May I ask the png format of these ? <| sep |> a summons does not have to be delivered in person . It can be sent in the mail . Maryland Rule of Civil Procedure 2121 3121 requires personal service OR restricted mail delivery . a Generally . Pprocess may be made within this State . 1 by delivering to the person to be served a copy of the summons , complaint , and all other papers filed with it 2 if the person to be served is an individual , by leaving a copy of the summons , complaint , and all other papers filed with it at the individual ' s dwelling house or usual place of abode with a resident of suitable age and discretion or 3 by mailing to the person to be served a copy of the summons , complaint , and all other papers filed with it by certified mail requesting Restricted Deliveryshow to whom , date , address of delivery . Service by certified mail under this Rule is complete upon delivery . A restricted delivery requires the mail delivery person to verify the identity of the recipient . Because you won ' t be there to receive it , that means any such delivery will fail . if a summons is not deliveredreceived , then the judge just postpones the case instead of throwing it out , until the summons can finally be deliveredNope . Plaintiff has 120 days to serve , otherwise the case gets dismissed . It ' s essentially saying , if you can ' t serve your defendant in 6 months , stop wasting court resources . If a plaintiff is unable to personally serve a defendant despite due diligence , the plaintiff can go back to the court and ask it to approve of some alternative . Traditional alternatives include service by publication in the local newspapers , attaching the summons to the door of the last known address , mail to the last known address , and others . Most debt collectors are lazy and only exist to collect default judgments . I don ' t know that they ' ll put that much effort into alternative forms of service if personal service isn ' t successful . You should still routinely check the docket to see if an affidavit of service has been filed . If it has , they are claiming you were served , whether or not you actually received anything .