Which is NOT a valid method to serve process on an unlicensed foreign corporation?

• A. Personal delivery to Officer, Director, Designated Agent, or Managing Agent
• B. Serve 1 copy on NY Secretary of State and 1 Cert. Mail to the Corp
• C. Serve by publication in a newspaper
• D. Serve to a local agent

Answer: (C)

When serving process on a foreign corporation in New York, the goal is to reach someone within the company who can receive notice on its behalf. The allowed methods are direct personal service on an officer, director, or managing agent; service on an agent authorized to receive process; or service on the corporation’s Secretary of State or local agent when applicable. These paths ensure actual knowledge by the entity.

Serving by publication in a newspaper does not reach the corporation or its authorized representatives and is not one of the recognized methods for valid service on a corporation. Publication is a fallback used in some cases for individuals who can’t be located, but it does not suffice to notify a corporate defendant.

So the method that is not valid here is publication in a newspaper, because it fails to deliver actual notice to the corporation or someone authorized to accept service on its behalf. The other options involve ways the statute permits service to reach the corporation directly or through an authorized intermediary.