Notice

In this case, the service of process puts the defendant "on notice" of the allegations contained within the complaint, or other such pleading.

In the United States, the right to receive notice before the government deprives an individual of a protected interest is guaranteed, along with the opportunity to be heard, by the Due Process Clauses in the Fifth and Fourteenth amendments.

The Sixth Amendment also specifically guarantees the right of a criminal defendant to be notified of the charges and their grounds.

Because out-of-state defendants cannot always be located easily, some state or local laws may allow for service by publication.

In Mullane v. Central Hanover Bank & Trust Co., the core case setting forth constitutional notice requirements, the U.S. Supreme Court held that notice must be "reasonably calculated, under all the circumstances, to apprise interested parties of the pendency of the action and afford them an opportunity to present their objections".