I was talking to one and it sounds interesting.
I understand it's different in different States.

Yeah, I know some ex-cops that do it. Here in FL they are predominantly licensed by the Sheriff. There are a few left that get it through the Chief Judge for that Circuit. You have to have a bond and take a course from the sheriff. Not sure if it is a multi-year license or not. Maybe $500 total to get started. Then you compete with the Sheriff to serve papers. Statutory min fee is something like $40. It might take you one attempt or 3, while you're burning your gas. The fellas that I know only make money if they serve 'a bunch' per week. $3.50 a gallon sounds like a tough way to make money IMHO.

I have to do it often. For State and Federal.

In Louisiana all it takes is being over 18 and unrelated to anyone in the law suit. We use PI's a good bit, if I need someone served in North LA I have JD Otherwise I just do a rote motion and appoint a local LEO, Parole officer or college kid that I trust who wants to make a C note. Court costs to serve a subpoena runs $65 for the SO to do it-so I try to use them when possible.

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In terms of steady hourly income, unless you're working it as a side to something else like a PI business, you will likely make more money delivering Dominoes instead. Process servers fall into the same category as repo men and bounty hunters in terms of sometimes being shot by those they are "delivering" to, the pizza man... less so.

I am a licensed Private Investigator and have done some process serving over the years. It doesn't really pay much and can be a major pain. I have some colleagues who do it quite a bit and do well, but they have contracts with attorneys, so they do a volume business. Most of the time I recommend someone else.
You say it sounds interesting. I hear that a lot when people find out what I do. Most of the time....not so much.
Jim

The guy that was I was talking to is a PI; he told me he gets more work Serving, but better pay per Investigation. Says he spends most of his PI time in courthouse record rooms. 'Got a lot of work in the asbestos class action suit.
I have been on my job for over 26 years and was looking at diversifying a little.

Plus you have to factor in 'getting the clients'. Just hanging your shingle out wont make the phone ring. There's always some yahoo willing to try it dirt cheap and unfortunately most lawyers look at the process server and as low man on the proverbial totem pole. The old adage of 'you get what you pay for' is usually not a consideration. Also some lawyers expect you to take the time to go to courthouse and file the Returns (for no additional $$).

If this line of work interests you, then my advice would be to work for somebody else first. You get to learn what is involved without making the investments to start your own business. PI work can be very profitable, but unfortunately sometimes the cases are few and far between.
In my state to start a new company you have to fill out the paperwork, get fingerprinted and background checked, pay the license fee and then obtain bonding and liability insurance. That is all before you make a dime. Then you wait for the phone to ring. Oh, yeah, advertising. You will need an ad in the yellow pages and business cards. This all involves a pretty fair amount of money.
I don't want to discourage you, I have been self employed for over 26 years and like what I do, but it can be extremely stressful at times. If just serving papers is all you want to do, get hired by one of the companies that provides this service. It should pay fairly well, and they take all the financial risks.
I wish you all the best.
Jim