---
title: "AO 398 notice of a lawsuit and request to waive service of a summons"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/precedents/commercial-litigation-and-dispute-resolution/us-ao-398-waiver-request"
type: "precedent"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "a5-us-ao-398-waiver-request"
area_id: "A5"
kind: "form"
ai_level: "yellow"
version: 1
task_ids: ["A5-T1-R2", "A46-X20260927-3"]
law_stated_as_at: "2026-10-22"
---

# AO 398 notice of a lawsuit and request to waive service of a summons

> Link to AO 398, the Rule 4 notice asking a defendant to waive service of a summons. The request must include the complaint, two waiver forms and a prepaid way to return one.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/precedents/commercial-litigation-and-dispute-resolution/us-ao-398-waiver-request  
Law stated as at: 2026-10-22

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

- Kind: Form. A form to complete, or a guide to completing an official one.
- Practice area: [Commercial Litigation & Dispute Resolution](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/commercial-litigation-and-dispute-resolution.md)
- Jurisdictions: United States
- AI level: Yellow. You and the tool draft together, with you directing. You check every statement you rely on.
- Law stated as at: 2026-10-22
- Status: Maintained. Checked on 2026-10-22 against the official form at uscourts.gov and the 3 authorities it cites, for United States.

## When to use it

Use when the plaintiff asks an individual, corporation or association that can be served under Rule 4(e), (f) or (h) to waive service of the summons. Do not use it for a defendant Rule 4(d) does not cover.

## Used for these tasks

- [Draft pleadings from the facts-and-issues brief](https://ailawframework.com/practice/commercial-litigation-and-dispute-resolution/draft-pleadings-from-the-facts-and-issues-brief.md)
- [Assemble the service evidence before asking for default judgment](https://ailawframework.com/practice/debt-recovery-and-civil-enforcement/assemble-the-service-evidence-before-asking-for-default-judgment.md)

## How AI may be used

The tool may check a lawyer-prepared notice against Rule 4(d) and list what must go in the packet; the lawyer decides whether waiver is available and signs the request.

**AI may:**

- Check a draft notice against the Rule 4(d)(1) list: writing, addressee, court, complaint, two waiver forms, prepaid return, date sent, time to return, and first-class mail or other reliable means
- List defendants for whom the file shows a Rule 4(e), (f) or (h) defendant, and flag defendants who look like the United States, a state or a local government
- Calculate the return date and the later answer date from the send date the lawyer supplies, using 30 and 60 days, or 60 and 90 days if sent outside any judicial district of the United States

**AI must not:**

- Must not decide that a defendant has a duty to waive, or that good cause for refusing will fail
- Must not send the notice, sign the certification, or file a waiver
- Must not write the date sent as a fact the file does not already record
- Must not treat waiver as a waiver of personal jurisdiction or venue

**The lawyer checks:**

- The defendant is an individual, corporation or association subject to service under Rule 4(e), (f) or (h). Rule 4(d) is not the method for the United States, a state or a local government
- The notice is addressed to the individual, or, for a Rule 4(h) defendant, to an officer, a managing or general agent, or another agent authorised to receive service
- The packet includes the complaint, two copies of the waiver form, and a prepaid means of returning one copy
- The defendant is given at least 30 days after the request was sent to return the waiver, or at least 60 days if sent outside any judicial district of the United States
- The notice states the date it is sent, and is sent by first-class mail or other reliable means

## Authorities

- [Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Notice of a Lawsuit and Request to Waive Service of a Summons (AO 398), effective 1 January 2009](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/forms/notice-a-lawsuit-and-request-waive-service-a-summons)
- [AO 398 (PDF)](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/ao398.pdf)
- [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(d) and the appended notice (Legal Information Institute)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/rule_4)

## Official form

[Official form](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/forms/notice-a-lawsuit-and-request-waive-service-a-summons)

## Where this comes from

The official form is published by uscourts.gov; this page is a completion guide. Last checked on 2026-10-22.

## Full text and drafting notes

The full text and the drafting notes are not part of this public page. Signed-in firm accounts can read them at https://ailawframework.com/precedents/commercial-litigation-and-dispute-resolution/us-ao-398-waiver-request and through the signed-in MCP connector https://ailawframework.com/mcp/firm.

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*