Rule 5.Serving and filing pleadings and other papers

Title II: Commencement of Action; Service · Last amended July 1, 2016 · Last verified July 14, 2026

In one sentenceRule 5 sets out which papers filed after the complaint must be served on every party, the accepted methods of service and filing, and how a party proves that service happened.

Full Text of Rule 5

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

(a) Service; When required.

(1) In general. Unless these rules provide otherwise, each of the following papers must be served on every party:

(A) an order stating that service is required;

(B) a pleading filed after the original complaint, unless the court orders otherwise under Rule 5(c) because there are numerous defendants;

(D) a written motion, except one that may be heard ex parte; and

(E) a written notice, appearance, demand, or offer of judgment, or any similar paper.

(2) If a party fails to appear. No service is required on a party who is in default for failing to appear. But a pleading that asserts a new claim for relief against such a party must be served on that party under Rule 4.

(b) Service; How made.

(1) Serving an attorney. If a party is represented by an attorney, service under this rule must be made on the attorney unless the court orders service on the party.

(2) Service in general. A paper is served under this rule by:

(A) handing it to the person;

(B) leaving it:

(i) at the person's office with a clerk or other person in charge or, if no one is in charge, in a conspicuous place in the office; or

(ii) if the person has no office or the office is closed, at the person's dwelling or usual place of abode with someone over the age of 18 years who resides there;

(D) leaving it with the court clerk if the person has no known address;

(E) sending it by electronic means if the person consented in writing, in which event service is complete upon transmission, but is not effective if the serving party learns that it did not reach the person to be served;

(F) transmitting the copy by a facsimile machine process although this rule does not require a facsimile machine to be maintained in the office of an attorney; or

(G) delivering it by any other means that the person consented to in writing, in which event service is complete when the person making service delivers it to the agency designated to make delivery.

(1) In general. If an action involves an unusually large number of defendants, the court may, on motion or on its own, order that:

(A) defendants' pleadings and replies to them need not be served on other defendants;

(B) any crossclaim, counterclaim, avoidance, or affirmative defense in those pleadings and replies to them will be treated as denied or avoided by all other parties; and

(2) Notifying parties. A copy of every such order must be served on the parties as the court directs.

(d) Filing. All papers after the complaint required to be served upon a party must be filed with the court either before service or within a reasonable time thereafter filed. If the papers have been filed before service, the filing date must be noted thereon.

(1) Required filings; Certificate of service. Any paper after the complaint that is required to be served, together with a certificate of service, must be filed within a reasonable time after service.

(2) How filing is made; In general. A paper is filed by delivering it:

(A) to the clerk; or

(B) to a judge who agrees to accept it for filing, and who must then note the filing date on the paper and promptly send it to the clerk.

(3) Filing by facsimile.

(A) A pleading or document for filing may be sent to the court by facsimile machine if there is a facsimile machine in the office of the filing clerk of the court. Documents may be fax filed if:

(i) no filing fee is required or the county allows the fee to be prepaid by credit card in accordance with the county's credit card acceptance policy;

(ii) the filing is made during normal business hours or the county allows filings to be received outside normal working hours or on any non-judicial day and file stamped at 9:00 a.m. on the next judicial day;

(iii) the document does not exceed ten pages or the county allows documents of any length to be faxed.

(B) The faxed document must be file stamped and treated as the original, such that the signature, court seal, and notary seal on the faxed document are considered as an original. A document filed by facsimile need not be also mailed to the court.

(C) A facsimile machine process copy of a document that is not transmitted directly to the court by facsimile machine may be filed with the court. The clerk must file stamp the facsimile copy as an original and the signature on the copy constitutes the required signature under Rule 11(a). There is no limit as to the number of pages.

(e) Proof of service.

(1) Proof of service must:

(A) be made by a certificate of the attorney or the party making service;

(B) be attached to the copy of the document filed with the court, or if the document is not filed with the court, be filed within a reasonable time after service of the document; and

(2) Failure to make proof of service does not affect the validity of the service.

End

Amendment History

(Adopted March 1, 2016, effective July 1, 2016.)

Plain-English Summary

Once a case is underway, most papers that follow the complaint — orders, later pleadings, discovery requests, written motions, and notices — have to reach every party in the case. A party who has stopped participating and is in default for failing to appear does not need to be served with these routine papers, though a pleading that seeks new relief against that party still requires formal service under Rule 4. When a party has a lawyer, service normally goes to the lawyer rather than the client directly.

The rule lists the ways a paper can be delivered: handing it over in person, leaving it at an office or home, mailing it, sending it electronically if the recipient agreed in writing, or faxing it. Each method has its own moment when service counts as finished — mailed service is complete once it goes in the mail, and electronic service is complete once sent, unless the sender learns it never arrived. When a case has an unusually large number of defendants, the court can streamline things so parties are not stuck serving every filing on every co-defendant. And every paper that gets served still has to be filed with the court, along with a certificate showing who was served, when, and how — though failing to file that certificate does not undo the service itself.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to serve every document I file in a case?

Most of them, yes. Orders requiring service, pleadings filed after the complaint, discovery papers, written motions that are not heard ex parte, and notices or similar papers all have to be served on the other parties.

What if the other party is represented by a lawyer?

Serve the lawyer instead of the party directly, unless the court orders service on the party itself.

Can I serve papers by email?

Only if the person being served has agreed in writing to accept electronic service. Service by that method counts as complete once it is sent, unless it turns out the paper never reached the recipient.

When does mailed service count as done?

The moment the paper is put in the mail, addressed to the person's last known address — the sender does not have to wait for it to arrive.

Does forgetting to file a certificate of service undo the service?

No. The rule says failing to prove service does not affect whether the service itself was valid, though the certificate should still be filed within a reasonable time.

Source & verification. Rule text are reproduced verbatim from the Idaho Rules of Civil Procedure, adopted by the Supreme Court of Idaho. Last verified July 14, 2026. · Official source

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