Service of process (forkyndelse)
Also known as to serve, process server, forkynde, stævningsmand
Service of process is the formal delivery of a court document to the debtor — the proof that they have received it.
In practice
Service is not a formality — it is the whole precondition for a case being able to proceed without the debtor’s participation. If you cannot document that they have received the writ of summons or the payment order, no judgment can be handed down.
Today, service usually takes place digitally via Digital Post, the Danish public digital mailbox. If that is not possible — the debtor is exempt from it, has disappeared, or does not respond — service is effected by letter post, or by a process server (stævningsmand) turning up in person.
A debtor who hides can make a case markedly more expensive simply by being hard to serve.
Where it commonly goes wrong
- “Sent” is confused with “served”. An email is not service.
- The address is not up to date. If the debtor has moved, time is spent finding them — and the limitation period runs in the meantime.