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Anywhere from a few days to more than a year, depending on the destination and the route. Direct service through local agents, where the receiving country’s law permits it, is often completed in days or weeks. Formal service through Hague Convention central authorities commonly takes two to six months, and considerably longer in some states.
Three variables dominate: the channel, the country and the paperwork. Agent service moves at the speed of a professional on the ground; central authority service moves at the speed of a government office, with wide variation between efficient states and those where requests queue for a year. Translation requirements, document defects and incomplete addresses add rounds of rejection and resubmission, which is where much of the worst delay actually originates and where careful preparation pays for itself.
The CPR allows six months to serve a claim form out of the jurisdiction, and for slow destinations even that can be tight, so the sensible sequence is to confirm the defendant’s address and the compliant route before issue, lodge the request immediately after, and diarise chasing points with the transmitting authority. Where the period is at risk, an extension application supported by evidence of the steps taken through the foreign process stands on far firmer ground than silence; the case law shows courts scrutinising exactly what the claimant did and when.
Because we serve through established agents and handle Convention requests across every continent, we can give a realistic range for your specific destination before you instruct, together with the faster options where local law allows them. That estimate belongs in the case plan, not discovered in month five.
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This page provides general information about the law and practice in England and Wales and is not legal advice. Rules change and individual circumstances vary; always take advice from a solicitor on your specific situation. Prices shown are indicative, exclusive of VAT and confirmed in writing before any work begins.