In the U.S. legal system, service of process is the procedure by which a party to a lawsuit gives an appropriate notice of initial legal action to another party, court, or administrative body in an effort to exercise jurisdiction over that person so as to force that person to respond to the proceeding before the court, body, or other tribunal.
Personal service of civil documents is often done by sheriff's deputies.
A summons is a legal document issued by a court or by an administrative agency of government for various purposes.
Summons for Martin Luther to appear at the 1521 Diet of Worms, signed by Charles V. The text on the left was on the reverse side.