Part 6: Service, Consent and Relevant Persons

6A: Service of Documents 69. Personal service of processes and documents 70. Substituted and dispensation of service 6B: Proceedings under the Adoption of Children Act 2022 71. Dispensation of consent and / or service 72. Requirements for substituted and dispensation of service 6C: Proceedings under the Mental Capacity Act 2008 73. Service of application on named respondents and relevant persons 74. Relevant persons 75. Consent of relevant persons 76. Notification of P 77. Responding to an application

Solicitors are required to notify the Registry of the particulars of their employees who have been authorised by them to serve processes and documents (“authorised process servers”) by submitting a request to authorise user through the Electronic Filing Service. Where such authorised process servers are no longer so authorised, solicitors are to revoke or delete the authorisation immediately by submitting a request through the Electronic Filing Service. Solicitors’ employees do not require the authorisation of the Registrar to effect personal service of processes and documents.&x20;

As personal service can be effected by a solicitor, a solicitor’s employee, a litigant who is not legally represented or such a person’s employee, Court process servers will not be assigned to effect personal service of originating processes and documents unless there are special reasons.

If there are special reasons requiring personal service by a Court process server, a request for such service must be filed through the Electronic Filing Service, setting out the special reasons. The approval of the Duty Registrar must be obtained for such service. Once approval has been obtained, the documents for service must be presented at the counter designated for this purpose. A process server will then be assigned to effect service and an appointment for service convenient to both the litigant and the assigned process server will be given.

&x20;(4) On the appointed date, the person accompanying the process server must call at the Registry. The amount required for the transport charges of the process server (a record of which will be kept) must be tendered, or, alternatively, the process server in question must be informed that transport for him or her will be provided. The Registry will then instruct the process server to effect service.&x20;

Under no circumstances should any payment be made directly to the process server.

Unless otherwise specified, an application for substituted service or dispensation of service under Part 7, Rule 2(3) or 6 of the Family Justice (General) Rules 2024 shall be in Form 79 of Appendix A of these Practice Directions.

In any application for substituted service, the applicant shall satisfy the Court that the proposed mode of substituted service is effective in bringing the document to the notice of the person to be served.

The applicant should, where appropriate, consider other modes of substituted service, such as AR registered post or electronic means (including email or Internet transmission) in addition to or in substitution for substituted service by posting on doors or gates of residential or business premises.

To avoid doubt, substituted service by prepaid AR registered post is deemed to be effective when the postal service has delivered the document, or attempted to deliver the document (in cases where no one is present or willing to accept the document).

An application for substituted service by advertisement (in one issue of the Straits Times if the person to be served is literate in English, or one issue of the Straits Times and one issue of one of the main non-English language newspapers where his or her language literacy is unknown) should only be considered as a last resort and should contain evidence that the person to be served is literate in the language of the newspaper in which the advertisement will be placed.

To avoid doubt, posting on the notice board of the Registry is not available as a proposed mode of substituted service.

To ensure that adoption hearings are conducted more expeditiously, the applicants shall generally not be required to file separate summonses for orders such as dispensation of service of documents or dispensation of consent. Such prayers are to be set out in the originating application.

Paragraph 72 of these Practice Directions shall apply to prayers for substituted service or dispensation of service of documents on a person whose consent is required, save for the case where the person whose consent is required consents to the summons for substituted service or dispensation of service.

Before the Court dispenses with the consent of a person whose consent is required on the basis that the person cannot be found, the applicants shall make recent attempts to locate the person whose consent is required by contacting the person’s relatives, friends and employer(s) (if any), in order to discover the person’s whereabouts. The affidavit in support of the originating application must also include the matters set out in paragraphs 72(6)(a) to (e) of these Practice Directions.

Where the biological parent(s) of the child is / are below the age of 21 years, the written consent of his or her parents (“the biological grandparents”) or guardian of the biological parent (“the parent’s guardian”) is required. Where the applicants are unable to obtain the said consent(s), they shall apply to dispense with the consent of the biological grandparent(s) or the parent’s guardian and aver in an affidavit why the biological parents’ / biological grandparents’ / parent’s guardian’s consent(s) ought to be dispensed with and the recent efforts made to obtain the said consent(s).

Where the particulars of the biological father of the child are not stated on the child’s birth certificate, the biological mother of the child shall file an affidavit stating whether she is aware of the identity of the biological father and if so, to give brief reasons as to why his identity was not disclosed in the child’s birth certificate. If the biological mother is unaware of the biological father’s identity, she shall aver in her affidavit why this is so.

It shall not be necessary to apply for the dispensation of consent of the biological parent(s) of the child and for the dispensation of service of documents on the biological parent(s) if the identity of the biological parent(s) is unknown.

In any application for substituted service, the applicant shall satisfy the Court that the proposed mode of substituted service is effective in bringing the document to the notice of the person to be served.

To avoid doubt, posting on the notice board of the Registry is not available as a proposed mode of substituted service.

Application for substituted service by way of posting on the front door at the last known address in Singapore (“the address”) of the person to be served

The applicant should, where appropriate, consider other modes of substituted service, such as AR registered post or electronic means (including email or Internet transmission) in addition to or in substitution for substituted service by posting on doors or gates of residential or business premises.

