The problem of serving someone in prison is understandable. Many who are filing for divorce, or other legal matters, or who are filing for a change to an existing court order may not know where to start. First, you would need to know in which facility the person is located. He/she may be incarcerated in a county jail, a state prison or a federal prison.
If the person is in a county jail, you can call a county sheriff to find the address & phone number of the facility. However, if the person is in a state prison, then you can search online for the ‘California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation Inmate Locator’ and use the person’s full name. Alternatively, if the person is in a federal prison, you can search online for the ‘Federal Bureau of Prison’s Inmate Locator’. Once you find the correct facility you will want to get the address and phone number as well as the name of the person assigned to serve documents on prisoners. You will also want to know for how long the person will be incarcerated.
Once you have determined the location of the person to be served, you are ready to file the documents in the court and, once filed, you can prepare the service packet. The service packet will then be sent to the designated person at the facility. Once served, you should receive a ‘proof of service’ within a short period of time.