California Code of Civil Procedure section 1987 does two things: it sets the rules for personally serving a subpoena on a witness, and it creates a shortcut that lets you compel a party, or an officer, director, or managing agent of a party, to appear by serving a written notice on their attorney instead of a formal subpoena. The statute also fixes the lead times (10 days for attendance, 20 days for documents) and gives the recipient of a document notice five days to object.1California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure CCP 1987
Serving a Subpoena on a Witness
Subdivision (a) controls personal service. You deliver a copy of the subpoena to the witness, and at the same moment you offer the witness fees for travel to and from the designated place plus one day’s attendance if the witness demands them. Service has to happen far enough in advance to give the witness a reasonable chance to prepare and travel. Any adult can serve a California subpoena; a professional process server is not required.1California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure CCP 1987
If the witness is a minor, service runs through the adult responsible for the child: a parent, guardian, conservator, or whoever has care or control. A minor who is 12 or older is also served directly, in addition to that adult. When the minor is a dependent of the court or in the juvenile justice system and not in parental custody, the designated agent at the county child welfare or probation department supervising the placement must also be served.1California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure CCP 1987
Compelling a Party by Written Notice Instead
Subdivision (b) is the part most litigators use day to day. You do not have to subpoena a party, a person for whose immediate benefit the action is prosecuted or defended, or an officer, director, or managing agent of such a party. You serve a written notice on that person’s attorney stating the time and place of required attendance. Once served, the notice has the same force as a subpoena, and the court can impose the same sanctions for ignoring it.1California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure CCP 1987
The lead time is 10 days before the required appearance, unless the court orders a shorter period. The witness still keeps the right to fees and mileage on demand before being required to testify. Treating this notice as a courtesy request is a mistake; the enforcement teeth are the same as a formal subpoena.1California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure CCP 1987
Asking a Party To Bring Documents
Subdivision (c) extends the notice mechanism to documents, electronically stored information, and other tangible things, with a longer runway. The notice has to be served at least 20 days before the required appearance (unless the court shortens it), identify the exact materials sought, and state that the person has them in their possession or control.1California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure CCP 1987
The recipient then has five days to serve written objections explaining why all or part of the request is improper. If objections come in, the requesting party has to file a motion to compel; the materials do not have to be produced until the court rules. Five days is a short clock, so a party who receives a 1987(c) notice needs to read it the day it lands.
Witness Fees and Mileage on Demand
Section 1987 ties the fee obligation directly to service. For a subpoenaed witness, fees must be offered at the moment of service if demanded. For a party compelled by notice under (b), the witness can demand fees and mileage before being required to testify. The amounts come from Government Code section 68093: $35 per day of actual attendance plus $0.20 per mile for round-trip travel.2California Legislative Information. California Government Code 68093 A witness whose fees were never tendered has a legitimate reason to refuse compliance.1California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure CCP 1987
A Note on Third-Party Records
Section 1987 governs service on the witness or party you want to appear. It does not govern subpoenas to a third-party custodian for someone else’s bank, medical, insurance, employment, or similar personal records. Those are controlled by CCP 1985.3 (consumer records) and 1985.6 (employment records), which require advance notice to the consumer or employee and give them their own objection rights before any records can be released. If your situation involves pulling records from a third party, the 1987 timelines are not the ones you count against.
Pushing Back: Motion To Quash or Modify
CCP 1987.1 is the companion provision that lets a party, the witness, a targeted consumer or employee, or a person whose identifying information is sought in a case touching free speech rights ask the court to quash, modify, or impose conditions on a subpoena. The court can also issue a protective order against unreasonable or oppressive demands, including those that would invade privacy.3California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 1987.1
The court can also act on its own after giving counsel notice and a chance to be heard. If you think a subpoena you received goes too far or should not have been served at all, filing a motion to quash before the compliance date is the right move. Ignoring it and arguing afterward is a weaker position.
What Happens if the Witness Does Not Appear
Two separate consequences stack. Under CCP 1992, a witness who was properly served and fails to appear forfeits $500 to the aggrieved party, plus any actual damages that party suffered because of the no-show.4California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure CCP 1992
On top of that, the court can hold the witness in contempt under CCP 1218: a fine of up to $1,000, up to five days in jail, or both. If the contempt consists of a continuing failure to do something the person still has the power to do, such as producing subpoenaed documents, confinement can last until the person complies.5California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 1218
A witness who was never properly served, who was not tendered the required fees, or who faces a genuinely unreasonable burden has defenses. But the sound way to raise those defenses is a motion to quash, not silence.
Deadlines at a Glance
- Standard subpoena service: enough advance time for the witness to prepare and travel; no fixed statutory minimum for non-party witnesses.
- Party attendance notice under 1987(b): at least 10 days before the required appearance.
- Party document-production notice under 1987(c): at least 20 days before the required appearance.
- Written objections to a 1987(c) document notice: within 5 days of receiving it.
- Witness fees under Government Code 68093: $35 per day of actual attendance plus $0.20 per mile, offered on demand at the time of service or before testimony for a party compelled by notice.
These windows are short enough that counting from the correct date matters. A notice served on day one for an appearance on day ten under 1987(c) is defective, and a document notice without the required identification of materials can be objected to and ignored until a court rules.