To serve a lawsuit through the West Virginia Secretary of State, you deliver the summons, complaint, a completed cover sheet, the defendant’s last known address, and a $20 fee per defendant to the Service of Process Department at the State Capitol in Charleston; the office then forwards the papers to the defendant by certified mail and reports the outcome to the court that issued the process. The procedure is open to plaintiffs suing nonresidents who have statutory contacts with the state, corporations and LLCs (domestic or foreign), and licensed insurers.
Who You Can Serve This Way
Not every defendant is reachable through the Secretary of State. The office acts as a statutory agent only for defendants the Legislature has placed in that category.
Nonresidents fall under the long-arm statute, W. Va. Code § 56-3-33, which treats seven kinds of contact with West Virginia as automatic consent to Secretary of State service: transacting business in the state, contracting to supply goods or services there, causing injury by an act in the state, causing injury in the state through conduct elsewhere combined with regular business or substantial revenue from the state, breach of warranty on goods the seller should have expected to be used in the state, owning or using real property in the state, and contracting to insure anyone or anything located there. When jurisdiction rests solely on this statute, the lawsuit has to arise from the specific contact that pulled the defendant in. A nonresident who owns rental property in West Virginia can be served through the Secretary of State for a dispute about that property, but not for an unrelated contract signed in another state.1Justia. West Virginia Code 56-3-33 – Actions by or Against Nonresident Persons Having Certain Contacts With This State
Every corporation formed under West Virginia law has the Secretary of State as its statutory attorney-in-fact by operation of law, with no action by the company required. The same rule covers foreign corporations authorized to do business in the state under W. Va. Code § 31D-15-1510(d), and foreign corporations doing business without authorization are conclusively presumed to have appointed the Secretary of State as their agent.2West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 31D-5-504 – Service on Corporation3West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 31D-15-1510 – Service on Foreign Corporation LLCs work the same way under W. Va. Code § 31B-1-111: if a domestic or foreign LLC has no agent for service, or the agent cannot be found with reasonable effort, the Secretary of State fills the role automatically.4West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 31B-1-111
Licensed insurers are also covered. Under W. Va. Code § 33-4-12, the Secretary of State, not the Insurance Commissioner, is the statutory attorney-in-fact for every domestic, foreign, or alien insurer licensed in the state. Each insurer pays a $25 annual fee for the service.5West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 33-4-12
What Goes in the Filing Package
For each defendant, you need the original process document plus two copies of both the summons and the complaint. One copy is mailed to the defendant, the original is forwarded to the clerk of the issuing court, and the remaining copy stays with the Process Division. In a class action where every defendant receives identical papers, the office needs the original plus one copy per named defendant.6West Virginia Secretary of State. Service of Process Filing Procedures2West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 31D-5-504 – Service on Corporation
You also have to supply the defendant’s last known address. That is the address used for the certified mailing, so an outdated or wrong address means undeliverable mail. For corporate defendants where no address appears in the Secretary of State’s records, the office uses whatever address you list on the filing documents.2West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 31D-5-504 – Service on Corporation
The Secretary of State publishes a Service of Process cover sheet that has to accompany the package. It captures the court where the case is pending, the civil action number, and the names of both parties. Attach it to the top of the stack.6West Virginia Secretary of State. Service of Process Filing Procedures
Fees and Where to Send It
The fee under W. Va. Code § 59-1-2 has two components: $15 for acceptance, indexing, and recording, and a shipping and handling charge that depends on destination. Domestic shipping is $5, so the total is $20 per defendant inside the United States. For a defendant abroad, the shipping fee rises to $15 for registered international mail, making the total $30 per defendant.7West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 59-1-2 – Fees to Be Charged by Secretary of State
Payment goes in with the filing. Deliver or mail the package to the Service of Process Department at the Secretary of State’s office in the State Capitol Building in Charleston. The office will not start processing until the correct fee for every named defendant has been received.
