Federal Subpoenas by Mail: The Rule 45 Changes Coming in 2027

Approved, but Not in Effect Yet

Today, Rule 45(b)(1) says that serving a subpoena “requires delivering a copy to the named person” and, if the subpoena requires that person’s attendance, tendering one day’s fees and the mileage allowed by law. The rule doesn’t say how the copy is delivered, and courts have disagreed about whether it requires hand delivery. The amendments answer that question. Here’s how far they’ve come:

• August 2025: published for public comment. Comments closed in February 2026, and many came from process servers.
• April 14, 2026: the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules voted unanimously to recommend final approval.
• June 2026: the Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure (the Standing Committee) approved the amendments.
• September 2026: the Judicial Conference of the United States approved them.
• October 20, 2026: they were sent to the U.S. Supreme Court.
• By May 1, 2027: if the Court adopts them, it sends them to Congress.
• December 1, 2027: they take effect, unless Congress passes a law to change, reject, or delay them (28 U.S.C. § 2074(a)).

Until then, the current rule applies. If you see mail service described as already allowed, it isn’t part of Rule 45 yet.

For cases already pending on December 1, 2027, the Supreme Court decides how far the new rule applies. Its orders adopting rule changes usually apply them to pending cases “insofar as just and practicable,” and the court hearing a case can keep the old rule where applying the new one wouldn’t be feasible or would work injustice (28 U.S.C. § 2074(a)).

Four Ways to Serve a Subpoena

Who may serve doesn’t change: any person who is at least 18 years old and not a party. What changes is the list of methods. Under the amended rule, serving a subpoena requires one of these:

• Personal delivery: delivering a copy to the named person personally.
• At the person’s home: leaving a copy at the person’s dwelling or usual place of abode with someone of suitable age and discretion who resides there.
• Mail or commercial carrier: sending a copy to the person’s last known address by a method of U.S. mail or commercial-carrier delivery, if the method provides confirmation of actual receipt by the named person or by a resident described in the method above.
• Court-approved method: another means the court authorizes for good cause that is reasonably calculated to give notice.

The first two are the methods Rule 4(e)(2)(A) and (B) allow for serving a summons and complaint on an individual, so they’re familiar from federal practice. For the fourth, the committee note says good cause ordinarily requires trying the authorized methods first, and the request should show why the proposed method is reasonably calculated to give notice.

Mail Counts Only With the Right Signature

Mail and carrier service drew the most comment. The concern was simple: a delivery record shows a package reached an address, not that the witness received it. The published draft required a method that “provides confirmation of actual receipt” but didn’t say by whom. In April 2026 the Advisory Committee revised the committee note to say the person who receives it must be someone on whom service is authorized, and in June the Standing Committee moved that requirement into the rule itself: confirmation of actual receipt “by a person identified in (i) or (ii).”

In practice, that means the delivery confirmation has to show receipt by one of two people:

• the named person, wherever the subpoena is delivered, or
• at the person’s home, a resident of suitable age and discretion.

A signature from a front desk, a mailroom, or a coworker fits neither description. The rule doesn’t prescribe how receipt is confirmed, and the committee note tells courts to be alert to ensuring reliable confirmation of actual receipt. Proof of service is unchanged: when proof is necessary, Rule 45(b)(4) still calls for a statement filed with the issuing court, certified by the server, showing the date and manner of service and the names of the persons served. If a subpoena goes by mail, keep the confirmation that shows who signed for it.

The rule also doesn’t say whether mail service is complete on the day the subpoena is sent or the day it’s received. Until courts settle that, count the 14 days from the confirmed receipt date.

A 14-Day Notice Period and More Time to Pay Fees

• 14 days’ notice. If the subpoena requires attendance at a trial, hearing, or deposition, it must be served at least 14 days before the date the person is commanded to attend, unless the court orders otherwise. Today the rule sets no advance notice for the witness. The committee note says the court may shorten the period for good cause on the serving party’s application.
• Witness fees. The fees for one day’s attendance and the mileage allowed by law can be tendered at service or at the time and place the person is commanded to appear. The committee note says tender at service should still happen whenever practicable, and the Advisory Committee’s minutes note that waiting until the end of a deposition would not comply. Fees and mileage still need not be tendered when the subpoena issues on behalf of the United States.
• Document subpoenas. The 14-day period applies to attendance. A subpoena for documents or an inspection still requires a notice and a copy to each party before it is served (Rule 45(a)(4)).

