Order a witness to appear and bring evidence to court

If there is a witness you need to bring evidence to a trial or hearing, you may use a subpoena to order that person to bring the evidence to court.

Before you start

It's a good idea to subpoena the important witnesses for your case

The judge may not wait for a witness who has not been subpoenaed to show up before making a decision.

If the person disobeys the subpoena they can be held in contempt of court and ordered to pay up to $500 in fines.

You may have to pay witnesses

Witnesses can ask for $35 a day and $.20 per mile each way. If they request to be paid before the hearing, you must pay them. Otherwise they are not required to appear.

Be prepared to pay the witness when they come to court regardless of whether they've asked to be paid.

There are special protections for phone records, e-mails, and texts

If you are subpoenaing evidence that includes phone records, email, social media, or texts you must get consent from the owner of those communications by having them sign a release.

Your local Self-Help Center or Law Library may be able to help you find the proper language for the specific release you need.

You must give notice to any consumer or employees whose records you seek

If you are subpoenaing evidence that includes consumer records or employee records of a company, you must give notice to the consumer or employee before serving the subpoena in order to give that person the opportunity to object to the production.