Rule 4.01.Summons -- Issuance -- By whom served.

Rule 4.01 puts the initiating party in charge of how a Kentucky summons gets served, once the clerk issues it. There are three paths. The clerk can mail the summons and complaint by certified or registered mail, addressed to the person to be served and marked for delivery to the addressee only; the clerk logs the mailing on the docket, then logs the return receipt — or, if delivery fails, that failure — when it comes back. Under this option, service is complete only when the envelope is delivered, and the signed return receipt stands as proof of when, where, and how service happened. Postage is advanced by the party who filed suit and can be recovered later as costs.

Alternatively, the clerk can transfer the summons and complaint to another person authorized to serve process, whose endorsed return serves as proof of service. Or, at the filing party's request, the clerk can hand the summons and complaint back to that party to arrange service another way. Beyond the mechanics of service, Rule 4.01 also confirms that a summons can issue for service in any county against any person named, and that separate or additional summonses can issue whenever the filing party needs them — useful when a case involves more than one defendant in more than one place.