NAPPS Certification for Process Servers: Membership, Not a License

Two organizations use the name NAPPS. The National Association of Professional Pet Sitters (petsitters.org) runs a pet-care certification course; the National Association of Professional Process Servers (napps.org) is the other. This page is for people who serve legal papers or want to.

The mix-up matters because a process server's first question is whether a credential lets them serve papers at all. An association with "process servers" in its name sounds like the body that grants that permission. It does not. In Georgia, for example, a court-system program runs certification, and NAPPS describes its own membership as a separate step.

Below you will find what NAPPS membership costs and requires, a table for deciding what to buy first, a side-by-side comparison, and a worked cost example for Georgia.

• NAPPS for process servers is a membership. As of November 2026 it costs $225 in the first year ($200 annual dues plus a $25 application fee), and it involves no certification exam.
• Your state or court decides who may serve papers. In Georgia that is the Georgia Certified Process Server program, which NAPPS treats as separate from its membership.
• NAPPS asks applicants for at least one year in the profession, so a newcomer usually trains first. Our eight process-server courses cost $40 to $175 as of November 3, 2026.
• In Georgia, certification needs a 12-hour pre-certification class, an exam and a surety bond; our Georgia Process Server Pre-Certification Course is $175 as of November 3, 2026.

It is a membership. The National Association of Professional Process Servers (NAPPS) accepts applications from working process servers and, as of November 2026, charges $225 for the first year: $200 in annual dues plus a $25 non-refundable application fee. Membership involves no certification exam.

What the application asks for:

• At least one year of affiliation with the process-serving profession.
• A copy of a valid driver's license.
• Disclosure of any felony convictions with details. Other criminal history is disclosed separately.
• Two professional references.
• A 30-day screening, during which applicant names are published and accepted if no objection is received.

Members also have to tell NAPPS within 14 days if they are convicted of a felony or lose their authority to serve process. The membership policy manual sets out member classes and conduct rules, with no exam and no continuing-education requirement.

What you get is professional affiliation. NAPPS says it was established in 1982, is based in Portland, Oregon, and has over 2,000 members. Its home page lists a Docket Sheet, a Monthly Supplement and a Membership Directory. On its Georgia page, NAPPS describes membership as further development through higher education, networking and training.

Your state or court decides. NAPPS membership does not authorize anyone to serve papers. Its application asks which licensing, registration, certification or court appointment you already hold, and "none required" is one of the choices.

Georgia shows the split. The state's Certified Process Server program runs under rules the Judicial Council adopted on January 21, 2011, in partnership with the Georgia Sheriffs' Association and Georgia sheriffs, according to the Georgia Office of Court Professionals. As of November 2026, certification under OCGA 9-11-4.1 requires a 12-hour pre-certification class, an exam and a surety bond, per NAPPS's Georgia page. NAPPS says state certification and its own membership operate separately. Other states set their own paths. Our guide to how to become a process server starts from that point, and we cover Georgia and Arizona in detail.

Use this table to decide what to pay for, in order.

Run these four checks before paying anyone:

1. Find the rule-setting body. Pass: you can name the state program or court and write down its steps. Fail: you cannot, so do this before buying anything.
2. Confirm course acceptance. Pass: the body confirms in writing that it accepts the course you plan to buy. Fail: you are relying on a course description or a seller's word.
3. Test your NAPPS eligibility. Pass: one year or more in the profession, a driver's license, two references, and you can disclose any felony convictions with details; NAPPS decides on the application. Fail: any of the first three missing.
4. Check today's price. Pass: the figure on NAPPS's application page matches $225. Fail: it differs, so use the number on NAPPS's page.

The two do different jobs, so the comparison above uses the same labels for both. Prices are as of November 2026. Once you have served for a year and hold the authority your area requires, NAPPS membership is an optional addition to your Learningshopusa training.

Each reason below rests on a fact in the comparison.

1. A lower first outlay. Our Georgia 5 Hour Process Server course is $75, and the Georgia Process Server Pre-Certification Course is $175. NAPPS's first year is $225.
2. It teaches the work. Key Concepts in Civil Process is $80, and Ethics – Process Server is $40. NAPPS membership comes mainly with publications, a directory and networking.
3. State-specific courses. We offer an Arizona Civil Process Course ($120) and a Texas Process Server Continuing Education Course with Ethics, 8 hours ($85), alongside the two Georgia courses. See our process-server course list.
4. It fits where you are. NAPPS asks for at least a year of affiliation with the profession, so a newcomer will usually reach NAPPS after training, not before. Our guide for working adults choosing an online process server course covers how to pick.
5. A phone line. Call (832) 922-1215 or (706) 268-2221, Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern, or write to sharondecet@yahoo.com.

Completion of any of our courses earns a certificate of completion. It is not a license, and you should confirm with your state program or court that a course is accepted before you pay for it.

Adding NAPPS membership to our Georgia Process Server Pre-Certification Course ($175) brings the combined outlay to $400 before state fees, and $200 a year in dues after that. The total is the course price plus the NAPPS first-year price, both as of November 2026.

The combined figure leaves out Georgia's program fees and any bond or background-check costs, which the state program sets. Because NAPPS asks for a year in the profession, a newcomer is unlikely to pay both in the same month. In practice you pay for the course first and NAPPS later. Our Georgia process server certification training page explains how the course relates to the state steps.