1. (a) Service on all parties. On the same date a document is filed, it shall also be served on each party or the party's authorized representative by hand-delivery; by regular, certified or registered mail; by electronic mail, upon agreement of the parties; or by facsimile transmission. By order, the judge may exempt a party from serving certain documents or materials upon all parties.

2. (b) Certificate of service. A person filing a document shall include a certificate of service that certifies compliance with this section.

   1. (1) A form for a certificate of service shall be sufficient if it substantially complies with the following example: "Certificate of Service: I certify that on date, a true and correct copy of this name of document has been sent to name of opposing party or authorized representative for the opposing party by specify method of delivery, e.g., regular mail, facsimile, certified mail. Signature"

   2. (2) If a filing does not certify service, SOAH may:

      1. (A) return the filing;
      2. (B) send notice of noncompliance to all parties, stating the filing will not be considered until all parties have been served; or
      3. (C) send a copy of the filing to all parties.

3. (c) Presumed time of receipt of served documents. The following rebuttable presumptions shall apply regarding a party's receipt of documents served by another party:

   1. (1) If a document was hand-delivered to a party, the judge shall presume that the document was received on the date of filing at SOAH.
   2. (2) If a document was served by courier-receipted delivery, the judge shall presume that the document was received no later than the day after filing at SOAH.
   3. (3) If a document was sent by regular, certified, or registered mail, the judge shall presume that it was received no later than three days after mailing.
   4. (4) If a document was served by facsimile transmission or by electronic mail before 5:00 p.m. on a business day, the judge shall presume that the document was received on that day; otherwise, the judge shall presume that the document was received on the next business day.
4. (d) Burden on sender. The sender has the burden of proving date and time of service.

Source Note:The provisions of this §155.103 adopted to be effective November 26, 2008, 33 TexReg 9451.