Two reasonable attempts at personal service should be made before an application for an order for substituted service is filed. In an application for substituted service, the applicant shall file a supporting affidavit stating the dates, times and outcomes of the said attempts and why he or she believes that such attempts made were reasonable.

If there is no response for both attempts at personal service (i.e. the door was locked and no one came to the door during both attempts), the applicant needs to state in the affidavit:

the evidence that the person to be served is currently residing at the address (for example, relevant search results from the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, the Singapore Land Authority, the Housing & Development Board or the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority); and (b) the grounds for the applicant’s belief that the person to be served is currently residing at the address, for example, that the applicant is also residing at the same address, and sees the person every day.

If the applicant is not able to state both of the matters set out in sub-paragraphs (5)(a) and (b) in the affidavit, he or she shall make attempts to locate the person to be served by contacting the person’s relatives, friends, and employer(s) (if any), in order to discover the address at which the person is currently residing. The affidavit shall include the following matters:

details of the applicant’s last contact with the person to be served, including the date, the mode of contact (i.e. over the telephone, a letter, or a meeting), and the contents of any communications made, whether written or oral; (b) details of the applicant’s knowledge of the relatives and friends of the person to be served, and those person(s)’ knowledge of his or her whereabouts (“the contacts of the person to be served”), including their names, addresses and their relationship to the person and whether they live in Singapore or overseas; (c) details of the applicant’s attempts to contact the contacts of the person to be served, including the number of such attempts made, the dates and mode of the said attempts (i.e. whether by telephone, letter, or meeting), and the contents of any communications made, whether written or oral; (d) the name and address of the last known employer (if any) of the person to be served, and the result of enquiries the applicant has made of that employer as to the person’s whereabouts, including the date of such enquiries, the mode of the said enquiries (i.e. whether by telephone, letter, or meeting), and the contents of any communications made, whether written or oral; (e) details of the nationality of the person to be served.

If the local address at which the person to be served is currently residing is discovered by the applicant pursuant to sub-paragraph (6), personal service on the person shall be attempted at that address in accordance with sub-paragraph (4). Details of the dates, times and outcomes of the personal service are required in the affidavit.

If the response to the attempt at personal service is that the process server is told that the person to be served “is overseas”, evidence is required in the affidavit as to what date the person will be back in the country.

If it appears from the response to the attempt at personal service that the person to be served is permanently overseas, evidence is required in the affidavit as to how the documents will come to the person’s attention by being posted on the front door.

If the response to the attempt at personal service is that the person to be served has “moved away”, and the applicant is alleging that the person is evading service, evidence is required in the affidavit to support the applicant’s belief that the person is evading service.

Application for substituted service by way of prepaid AR registered post / ordinary post

On an application for substituted service by way of prepaid AR registered post / ordinary post, the applicant must state the following matters in the affidavit:

the grounds for the applicant’s belief that the person to be served is currently resident at the particular address in respect of which the applicant is applying for substituted service by way of prepaid AR registered post / ordinary post; (b) if the application for substituted service by way of prepaid AR registered post / ordinary post is to an overseas address, that the person to be served is not ordinarily resident in Singapore.

To avoid doubt, substituted service by prepaid AR registered post is deemed to be effective when the postal service has delivered the document, or attempted to deliver the document (in cases where no one is present or willing to accept the document).

Application for substituted service by way of email

If substituted service is by email, it has to be shown that the email account to which the document will be sent belongs to the person to be served and that it is currently active.

Application for substituted service by way of advertisement

Before an application for substituted service by way of advertisement can be granted, the applicant shall make attempts to locate the person to be served by contacting the person’s relatives, friends, and employer(s) (if any), in order to discover the address at which the person is currently residing.

The affidavit must include the following:

the matters set out in sub-paragraphs (6)(a) to (e); (b) details of the literacy of the person to be served, and in what language; (c) if the advertisement is to be placed in an overseas newspaper, the grounds for the applicant’s belief as to why the person to be served is thought to be in that particular country.

An application for substituted service by advertisement (in one issue of the Straits Times if the person to be served is literate in English, or one issue of the Straits Times and one issue of one of the main non-English language newspapers where his or her language literacy is unknown) should only be considered as a last resort and should contain evidence that the person to be served is literate in the language of the newspaper in which the advertisement will be placed.

Application for dispensation of service

Before an application for dispensation of service can be granted, the applicant shall make attempts to locate the person to be served by contacting the person’s relatives, friends, and employer(s) (if any), in order to discover the address at which the person is currently residing.

The affidavit must include the following:

the matters set out in sub-paragraphs (6)(a) to (e); (b) an explanation as to why advertisement is not effective in bringing the proceedings to the notice of the person to be served (for example, that it is not known which country the person is currently residing in).

In a situation where there are no named respondents in the proceedings, the originating application shall still be served on each relevant person in the manner required by Part 7, Rule 20(1)(a) of the Family Justice (General) Rules 2024.

The grounds upon which the applicant is relying to obtain the Court’s approval for service by email under Part 7, Rule 21(1) of the Family Justice (General) Rules 2024 must be stated clearly in the supporting affidavit.

