoiding service.