PITKIN COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE
CIVIL PROCESS
Mailing Address
506 East Main Street, Suite 101
Aspen, Colorado 81611
Phone: (970) 920-5300
Business Hours: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Mondy through Friday
To help the community in understanding the process of Civil Service, we would like to explain our process.
Employees of the Pitkin County Sheriff's Office are prohibited from giving legal advice. This includes the eviction process of how to fill out court documents. This type of information can be obtained through an attorney's office or from the Colorado Courts website. Should you need legal assistance, you may obtain a list of phone numbers regarding free legal aid from our front office.
The Pitkin County Sheriff's Office can only serve civil papers within Pitkin County. If you have papers that need to be served outside of Pitkin County, you will need to contact the Sheriff's Office or a private process server in that county. Pitkin County covers a wide area with roads and borders crossing through other counties. Please confirm the service address is indeed located within Pitkin County.
Civil Process Procedures
Civil papers can be received at our office or can be mailed to the address located above.
We do not accept faxes or e-mails.
Payment must be received prior to serving, unless upon request you qualify for a billing account.
Billing Accounts
Pursuant to 30-1-106(2) and (3), C.R.S., as amended, the Pitkin County Sheriff's Office has the authority to establish billing accounts for licensed attorneys and licensed collection agencies that have a principle office located in the State of Colorado. The Sheriff's Office Civil Section has the authority to develop standardized procedures for billing the accounts authorized herein, including the ability to suspend the billing privileges of any entity for nonpayment of a fee upon demand or other good cause shown.
Accepted Forms of Payment
Check (made payable to Pitkin County Sheriff's Office)
Visa
Mastercard
Cash (exact payments only)
Provide a cover letter or fill out our attached cover letter, including your return information, the name of whom is to be served (person, business, registered agent, etc), the physical home and/or work address of whom is to be served, phone number(s), kind of paperwork to be served (i.e. summons, subpoena, etc), description of whom needs to be served and best time for service. We cannot serve a PO Box.
Provide two complete sets of the documents to be served and a self-addressed stamped envelope. We serve one set and keep the second set for our records. If a second set is not included we will charge $.25 per page for copies.
It is your responsibility to deliver the Return of Service to the correct court. The Pitkin County Sheriff's Office will generate its own Return of Service. If you require your own Return of Service to be filled in, please include that along with the papers and make reference to that in your cover letter.
If you are due a refund, a check will be mailed to you. If you owe additional fees, you will be billed. All fees for mileage are per mile, round trip.
All balance due statements are due within 30 days. All past due statements (over 30 days) will incur a service charge of $5.00.
TWO OR MORE PAPERS SERVED ON THE SAME PERSON OR DIFFERENT PERSONS AT THE SAME TIME AND PLACE IN SAME ACTION
Pursuant to 30-1-105.5, C.R.S., as amended, in situations when two or more papers are served on the same person or different persons at the same time and place and in the same action, the Sheriff's Office shall charge the highest individual fee allowable pursuant to 30-1-104, C.R.S. for the first process and an additional $10.00 for each subsequent process served. The Sheriff's Office shall charge a fee for actual mileage traveled for the first process.
See the Civil Process Fees document for our current fee schedule.
Civil Process Fees
Eviction Handbook
Service Information Cover Sheet
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)
Q: I can't find an address for the person I need to serve. Can you find them for me?
A: We put the responsibility of locating a good address for the person needing service unto you. We can provide a list of private process services that will provide investigative work if needed.
Q: Can you serve this person NOW?
A: We will not give special treatment to any one person or attorney's office. To do so would be in violation of state statute. We will serve the papers as they are submitted to our office and we will not make any service a priority if we have others that were subsequently received and have not yet been executed. A private process server may be contacted for more expedited service.
Service Exceptions:
Temporary/Permanent Protection Orders are served immediately.
If after 5:00 p.m. or weekends, contact the Aspen/Pitkin Communications Center (dispatch) at (970) 920-5310.
Q: I just paid a filing fee for the court, why do I have to pay your office to have my documents served?
A: The court is a separate entity from the Sheriff's Office. By statute, we are required to collect fees up front before service is completed.
Q: How many attempts will you make on a service?
A: We will attempt up to four times to achieve a service, including both day and night attempts. If we are not able to serve the papers after the fourth attempt, we will return the papers to you.