“Relevant persons” are persons who have an involvement in P’s life and / or who are likely to have an interest in the application. Often, P’s immediate family members, by virtue of their relationship to P, are likely to have an interest in being notified that an application has been made to the Court concerning P.

“Relevant persons” for the purposes of Part 5, Rule 8 and Part 7, Rules 20 and 21 of the Family Justice (General) Rules 2024 will therefore often include the following immediate family members:

P’s spouse; (b) P’s children (aged 21 and above); (c) P’s parents or guardians; and (d) P’s brothers or sisters (aged 21 and above).

However, the presumption that immediate family members are likely to have an interest in an application concerning P may be rebutted where the applicant is aware of circumstances which reasonably indicate that P’s immediate family should not be served. For example, where the family member in question has had little or no involvement in P’s life and has shown no inclination to do so, that family member need not be served. In some cases, P may be closer to persons who are not immediate family members and if so, it will be appropriate to effect service on them instead of the immediate family members.

The applicant shall serve the originating application, the supporting affidavits and the applicable Notice of Proceedings on relevant persons.

Where the applicant decides that a person listed in one of the categories in sub-paragraph (2) ought to be served, and there are other persons in that category (for example, P has three siblings), the applicant shall serve on all persons falling within that category unless there is a good reason not to do so. For example, it may be a good reason not to serve on every person in the category if one or more of them has had little or no involvement in P’s life and has shown no inclination to do so.

Apart from immediate family members, other relevant persons who are likely to have an interest in the application concerning P and who are to be served the originating application, the supporting affidavits and the applicable Notice of Proceedings include:

any other relatives or friends who have a close relationship with P; (b) any person who has a legal duty to support P; (c) any person who will benefit from P’s estate; and (d) any person who is responsible for P’s care. If there is no such person to the best of the applicant’s knowledge, he or she is to state this in his or her supporting affidavit.

The details of all relevant persons who are to be served are to be listed clearly in the supporting affidavit of the applicant. Where service will not be effected on relevant persons who are to be served, the reason why this is so must be stated in the supporting affidavit.

In cases where P has had severe intellectual disability since early childhood and where P’s parents are P’s sole caregivers and where P is now no longer a minor and P’s parents need to be authorised to continue to look after P’s affairs, P’s parents will normally be the only relevant persons for the purposes of the application but the applicants must provide sufficient information to enable the Court to reach the conclusion that there are no other relevant persons.

Organisations providing residential accommodation to P

If P resides at an organisation providing residential accommodation (regardless of whether it also provides care or treatment to P), the applicant shall serve the originating application, the supporting affidavits and the Notice of Proceedings (Organisation) in Form 71C of Appendix A of these Practice Directions on such an organisation within 1 week after the application has been issued. For the purposes of the application, the organisation providing residential accommodation to P shall be considered a relevant person. However, the applicant need not obtain the consent of such an organisation to the application. (b) If the organisation providing residential accommodation to P wishes to furnish any relevant information for the Court’s consideration and determination of the application in the best interests of P, it shall notify the Court within 8 days after the date on which the organisation is served with the application. If such a notification is submitted, the Court may require and direct for the submission of a report and / or attendance of the maker of the report at the hearing of the application. (c) If an applicant has a strong reason for not serving an affidavit or any other document (other than the originating application) on the organisation providing residential accommodation to P, the applicant may file a summons to seek dispensation of service of such documents on the organisation in question.

If any relevant person to be served has consented to the application and to dispensation of service, the applicant shall file the consent of the relevant person in Form 108B of Appendix A of these Practice Directions together with the originating application.

The Court may dispense with the service of the originating application on the relevant person on the application of the applicant. It must be stated clearly in the supporting affidavit that such relevant persons have given their consent to the application and to the dispensation of service.

In all cases of notification, the person effecting notification must provide P with the information required under Part 7, Rule 22 of the Family Justice (General) Rules 2024 in a way that is appropriate to P’s circumstances (for example, using simple language, visual aids or any other appropriate means).

Under the Mental Capacity Act 2008, notification of P shall be the norm rather than the exception. However, in certain appropriate circumstances, the person required to notify P may apply to Court for an order to dispense with the requirement to notify P. Such an application is appropriate where, for example, P is in a permanent vegetative state or a minimally conscious state, or where notification is likely to cause significant and disproportionate distress to P. The reasons for seeking dispensation of notification shall be stated in the supporting affidavit of the applicant.

If a relevant person served with an application (or a person who was not served with any application, whether listed as a relevant person or otherwise in the supporting affidavit of the applicant) wishes to object to the application or any part of it, he or she must apply to the Court to be joined as a party to the proceedings. The supporting affidavit for an application to be joined as a party to the proceedings must state the relevant person’s interest in the application and the grounds of his or her objection.

If a relevant person served with an application consents to the application, his or her written consent must be in Form 108B of Appendix A of these Practice Directions. The written consent shall be filed by the applicant within 14 days after the date on which the relevant person was served with the application if he or she was served in Singapore or within 28 days after the date on which the relevant person was served with the application if he or she was served out of Singapore.