Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Hague Service Convention definition

What does Hague Service Convention mean? The Hague Service Convention is the standard international method for serving court and other legal documents on parties abroad in civil and commercial cases. It is shorthand for the 1965 Hague Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents and is a treaty-based regime rather than a UK or Irish statutory definition. Key features include: a Central Authority in each contracting state; a prescribed request (Model Form); service arranged in the destination state; and a certificate of service or non-service that provides proof for the court. It also permits certain alternative channels (for example, postal service) where the destination...

Hague Service Convention 1965: postal service (Art 10), translations and default judgment safeguards, plus England and Wales CPR Part 6 procedures for outbound and inbound service via the Senior Master

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Practice notes

This Practice Note reviews the Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extra-judicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters (1965) (the Hague Service Convention). The convention applies between contracting parties and prescribes how service of documents should be effected. This Practice Note does not consider whether the court’s permission is needed to serve documents outside England and Wales (England). For guidance, see Practice Notes: Cross-border service—a guide for Dispute resolution practitioners and Cross-border service—is permission required to serve a defendant who is outside England and Wales?

For an understanding of the convention, the Hague Convention on Private International Law (HCCH) provides useful FAQs and a two-page outline. It also publishes a detailed Practical Handbook on the Operation of the Service Convention, which must be purchased. Note that the handbook has superseded the Explanatory Report on the Hague Service Convention; see: HCCH confirm the explanatory report has been superseded.

Definitions Definitions used in this Practice Note:

addressee—the person who is to be served
applicant—the authority or judicial officer who is competent under the laws of the requesting state to forward requests for service to the central authority of the...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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