Q&A #3.pdf

Florida Department of Transportation

RON DESANTIS

GOVERNOR

719 S. Woodland Boulevard DeLand, Florida 32720-6834

JARED W. PERDUE, P.E.

SECRETARY

Improve Safety, Enhance Mobility, Inspire Innovation www.fdot.gov

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Questions and Answers #3

ADVERTISEMENT NUMBER: DOT-RFP-26-5001-SERV

DESCRIPTION: District Five, Process Server

DATE: 4/11/2026

Statement made that questions are in reference to:

Exhibit A, Section IV (Licenses and Certifications) states that "all service of process must be by a certified process server for the county in which service is being made." The Standard Written Agreement, Section 7 (Assignment and Subcontracts) permits the use of subcontractors specified in the proposal.

We are a licensed Florida process serving firm with certified process servers holding active certifications across the judicial circuits serving FDOT District Five. We are considering a proposal structure in which our firm serves as Prime Vendor responsible for all field service of process, contract administration, invoicing, quality oversight, and Department communication, and may engage additional licensed process serving resources as named subcontractors for supplemental coverage.

1. QUESTION:

Is the Licenses and Certifications requirement of Exhibit A Section IV satisfied by the Prime Vendor's individual process servers holding active certifications in the applicable judicial circuits? Specifically, is certification required at the entity level, or is certification of the individual servers performing service sufficient?

RESPONSE:

“The Vendor must be authorized to conduct business in the State of Florida and possess all licenses required by State of Florida and local Governments to perform the work required herein. All service of process must be by a certified process server for the county in which service is being made, if such certification is offered, and if such certification is not offered then by a court appointed process server in the action in that county.

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2. QUESTION:

For Volusia and Flagler counties, where the 7th Judicial Circuit does not maintain a standing certified process server program and service of non-enforceable civil process is accomplished via per-case judicial appointment under Florida Statute 48.021, does the Department consider this the "court appointed process server" alternative already contemplated in Exhibit A Section IV? If so, is no additional standing certification required to be demonstrated in the proposal for those two counties?

RESPONSE:

In counties that maintain a standing certified process server program, it is at the Department’s discretion to employ the court appointed process server program or to alternatively prepare a Motion and Order Appointing Process Server for submission to the Court. If the Department chooses to prepare the Motion and Order, the proposer shall provide all relevant information to the Department that the Court requires to enter such Order. The proposer shall also be responsible for the timely delivery of service documents to its service providers to ensure that the service deadlines provided by the Department are met.

3. QUESTION:

May certifications held by named subcontractors' individual process servers satisfy the Exhibit A Section IV requirement for counties those subcontractors will cover, provided those subcontractors are identified in the proposal?

RESPONSE:

Vendor is required to be authorized to conduct business and possess all licenses required by listed authorities to perform work. Service of process must be by a certified process server, whether or not said certified process server is a subcontractor. Pursuant to Section 7 of the Standard Written Agreement, Vendor may associate with subcontractors for the purposes of services hereunder but remains responsible for satisfactory completion of all work, including subcontracted work.