What happens when an individual either is not available or otherwise does not pick up certified mail?

Answer 1

I just received a certified letter notice that the Post Office attempted to deliver to my home address on 2 different occasions. It also stated by a specific date (2-3 days from the last delivery attempt) this Certified Letter would be delivered back to the sender.

Hope this helps !

Answer 2

The post office will wait a required number of days for the mail to be picked up by the named individual, if that does not happen it will be returned to the office of the clerk of the court.

If the certified mail was a summons to appear in court to answer a civil suit non acceptance of such will usually not prevent the case from going forward. If the person refusing the certified notice is the defendant he or she will likely lose the case by default and the plaintiff will receive a judgment. If the person is the plaintiff (not too likely) the case will be dismissed.