SB852 amends §59-1-2 of the West Virginia Code to increase three discrete fees the Secretary of State charges in connection with service of process: the fee for acceptance/indexing/recordation of service of process rises from $15 to $20; the shipping and handling fee for execution of service by certified mail within the United States rises from $5 to $15; and the shipping and handling fee for execution of service by registered mail to addresses outside the United States rises from $15 to $20. The bill’s explanatory note also states it provides for certain exemptions for foreign veteran-owned businesses.
The changes are narrowly targeted adjustments to existing administrative fees that feed into the Secretary of State’s special revenue accounts used to operate the office. Practically, the bill raises the per-service cost for anyone who uses mailed service of process or who requests the Secretary of State accept and record service — shifting small but recurring expenses onto litigants, process servers, and other parties that utilize these state services, while increasing revenue available to the Secretary of State’s operating accounts.
At a Glance
What It Does
The bill changes three fee amounts in §59-1-2(a)(6): acceptance/indexing/recordation fee increases from $15 to $20; domestic certified-mail shipping/handling increases from $5 to $15; and international registered-mail shipping/handling increases from $15 to $20. The shipping/handling fees are deposited to the Secretary of State’s special revenue account for office operations.
Who It Affects
Anyone who uses the Secretary of State’s recordation or mail-based service-of-process — including plaintiffs, out-of-state litigants, service vendors, and attorneys — will face higher per-instance costs. The Secretary of State’s office will see higher revenue credited to its Service Fees and Collections and related special accounts.
Why It Matters
Although dollar amounts are small, the increases apply to every instance of mailed service or recorded service of process, so routine litigation and administrative filings will see predictable cost increases. The bill also flags exemptions for foreign veteran-owned businesses, creating a compliance question about which registrants qualify.
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What This Bill Actually Does
SB852 is a surgical amendment to the Secretary of State fee schedule in §59-1-2. It does not create new procedural routes for service of process or change who may be served; it simply raises three existing line-item charges tied to the office’s handling of service-of-process matters.
The acceptance/indexing/recordation charge for service-of-process is increased by $5 per instance; certified-mail shipping and handling for service within the U.S. is increased by $10 per transmission; and registered-mail shipping and handling for service outside the U.S. is increased by $5.
The bill keeps the current deposit rules: the mailing-related fees are to be deposited to the special revenue account designated for the operation of the Secretary of State’s office. That means the revenue increases are earmarked for internal use by the office rather than immediate transfer to the General Revenue Fund, subject to appropriation rules already written into the statute.
The amendment therefore adjusts cashflow and the resources available to the Secretary of State while leaving the underlying service-of-process regime intact.Finally, the bill text and its accompanying explanatory note indicate an intent to provide certain exemptions for foreign veteran-owned businesses. The enacted language explicitly alters only the fee amounts; it does not, by explicit redline, redefine the veteran exemptions in §59-1-2(j).
That creates an open compliance question about whether and how the stated exemptions will be applied to foreign veteran-owned registrants and which fees they will waive, and it leaves room for the Secretary of State to clarify application by rule or further statutory amendment.
The Five Things You Need to Know
Section (a)(6)(D) increases the fee the Secretary of State charges for acceptance, indexing, and recordation of service of process from $15 to $20.
Section (a)(6)(E) raises the shipping and handling fee for execution of service of process by certified mail within the United States from $5 to $15 and directs that fee into the Secretary of State’s special revenue account for office operations.
Section (a)(6)(F) raises the shipping and handling fee for execution of service of process by registered mail outside the United States from $15 to $20, also deposited to the Secretary of State’s special revenue account.
The bill leaves intact the statutory scheme that governs where these fees are deposited (Service Fees and Collections Account and the General Administrative Fees Account) rather than diverting them to the General Revenue Fund.
Although the bill’s NOTE states it provides exemptions for foreign veteran-owned businesses, the amendment as drafted changes only fee amounts and does not explicitly alter the text of §59-1-2(j); implementation will require interpretation or follow-up guidance on the scope of any foreign veteran exemption.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
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Acceptance, indexing, and recordation fee raised to $20
This clause amends the flat fee the Secretary of State charges to accept, index, and record service of process. Practically, the increase adds $5 to each instance where the Secretary’s office handles and records alternative service or service associated with out-of-state entities. For high-volume filers — law firms, process-service companies, and large litigants — the change will be a predictable per-transaction cost that should be incorporated into billing and litigation budgets.
