Do I have to sign a waiver of service of summons?

No. It is a request, not an order. But refusing without good cause means a United States defendant must pay the plaintiff's later service costs and the fees for the motion to collect them.

Does signing the waiver mean I lose the case?

No. It has no effect on the merits. You keep every defense except an objection to the absence of a summons or of service.

How long do I have to answer after returning a waiver?

Sixty days from the date the request was sent, or 90 days if the request was sent to an address outside the United States.

Waiver of Service of Summons, Explained in Plain English

July 29, 2026 · 5 min read

If a packet arrived containing a 'Notice of Lawsuit and Request to Waive Service of Summons' and two copies of a 'Waiver of the Service of Summons,' someone has filed a lawsuit naming you and is asking you to skip the process server. This explains what that means, without the jargon.

What the two forms are

Form AO 398 is the notice. It tells you a complaint has been filed, which court it is in, and by what date you must return the waiver. Form AO 399 is the waiver itself — the one-page document you sign and send back.

Two copies of the waiver are enclosed so you can keep one for your records.

What signing does

Signing means you agree the plaintiff does not have to have a summons hand-delivered to you. The case then proceeds as though you had been formally served on the date the plaintiff files your signed waiver.

What signing does NOT do

Signing is not an admission of anything. You are not agreeing that the claims are true, you are not giving up your right to defend, and you are not consenting to be sued in that court. You keep every objection to personal jurisdiction and to venue. The only thing you give up is an objection based on the absence of a summons or of service.

What you get in return

Time. If you had been personally served, your answer would be due in 21 days. By returning the waiver, you have 60 days from the date the request was sent — 90 days if the request was sent to you outside the United States.

What happens if you ignore it

The lawsuit does not go away. The plaintiff hires a process server, and under Rule 4(d)(2) the court must order you to pay those service costs plus the attorney's fees for the motion to collect them — unless you had good cause for not returning it. You also lose the extra 39 days.

How to return the waiver at no cost

If the packet came from Send Waiver App, the cover letter includes a response link and an access code for sendwaiver.app. You can sign electronically in a couple of minutes, or upload a photo of the signed paper form. Both are free, and no account is required. Mailing the signed form back also works.

Returning the waiver is not the same as answering the complaint. You still need to file a response with the court by the deadline, and you should talk to a lawyer about that.

Send a waiver request with Send Waiver App

Send Waiver App fills the official AO 398 and AO 399 forms, computes the response deadline, assembles a print-ready mailing package, and lets defendants return the signed waiver free of charge online.

Send a Request Respond with a Code

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to sign a waiver of service of summons?: No. It is a request, not an order. But refusing without good cause means a United States defendant must pay the plaintiff's later service costs and the fees for the motion to collect them.
Does signing the waiver mean I lose the case?: No. It has no effect on the merits. You keep every defense except an objection to the absence of a summons or of service.
How long do I have to answer after returning a waiver?: Sixty days from the date the request was sent, or 90 days if the request was sent to an address outside the United States.