Answer:

To commence an action for divorce in New York State, the first thing you have to do is purchase an index number. You can do that at the County Clerk’s office. The fee for this is $210. You then want to draft a Summons and Verified Complaint. Once you’ve got your index number and you’ve filed your summons and complaint, you have to serve your spouse. You have 120 days to serve your spouse after you’ve filed your Summons and Verified Complaint. To serve your spouse, you can hire a process server or, to save some money, you can have a friend do it, but you cannot do it yourself. The person that serves your spouse has to be over the age of 18 and they cannot be a party to the suit, which is why you cannot serve your spouse.
The process server, whether you’ve hired someone or it’s a friend of yours, has to make sure to give you an Affidavit of Service. This document is very important because it proves that your spouse was served. That Affidavit of Service should be filed in the County Clerk’s office once you have it.