Civil Subpoena

  • See Rule 45 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
  • A subpoena commanding attendance at a trial or hearing shall issue from the court for the district in which the hearing or trial is to be held.
  • A subpoena for attendance at a deposition shall issue from the court for the district designated by the notice of deposition as the district in which the deposition is to be taken or in which the production or inspection is to be made.
  • The clerk shall issue a subpoena, signed but otherwise in blank, to a party requesting it, who shall complete it before service. An attorney as officer of the court may also issue and sign a subpoena on behalf of:
    • A court in which the attorney is authorized to practice; or
    • A court for a district in which a deposition or production is compelled by the subpoena, if the deposition or production pertains to an action pending in a court in which the attorney is authorized to practice.
  • A witness subpoena may be served anywhere within the district of the court by which it is issued or at any place without the district that is within 100 miles of the place of the deposition, hearing, trial, production, or inspection specified in the subpoena. (F.R.Civ.P. 45(b)(2)).
  • Witness fees are not waived for litigants proceeding in forma pauperis.