How Much Does a Subpoena Cost?

Having the right evidence and witness testimonies can significantly impact the outcome of your legal case. To access these helpful resources, you may need to subpoena someone to provide the documents or testify in court. Hence, it’s important you know how much it costs to subpoena someone so you can plan and budget accordingly.

On average, the cost to subpoena someone may fall between $50 to $300. The exact amount depends on various factors, such as the location of the intended recipient, how complex the case is, and how quickly you need the subpoena served.

On-Call Legal is your go-to expert for all subpoena services in California and across the nation. With our same-day delivery, you can be sure your legal document gets to the recipient without delay. Schedule a free consultation with us to discuss your subpoena service and guide you throughout the process.

In this blog, you will learn what it costs to subpoena someone and the different factors that influence the subpoena cost so you can be better prepared for your legal process.

Factors Influencing the Cost of Issuing a Subpoena

From jurisdiction and location to witness fees and documentation, there are various factors that influence the cost of issuing a subpoena. You need to understand these factors and how they affect the subpoena cost so you can make informed decisions. The factors include:

1. Jurisdiction and Location

The geographic location of the subpoenaed person may increase or decrease how much it costs to subpoena someone. Serving subpoenas in rural areas often involves higher costs due to longer distances and difficulties in accessibility. Internationally served subpoenas may add extra costs due to compliance with international agreements, shipping, and other complexities.

2. Method of Service

The method of subpoena service is the primary factor that influences the overall subpoena cost. Different methods involve different processes and, consequently, incur varying costs. Let’s look at some of them below.

• Personal Service: This method involves physically serving the subpoena to the recipient. You may need to hire a process server or a law enforcement agent to make sure the process service complies with the service rules in your jurisdiction. Personal service is considered the most effective as the witness subpoenaed directly receives the subpoena, making it easy to get proof of service. Personal service of subpoena costs an average cost of $50 – $150, relatively more costly than other methods.

• Service by Mail: Here, the subpoena is served through the postal service and requests proof of receipt from the recipient. Costs include postage fees and the additional cost for the return receipts. To serve a subpoena via certified mail costs around $10.

• Electronic Method: This method allows you to send a subpoena through digital means such as email. It’s the fastest and most cost-effective method to serve a subpoena, costing as low as $5. The document can be transmitted instantly, reaching the recipient within a few seconds, regardless of the location. Costs include internet connection and access to delivery or messaging platforms.

3. Travel and Accommodation

Mileage fees: For subpoenas served across long distances, the witness shall be entitled to a mileage fee of up to twenty cents ($0.20) per mile from the party requesting the subpoena.

Accommodation fees: Where the recipient’s location requires the process server more than a day to deliver the subpoena, accommodation expenses might arise. The cost of accommodation may vary between $50 to $400 per night depending on the location and standard.

Incidental Expenses: This includes additional costs that may arise during the delivery of a subpoena. They may include parking fees, reimbursement for meals, toll fees, etc.

4. Research and Time

In some cases, issuing a subpoena requires significant research, particularly when it comes to identifying the current location of the potential recipient of the subpoena. This process might involve the service of skip tracing or private investigators especially when the witness subpoenaed is trying to avoid detection.

Private investigators have access to databases and tools that can help them fish out people’s locations. The cost of hiring a private investigator, the length of time, and the resources required for the research and investigation all contribute to the cost of issuing a subpoena.  

From research to the delivery of a subpoena and everything in between, it may take some time to subpoena someone. However, you can hire a trustworthy and experienced subpoena service provider to expedite the whole process.

5. Witness Fees

According to the California Department of Industrial Relations, a witness subpoenaed is entitled to a witness fee of $35 for each day’s court appearance and a mileage fee of 20 cents per mile to cover their travel expenses. They’re also entitled to a per diem allowance of $3 per day to cover basic sustenance and other costs the individual might incur to participate in the legal proceedings for each day of actual court attendance. The party requesting the subpoena pays the witness fees.