For what a federal witness is owed, see our article on witness fees and mileage, with a calculator.

Subpoenas for Remote Trial Testimony

This change matters most in California’s federal courts. In In re Kirkland, 75 F.4th 1030 (9th Cir. 2023), the Ninth Circuit held that the current rule doesn’t allow a subpoena requiring a witness to give remote trial testimony, even when the court has found the Rule 43(a) requirements for remote testimony met. Changing that result was the main goal of the amendment.

New Rule 45(c)(2) says the place of attendance for remote testimony is the location where the person is commanded to appear in person. So a witness can be subpoenaed to testify remotely from a place within the usual Rule 45(c)(1) limits, generally within 100 miles of where the witness lives, works, or regularly transacts business in person, even when the courtroom is farther away. The court still decides whether to allow remote testimony. A companion change to Rule 26(a)(3)(A)(i) requires pretrial disclosures to say whether the party expects each witness’s testimony to be in person or remote.

What to Do Now, and What to Plan For

• Until December 1, 2027, plan on personal service. The current rule still calls for delivering a copy to the named person and tendering the fee and mileage with an attendance subpoena. With courts divided on anything less than hand delivery, personal service is the safe choice.
• Build 14 days into your calendar. Once the change takes effect, deposition, hearing, and trial subpoenas have to be served at least 14 days ahead. If a witness may be hard to find, start service earlier, and leave room for a skip trace and repeat attempts. For a subpoena sent by mail, count the 14 days from the confirmed receipt date.
• Record who received it at the home. When a subpoena is left with someone at the witness’s home, the server should record that person’s name and confirm they live there and are of suitable age, so the proof of service holds up if service is challenged.
• Weigh mail against what it proves. Mail or carrier service will be cheaper for a cooperative witness. For a witness who may not want to appear, a process server’s proof of service shows who received the subpoena, where, and when.
• State court subpoenas aren’t affected. California subpoenas follow the Code of Civil Procedure, not Rule 45.
• Watch the dates. We’ll update this article when the Supreme Court acts, by May 1, 2027, and when the rule takes effect.

Serving Federal Subpoenas in California

Our registered process servers serve deposition, trial, and records subpoenas from any U.S. district court on witnesses and records custodians throughout California, at our standard process serving rates. A federal subpoena doesn’t need a California court to reissue it, so a firm with a case in another state sends it to us as issued. For a case in a California federal court, we can prepare the subpoena too. We have offices in each of California’s four districts: Los Angeles, Monterey Park, Santa Ana, and Palm Springs in the Central District; San Jose and Fremont in the Northern District; Bakersfield in the Eastern District; and San Diego in the Southern District. See our federal subpoena service.

• Personal service. We serve the named person and return a proof of service signed by the server, with the date, time, and place.
• Witness fees. Ask us to advance the witness fee when you order and our process server will tender it with the subpoena.
• Hard-to-find witnesses. If the address is old, our skip tracing team can find a current one before the 14 days get tight.

To order, see what your process server needs before the first attempt, or call our Litigation Division at (800) 675-5376, Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Pacific. Our Rule 45 client update (PDF) is free to share with your staff.

About This Article

Sources

• Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45, Subpoena (current text)
• Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4, Summons
• 28 U.S.C. section 2074, Rules of procedure and evidence; submission to Congress; effective date
• Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure, Report to the Judicial Conference, September 2026 (approved Rule 45 text and committee notes in Appendix D)
• Memorandum to the Clerk of the Supreme Court, October 20, 2026, with the proposed amendments
• Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure, agenda book for June 3-4, 2026 (Advisory Committee on Civil Rules report and draft minutes of April 14, 2026)
• Preliminary Draft of Proposed Amendments, August 2025
• U.S. Courts, Pending Rules and Forms Amendments

Keep Reading

• California Witness Fees and Mileage, With a CalculatorUpdated 2026 · Subpoenas, Records, and Out-of-State Service
• The Power of a SubpoenaUpdated 2026 · Subpoenas, Records, and Out-of-State Service
• Interstate Subpoenas and DiscoveryUpdated 2026 · Subpoenas, Records, and Out-of-State Service

See all 31 articles on the Direct Legal blog

How We Can Help

• Process servingRegistered, bonded service of process throughout California and nationwide.
• Records retrieval by subpoenaMedical, employment, and business records by subpoena, with deposition officer services.
• Skip tracingCurrent addresses for defendants, witnesses, and debtors, for law firms and legal departments.