If you’ve hired a process server—or you’re waiting to be served—one of the most common questions is simply: how many tries does it take? Today, California sets no fixed number, but the courts do expect a clear standard: reasonable diligence. That is about to change. Effective January 1, 2027, California law defines reasonable diligence for the first time, and it puts a number on it.
Is there a required number of attempts in California?
Through the end of 2026, California law does not set a fixed statutory number of attempts. Courts instead look for “reasonable diligence” before allowing any alternative to personal service. In practice, that has long meant at least three documented attempts at different times of day and on different days—for example, a weekday morning, a weekday evening, and a weekend. The goal is to genuinely catch the person at home or work, not to check a box.
What changes on January 1, 2027
AB 747 (Stats. 2025, ch. 563) turns that expectation into black-letter law. Beginning January 1, 2027, Code of Civil Procedure section 415.20(b)(2) provides that a party shows reasonable diligence by attempting personal delivery of the summons and complaint, in good faith, “on at least three occasions on three different days at three different times.” The identical standard is written into section 415.45(d)(1) for service by posting.
Two details are easy to miss. Three is a floor, not a ceiling—the statute says “at least”—and every attempt has to be made in good faith, so three rushed knocks in the same part of the day will not hold up. And in a few situations the law will also dictate where an attempt happens: in consumer-debt cases, and in most posting cases, at least one attempt must be made at the person’s home.
Until that date, the current rule still governs. If your case is being served in 2026, diligence remains a standard the court judges case by case—we simply already work to the three-attempt pattern the new statute will require.
Why attempts are spread across different times
People keep different schedules. Someone who is never home on a Tuesday morning may answer the door on a Saturday afternoon. Varying the day and time is what makes the effort “diligent” in the eyes of the court—and it’s what gives substituted service or a court order its legal footing later if personal service isn’t possible.
What happens after diligent attempts fail?
When a person can’t be personally served despite diligent attempts, the next steps may include substituted service (leaving the documents with a competent adult at the home or workplace and mailing a copy), or asking the court for service by posting or publication. Every attempt is recorded in a Declaration of Diligence, which becomes part of the court record.
How we handle attempts at Sacramento Registered Process Servers
We make prompt, well-documented attempts at varied times, keep you updated as we go, and escalate to substituted service the moment it is warranted—then deliver a court-ready proof of service or declaration of diligence. You’re never left wondering where your service stands.
