What If the Person Can't Be Found for Service?

Updated October 31, 2026

If you cannot serve someone in the usual way, you can ask the court for another way. Ontario's court rules allow "substituted service" when prompt service is impractical, and in some cases a court can also approve service that was already done. This article explains the idea in plain English. What to do in your case is a question for a lawyer, a paralegal or the court.

Substituted service

Substituted service means the court approves a different way of delivering the document, because the usual way is not working.

In Superior Court civil cases, the Rules of Civil Procedure say: "Where it appears to the court that it is impractical for any reason to effect prompt service... the court may make an order for substituted service or, where necessary in the interest of justice, may dispense with service."

In Small Claims Court, the rule is similar: "If it is shown that it is impractical to effect prompt service of a claim personally or by an alternative to personal service, the court may allow substituted service."

In family cases, the court may order substituted service "using a method chosen by the court," if the party asking provides "detailed evidence showing... what steps have been taken to locate the person to be served," and the method must reasonably be expected to bring the document to the person's attention. Such an order may be obtained on a motion without notice, with an exception where the person to be served is a government agency.

The common thread is evidence. The family rule asks for evidence of the steps taken, so keep a record of every attempt: dates, times, addresses and what happened.

When the person is dodging

Avoiding service does not necessarily stop a case. The rules deal with it in two ways.

In Superior Court civil cases, the court may validate service where "the document came to the notice of the person to be served," or where it was served in a way that would have reached them "except for the person's own attempts to evade service."

In family cases, the court may make an order approving service that did not follow the rules if the document came to the person's attention, or "would have come to the person's attention if the person had not been evading service."

We did not find a similar provision in the Small Claims rules, so check the rules for that court.

Validation is something a court decides. A person who was served under the rules can also argue later that the document did not come to their notice, or came late, if they ask to set aside a default. That is one reason a clear record of service helps.

Residential tenancies

For Landlord and Tenant Board matters, the Residential Tenancies Act treats a notice as valid if it is proven that its contents actually came to the attention of the person within the required time period, even if it was not given in the listed way.

The Board's rules also let a party ask for an alternative method of service, including service by email. Check the current Board rules for the timing and requirements.

Practical steps before you ask

None of this is legal advice, but a few general points follow from the rules above:

Try the usual method first and keep notes on each attempt.
A process server's attempts and sworn affidavit can supply the evidence a court wants to see.
If attempts fail, ask a lawyer, a paralegal or the court office what to file.

How Rose City Process Servers helps

We serve Windsor and Essex County. A standard job is $140 in Windsor or $160 in most of Essex County, $180 in the Kingsville area or $210 in the Leamington area (see the price table), with up to 3 attempts, an email after each attempt with the time, GPS location and a photo, and a sworn Affidavit of Service included. Those updates and the affidavit give you a record of what was tried. A rush adds $50, and same-day service is available if you order by 2:00 pm.

We do not draft motions, complete forms or give legal advice, so we cannot tell you whether to ask for substituted service. We can help with court filing and retrieval once you know what you need; see court filing and retrieval. Other questions are on our FAQ and our Windsor process server page.

To get started, call (226) 773-4813 or order at rosecityprocessservers.ca/order/.