Federal Subpoena Service in California

Subpoenas From Any Federal Court, Served in California

In a federal civil case, the subpoena issues from the court where the case is pending (Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45(a)(2)), and it may be served at any place within the United States (Rule 45(b)(2)). So a subpoena from a federal court in New York, Texas, or anywhere else can be served on a witness in California as issued, with no California court involved.

That’s different from a subpoena in another state’s court, which has to be reissued by a California superior court before it can be served here. Our out-of-state subpoena service handles those.

The clerk issues a federal subpoena signed but otherwise blank, for the requesting party to complete, or an attorney authorized to practice in the issuing court may issue and sign it (Rule 45(a)(3)). Send it to us complete, with every attachment.

Same Rates as Our Process Serving

• Service: our standard process serving rate for the city where the witness is served and the service level you choose, from Standard to On Demand. Use the rate finder at the top of this page.
• Witness fees: paid to the witness, not to us. Ask us to advance the fee and mileage when you order, and our process server will tender them with the subpoena.
• Preparation: for a case in a California federal court, ask when you order and we’ll prepare the subpoena.

See what your rate includes.

How Federal Subpoena Service Works

1. Send the subpoena

   Upload the issued subpoena, with every attachment, and the address for each witness or custodian through our client portal.

2. Ask us to advance the witness fee

   For a subpoena that requires attendance, we advance one day’s $40 fee plus mileage when you ask. No fee is needed when the subpoena issues on behalf of the United States.

3. We serve the witness

   A registered process server delivers the subpoena to the named person and tenders the fee, at the service level you chose.

4. You get the proof of service

   The server completes the proof of service on page 2 of the subpoena form, with the date and manner of service and the fee tendered.

Start an Order → or call (800) 675-5376

Trial, Deposition, and Records Subpoenas

• AO 88

  Subpoena to Appear and Testify at a Hearing or Trial in a Civil Action

• AO 88A

  Subpoena to Testify at a Deposition in a Civil Action

• AO 88B

  Subpoena to Produce Documents, Information, or Objects or to Permit Inspection of Premises in a Civil Action

Each form opens on the U.S. Courts website. The second page of each form is the proof of service, which our process server completes.

We Can Prepare the Subpoena

For a case in the Central, Eastern, Northern, or Southern District of California, we can prepare the subpoena on the right form from your case information, ready for your attorney to sign and issue, and then serve it.

For a document subpoena, a notice and a copy of the subpoena must be served on each party before the subpoena is served on the person it’s directed to (Rule 45(a)(4)). For records from hospitals, employers, and other custodians, our Records Retrieval Division handles AO 88B subpoenas from start to finish. Our records department provides bundled rates when we act as the deposition officer in addition to serving the subpoena.

Check the Place of Compliance

• 100 miles. A subpoena can command attendance at a trial, hearing, or deposition, or the production of documents, generally within 100 miles of where the person resides, is employed, or regularly transacts business in person (Rule 45(c)).
• Disputes. Motions to quash, modify, or compel go to the court for the district where compliance is required (Rule 45(d)). For a California witness, that’s usually a California federal court, even when the case is pending in another state.
• Time to comply. The court must quash or modify a subpoena that fails to allow a reasonable time to comply (Rule 45(d)(3)(A)(i)), so serve it early. The approved 2027 amendments set at least 14 days’ notice for attendance.

Federal Witness Fees

• Attendance: $40 a day, including the days spent traveling (28 U.S.C. § 1821).
• Mileage: the GSA rate for a privately owned vehicle, counted both ways: 76 cents a mile for travel on or after July 1, 2026.
• When: today the fee for one day and the mileage are tendered with a subpoena that requires attendance (Rule 45(b)(1)). No fee is tendered when the subpoena issues on behalf of the United States.

Our witness fee calculator works out federal fees and mileage.

Approved Changes to Rule 45

Amendments approved by the Judicial Conference and now before the U.S. Supreme Court would take effect December 1, 2027 at the earliest. They add service at the person’s home with a resident of suitable age, service by mail or commercial carrier with confirmed receipt by the named person or that resident, and another method the court approves for good cause. They also require 14 days’ notice for attendance and let witness fees be tendered at the appearance. Until then, the current rule applies and personal service is the safe choice.

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

Related Services

• Records retrieval by subpoenaMedical, employment, and business records by subpoena, with deposition officer services.
• Process servingRegistered, bonded service of process throughout California and nationwide.
• Out-of-state subpoenasForeign subpoenas domesticated in a California court and California subpoenas to be domesticated in other states.
• Skip tracingCurrent addresses for defendants, witnesses, and debtors, for law firms and legal departments.

Federal Subpoena Questions