In order to let the opposing party, or defendant, know you are filing a civil action, you must serve them with a copy of your complaint. In order to serve the complaint, you must also include a summons, which notifies the defendant of the lawsuit and includes instructions on how and when to respond.
- Summons in Civil Action (21/60-day answer deadline)
- Summons in a Civil Case (30-day answer deadline) (Required only for FOIA cases)
The Clerk must sign, seal, and “issue” the summons to the plaintiff before it can be served on the defendant.
IFP Cases:
If you are planning to file an application to proceed in forma pauperis, you do not need to provide a summons. Preparation of the summons will be the responsibility of the Clerk’s Office, upon direction of the Judge.
Paid Cases:
If you are paying the new case filing fee, you must provide a summons for each named defendant in your complaint. The summons must comply with Federal Rule 4(a) and (b) before it will be signed by a Deputy Clerk. You are responsible for service of the summons and complaint upon the defendant(s) in accordance with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
If a U.S. Government agent or agency is a named defendant, you must prepare two additional summonses; one (1) for the U.S. Attorney General and one (1) for the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia.
The U.S. Attorney General is located at:
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530
The U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia is located at:
Civil Process Clerk
601 D Street, NW
Washington, DC 20530
If a District of Columbia agent or agency is a named defendant, you must prepare two additional summonses; one (1) for the District of Columbia Mayor and one (1) for the District of Columbia Attorney General.
Both the DC Attorney General and DC Mayor are located at:
400 6th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
This information is for procedural guidance only and should not be viewed or used as legal advice.