When A Debtor Has A PMB

I am a Judgment Broker, not a lawyer, and this article is my opinion, please consult with a lawyer if you require legal advice. This article only covers how a judgment debtor's actual address might be discovered so a process server can serve legal documents on them.

USPS boxes and Private Mail Boxes (PMBs) are getting more and more popular, the main reasons are because they help people increase their personal privacy and safety. People want privacy, especially people who owe money on civil judgments.

More and more, people are using private post office box stores such as The UPS Store, because they usually have more benefits at a better price than the USPS post office offers. Some judgment debtors take great lengths to live "off the grid" and they attempt to make only their post office box, show up on all public record data searches.

To recover a judgment, often you must personally serve the debtor to compel them and sometimes third parties, to show up in court, to try to find information which may lead to the debtor's available assets.

When a debtor goes to great lengths to hide behind a PO box or a PMB, one usually must hire someone to locate the debtor's other (physical) address, hopefully an address that the debtor lives at.

To find this information, you can either hire a private investigator or a lawyer, or you can save money and hire a process server. The only reason you can get this private information from a process server is for the service of legal process.

If you want to find a lost love, missing relative, lost friend, etc, you must hire a licensed private investigator. If you only need to be able to serve legal papers on someone, by hiring a process server, then the laws allow the process server to find the debtor for the purpose of serving them legal papers.

Most people cannot do this themselves, however the information here may help readers be better informed and prepared. One can save money by hiring a process server, or one can hire a lawyer or a private investigator.

My knowledge is based in California, but the same ideas should apply in many states. In California, the laws that apply are mostly the California Codes of civil Procedure (CCPs) 415.xx, 416.xx, and 706.101. Also, California Business and Professions Code (BPC) 17538.5, and the Postal Code of Federal Regulations - CFR 39, section 265.5, and the Postal domestic mail manual.

When you need to have legal papers served on someone, there is a difference between mailboxes in stores - known as a Commercial Mail Receiving Agency (CMRA), and the US postal office. Legal documents can be served on a CMRA because someone is always there during business hours, who can accept service of process, on behalf of the box holder, who can also sign receipts.

At the US post office, you cannot serve a box holder, but a process server can locate the boxholder's physical address. After that, you can have the judgment debtor served.

Anyone can order a "Postal Kit" from www.ayouvebeenserved.com. Such a kit is most useful for a process server, private investigator, or a lawyer. If the debtor address on file at the PMB turns out to be bad, you can have the UPS Store lock the box and deny the debtor access to their mail until the box holder provides documented proof of their current physical address on a revised PS1583 form.


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Mark D. Shapiro - Judgment Broker, http://www.JudgmentBuy.com - where Judgments go to get enforced. JudgmentBuy has the best judgment recovery system, best judgment FAQ and best judgment leads.