6. Preparation and Documentation

The various processes that go into the preparation and documentation of the subpoena might also incur some costs. You may have to pay for copying, retrieving, and processing documents. Drafting the subpoena attracts costs as it may require that you involve a legal professional to help you maintain compliance with legal procedures and regulations while including accurate information.

Beyond drafting the subpoena, an attorney can also offer other services like review and legal advice during the preparation and documentation of the subpoena, which may attract extra legal fees. The exact cost depends on the agreement between you and your attorney.

Potential Additional Costs For Serving a Subpoena

In a situation where an individual tries to quash a subpoena or refuses to respond appropriately, additional costs may apply. The recipient of a subpoena reserves the right to file a motion to quash a subpoena if they have a legally valid ground to challenge its validity. The legal processes involved in quashing a subpoena may attract several costs, which may include:

• Legal costs for hiring an attorney to defend your interest in court
• The cost of attending additional court hearings
• Potential appeal costs, should the court rule against the proponent of the subpoena.

In a case where the subpoenaed individual refuses to comply with the terms of a subpoena, you can obtain a court order to enforce compliance, but you may also need to pay some legal fees to initiate this process.

Ways to Minimize Subpoena Costs

While some of the component subpoena costs are not in your hands to decide, there are still some steps you can take to potentially reduce what it costs to subpoena someone. Here are some of the recommended steps.

1. Plan effectively. Before issuing a subpoena, take time to thoroughly understand the information and evidence you need to present in the subpoena. Find out the relevant documents, testimonies, and records that bolster your case. Additionally, make sure you’re clear and precise while drafting a subpoena. State your requests clearly, specifying the type of information you’re seeking. Include the relevant names, dates, locations, and other necessary details to help the recipient understand your request. The idea is to minimize possible ambiguity, help the recipient deliver the right information, and minimize the chances of quashing the subpoena, which may cost you money to start all over or may even affect the outcome of your case.
2. Use digital subpoena services. As long as it’s allowed in your jurisdiction, use the electronic method of service to deliver your subpoena. Taking advantage of digital technologies like email to deliver the subpoena can help you save costs and time. Digital subpoena services can also ease location limitations as you don’t need to travel to deliver the document. Provided there’s an internet connection and the recipient has access to digital technology, you can serve them no matter their location.
3. Consolidate many requests. If you need multiple witnesses and documents from a single location, you should serve them all at once. For example, if the individuals you want to summon belong to the same family, company, or organization, you can serve them all simultaneously. This will save you the time and resources you would have spent to prepare separate documentation and trips for each individual. However, you need to pay more attention to your communication here to make sure that everyone is aware of your expectations, so as to avoid confusion.
4. Seek legal advice. A legal professional or an experienced process server already understands the different ways you can minimize costs while serving a subpoena. They’re better placed to advise you on the procedure to take to reduce costs. In addition, they can help avoid unnecessary additional costs by helping you stay compliant as you serve your documents.

Types of Subpoenas

There are two major types of a subpoena: subpoena ad testificandum and subpoena duces tecum.

Subpoena Ad Testificandum: This type of subpoena requires an individual to appear before the court as a witness and testify before a legal sitting; hence, the Latin word “ad testificandum” which translates to English as “to testify.”

Subpoena Duces Tecum: The Latin term “Duces Tecum” means “bring with you.” Subpoena duces tecum requires the witness subpoenaed to produce documents, records, or other pieces of evidence relevant to the legal proceedings. This type of subpoena must be properly served within the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure.

Need a Professional Process Server?

Planning and budgeting are key to minimizing costs, and that’s exactly what understanding subpoena costs help you achieve. If you identify the potential costs involved in serving the kind of subpoena you want to serve, it will be easier to get it done without breaking the bank. Above all, it’s best to hand over your subpoena services to a professional process server who understands how to legally serve a subpoena in your jurisdiction. That way, you can be sure your documents are delivered safely and within the applicable rules to avoid legal penalties that may come with insufficient service of process.

Here at On-Call Legal Process Servers, our experts have the expertise and experience to serve your subpoena and guide you through the process. Contact us today for a seamless and compliant service of process.