Domestic certified-mail shipping and handling increased to $15
This provision raises the fee for shipping and handling when the Secretary executes service by certified mail to a defendant located within the United States, increasing the charge from $5 to $15. The statute continues to require that this fee be deposited to the special revenue account used for the Secretary’s office operations, rather than to general revenue. The practical effect is both a pass-through of postage/handling costs and an incremental revenue source for the office.
International registered-mail shipping and handling increased to $20
This subsection increases the fee for registered mail sent to defendants outside the United States from $15 to $20 and preserves the deposit destination in the Secretary’s special revenue account. The increase appears calibrated to higher foreign mailing costs, but it also raises the cost of cross-border service for litigants and may affect decisions about whether to pursue out‑of‑state or international service via the Secretary versus alternative methods.
Exemptions for veteran-owned businesses — drafting gap and compliance question
The statute already contains veteran and active-duty business exemptions for certain domestic filings. The bill’s explanatory note announces an intent to provide exemptions for foreign veteran-owned businesses, but the bill’s redline content supplied changes only fee amounts and does not explicitly rewrite subsection (j) to add the word “foreign” or otherwise specify which fees are waived. That creates a drafting gap: regulators and filers will need clarification about whether the intended exemptions apply to the newly increased mailing and recordation fees, to which categories of foreign veteran registrants, and whether proof-of-status mechanisms from §59-1-2a will be used.
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Who Benefits
- Secretary of State’s office — The higher fee rates are deposited to the office’s special revenue accounts, increasing internally available funds for operations and potentially reducing pressure on other appropriations.
- Qualifying veteran-owned businesses (as described by the bill’s NOTE) — If and as applied, foreign veteran-owned businesses anticipated by the bill’s explanatory language would avoid these higher per-instance fees, lowering their administrative costs for registrations or service processes.
- Vendors and postal service providers — As the statute ties higher shipping and handling fees to mailed service, contracted mailing providers and postal services may see more consistent reimbursement or pass-through for postage handling reflected in the Secretary’s billing practices.
Who Bears the Cost
- Plaintiffs, claimants, and their attorneys — Parties who initiate service by certified or registered mail or use the Secretary’s recordation services will pay higher per-instance fees, increasing litigation and administrative costs incrementally.
- Small businesses and individuals served by mail — Entities or individuals who are the targets of service-of-process will indirectly face higher costs (through increased postage/handling billed to the initiating party) and may face procedural friction if parties change service methods to avoid added expense.
- Process-service companies and law firms — Although they may pass costs to clients, these providers must update billing systems and client disclosures to account for the new fees and may face administrative overhead during the transition.
- Secretary of State if exemptions are applied inconsistently — If the office must adjudicate or verify foreign veteran-owned status without clear statutory direction, it may incur additional administrative and verification costs.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
The central dilemma is between the state’s interest in recovering administrative and mailing costs (and funding the Secretary of State’s operations) through modest per‑transaction fees, and the countervailing interest in minimizing friction and cost in access to the courts and administrative processes; increasing fees makes services more self-sustaining but raises equity and compliance questions, especially where the bill’s promised exemptions are not explicitly codified.
The amendment is straightforward on its face — three numeric changes — but it raises implementation and equity questions. First, the bill increases costs that are typically borne by litigants and law firms, which can accumulate in high-volume practice areas or in mass-service scenarios; the change is small per‑instance but can be material in aggregate.
Second, the statute continues to funnel these fees into the Secretary of State’s special revenue accounts; that earmarking gives the office more internal resources but does not guarantee an offset to any increased burden on litigants.
A second operational issue is the bill’s relationship to the veteran exemption language. The explanatory note promises exemptions for foreign veteran-owned businesses, but the enacted redline supplied modifies only fee amounts and does not explicitly change the statutory exemption language in subsection (j).
That gap leaves open how the exemption should be applied, who bears the burden of demonstrating foreign veteran-owned status, and whether the Secretary must adopt rules to operationalize the exemption. Finally, increasing mailing fees risks behavioral change: parties may favor in-person or sheriff-based service to avoid higher mailing charges, shifting costs elsewhere (courts, local sheriffs) or prompting litigation over the sufficiency of alternative service methods.
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