If the judge agreed that the court papers can be served by publication, you will need to arrange for your court papers to be published in a newspaper, once a week for 4 weeks in a row. Then, you or the newspaper must file a form saying that your court papers were published for the amount of time required in the order.
PRINT EMAILLook at your Form FL-982 to find out which papers the judge ordered you to publish in the newspaper. They will be marked in #6.
Give the court papers to the newspaper. Tell them they must be published once per week, 4 weeks in a row. Pay the newspaper for the publication. Your court fee waiver order will not waive the newspaper fee.
If the newspaper was going to mail the proof of publication to you, file it with the court clerk before your court date. If the newspaper told you they would file the proof of publication, check with your court to make sure it was filed. You may be able to check on your court's website to see if it was filed. Some cases may not be online, so you may need to check with the clerk at your court in person or by phone.
If the other person doesn't file a response in that time, the next day (the 59th day) you can file a request for a default. A default stops them from being able to respond in court. Then, you will have to fill out more forms to ask the judge to decide your case without the other side’s input.
What if I find the person's address while the papers are being published?You must have the papers served to that address. An adult, not you or anyone else in your case, must mail a copy of the papers to that address. This person is your server. They must fill out and sign a Proof of Service by Mail (form FL-335) and return to you to file with the court.
If you waited the 59 days and your spouse didn't response to divorce papers, you can ask for a default and finish your divorce.
You are done serving these papers. You must wait to see if the person responds. If they don't, you can take the next step in your case.