Service of a claim is the procedure used to give legal notice to a defendant of a court's exercise of its jurisdiction over the defendant, enabling the defendant to respond to the proceedings before the court.

In some cases where the English court has jurisdiction to resolve a dispute, one or more defendants may be located outside the court's jurisdiction. This practice note sets out the framework for service of English claim forms and other documents on defendants outside England and Wales. It explains the rules which determine whether the claim can be served with or without the court's permission and the procedure for effecting service under the different regimes that apply, depending on where the defendant is domiciled. It also covers service of foreign proceedings in England and Wales. It does not cover serving foreign proceedings in another foreign jurisdiction, for which local advice must be sought.