Affidavit of Service (Form 11)

Under rule 104 of the Magistrates Court (Civil Proceedings) Rules 2005 (WA), if a document is served by a party, or by someone on the party's behalf other than a bailiff or court officer, the party must lodge an affidavit of service completed by the person who served it. The affidavit must say when, where, how and by whom service was effected (r 104(2)). Form 11 is the court's approved affidavit for this. When a bailiff serves the document, the bailiff gives a certificate of service instead (r 103), which is Form 10. The methods listed on Form 11 track the service rules: ordinary service by delivery or pre-paid post (r 101) and personal service on individuals, partnerships and corporations (rr 105-107).

When you need it

• You or a process server personally served an originating claim and need proof of service before applying for default judgment (Fact Sheet 8).
• You served a Form 23 Application yourself and need to lodge proof of service so it can be listed or decided (Fact Sheet 21A).
• You served another document by delivering it or posting it to the other party's address for service (r 101).
• Do not use it where a bailiff served the document; the bailiff's Form 10 certificate is the proof (r 103).

1. 1

   Copy the heading

   Enter the registry, case number and party names from the document that was served.

2. 2

   Identify the person who served

   The deponent is the person who actually did the serving, which may be the party or someone else (r 104(1)). Give their full name, address and occupation and delete sworn or affirmed as applicable.

3. 3

   Say when and where

   Enter the date, the time (am or pm) and the full address where service took place.

4. 4

   Say who was served and with what

   Name the person or corporation served, their role in the case (claimant, defendant and so on), and the title and form number of every document served, for example a Form 7 claim together with its response form.

5. 5

   Tick the method used

   Tick the one box that matches what happened and delete the rest, for example handing it to the individual (r 105(a)), handing it to someone at their residence or business believed on reasonable grounds to be 18 or over (r 105(d)), handing it to a director believed to reside in Australia (r 107(1)(a)), or pre-paid post (r 101). Use "Other" for a method allowed by a substituted service order.

6. 6

   Swear or affirm it before an authorised witness

   Complete the jurat with the place and date. In Western Australia an affidavit is witnessed by a Justice of the Peace, an experienced legal practitioner not involved in the case, a public notary, or a registrar or clerk of a court; the wider statutory declaration witness list does not apply (Fact Sheet 47).

• Lodge the affidavit through eLodgment on the eCourts Portal (r 98C; Fact Sheet 8). As an affidavit it must be signed and lodged in PDF format, and the signed original kept (r 98E(5) and (6)).
• Lodge it before you apply for default judgment; the court needs proof the claim was served first (Fact Sheet 8).
• An originating claim must be served personally unless the rules or an Act provide otherwise, and within one year after it was lodged (r 7(4) and (5)). The document served must be the copy returned after lodgment bearing the court's seal (r 100).
• If service cannot be effected under the rules, apply for substituted service or for service to be dispensed with (r 109A).

• The affidavit must be made by the person who served, not by a party who was told about it afterwards. If a friend or process server served the claim, they sign Form 11.
• List every document handed over, including the response form that must accompany a claim (r 7(2)). A gap here is a common reason proof of service is queried.
• Posting is ordinary service only. It is not enough for documents that must be served personally, such as an originating claim, unless another law allows it.