How the Office Delivers the Papers
Once the filing is accepted, the office mails the summons and complaint to the defendant by certified mail, return receipt requested. Electronic issuance and electronic return receipts are permitted. On request, the office will use certified mail with restricted delivery, meaning only the named defendant or an authorized agent can sign; this is worth asking for when you need proof that the specific defendant received the papers rather than someone else at the address. Regular certified mail can be signed for by anyone at the delivery location. Mail going outside the United States is sent by registered mail.8West Virginia Secretary of State. Service by Secretary of State
The Process Division keeps a record for each defendant in each civil action, including the date of service and, if the mail was accepted, the date of the signed return receipt and the signer’s name.8West Virginia Secretary of State. Service by Secretary of State
When Service Is Complete
Service counts as complete in one of two ways. The return receipt comes back signed by the defendant or an authorized agent, or the certified mail is refused and returned with a postal stamp showing the refusal. Both outcomes are valid service under West Virginia law.2West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 31D-5-504 – Service on Corporation
After confirming delivery or refusal, the Secretary of State notifies the clerk of the issuing court, electronically if available, and transmits the original documents for inclusion in the court file.9West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 56-3-33 – Actions by or Against Nonresident Persons Having Certain Contacts With This State
What Happens When the Mail Isn’t Accepted
A refusal by the defendant is not a failure. The postal stamp showing refused delivery is appended to the original process and filed with the court, and you can proceed with the case.
The problem is mail that comes back unclaimed, unable to forward, or carrying any notation other than “accepted” or “refused.” In that situation, service through the Secretary of State has not been perfected, and the long-arm statute gives you two alternative paths:
- Serve the nonresident in any manner that would be accepted as valid service in the state where the defendant lives.
- Serve under the West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure, using Rule 4(d)(7) or (8) for corporate defendants and Rule 4(c) for individuals and non-corporate entities.
If you already suspect the defendant’s address is unreliable, consider whether a private process server with skip-tracing capacity is a better starting point than certified mail that is likely to come back unclaimed.9West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 56-3-33 – Actions by or Against Nonresident Persons Having Certain Contacts With This State
The 30-Day Response Window and the Military Affidavit
Under the long-arm statute, a nonresident who is properly served and does not appear or respond within 30 days may face a default judgment. The court can grant reasonable extensions if the defendant needs more time to prepare a defense, but the clock starts the moment service is perfected.9West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 56-3-33 – Actions by or Against Nonresident Persons Having Certain Contacts With This State
Before the court can enter a default, federal law gets involved. The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, 50 U.S.C. § 3931, requires you to file an affidavit stating whether the defendant is on active military duty. You must either confirm the defendant is not in military service with supporting facts or state that you were unable to determine the defendant’s status. You can verify status through the Department of Defense’s SCRA website, which issues certificates based on Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System records.10Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) Website. SCRA Filing a false affidavit on military status is a federal crime carrying up to a year in prison, a fine, or both, and a default judgment entered without the required affidavit can be set aside under the Act.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3931 – Protection of Servicemembers Against Default Judgments
Should You Use the Registered Agent Instead?
Most corporations and LLCs operating in the state have designated a registered agent authorized to accept legal documents at a physical West Virginia address. The agent’s contact information is on file with the Secretary of State and is public. Serving the registered agent is usually faster, because papers can be hand-delivered directly.
Secretary of State service is the better option when the registered agent cannot be found with reasonable effort, when the company has let its agent lapse, or when you are suing a nonresident individual who has no agent at all. For foreign corporations doing business in the state without authorization, the Secretary of State is often the only option because no agent is on file.3West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 31D-15-1510 – Service on Foreign Corporation For a domestic corporation under W. Va. Code § 31D-5-504, or an authorized foreign corporation under § 31D-15-1510(d), the Secretary of State remains available as an alternative even when the registered agent is active, and you do not have to try the agent first.2West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 31D-5-504 – Service on Corporation
Using the Same Procedure in Federal Court
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4 lets federal-court plaintiffs use state-law methods for service. Rule 4(e)(1) allows service on an individual under the rules of the state where the district court sits or where service is made, and Rule 4(h) permits service on corporations and other entities through any agent authorized by law, which includes the Secretary of State wherever a West Virginia statute designates that office.12Legal Information Institute. Rule 4 – Summons A plaintiff in the Southern or Northern District of West Virginia uses the same package, the same fees, and the same mailing procedure described above; only the caption changes.