Arizona Instructions: Serving Court Papers by Sheriff is the process of delivering legal documents such as summons, complaints, subpoenas, writs, orders, and other court documents from a court or other government agency to a specific individual or entity. A sheriff is an officer of the court and has the authority to serve court documents. The sheriff is required to serve the documents in a timely manner and in accordance with the state’s laws. There are two types of Arizona Instructions: Serving Court Papers by Sheriff. The first is Personal Service, where the sheriff personally delivers the court papers to the individual or entity named in the document. The second is Substitute Service, where the sheriff delivers the court papers to another person (usually an adult at the same address) who is instructed to bring the papers to the person or entity named in the document. In either case, the sheriff must make a written return of service, which is a document that provides proof to the court that the papers were properly served. The return of service must include the date, time, and manner of service, the name and address of the person who was served, and the name of the person who served the papers.