California subpoena forms come in five varieties, all published by the Judicial Council and prefixed “SUBP.” Picking the right one comes down to two questions: do you want the witness at a trial or a deposition, and do you need testimony, documents, or both? Get the form right, follow the notice and service rules that go with it, and the subpoena is enforceable. Miss a step, and the witness has a built-in defense.
The Five Judicial Council Subpoena Forms
Two forms are for trial or hearing appearances. Three are for depositions.
Trial and Hearing
- SUBP-001 orders a non-party to show up and testify at a trial or court hearing. No documents.1California Courts. Civil Subpoena for Personal Appearance at Trial or Hearing
- SUBP-002 (duces tecum) orders a non-party to appear at a trial or hearing and bring specified documents or things.2California Courts. Civil Subpoena (Duces Tecum) for Personal Appearance and Production of Documents, Electronically Stored Information, and Things at Trial or Hearing
Deposition
- SUBP-010 orders a business to send records to a registered copy service or make them available for copying. No one appears in person.3California Courts. Deposition Subpoena for Production of Business Records
- SUBP-015 orders a non-party to appear and testify at a deposition, without bringing documents.4California Courts. Deposition Subpoena for Personal Appearance
- SUBP-020 orders a non-party to appear at a deposition and bring specified documents or things. Use this when you need both live testimony and records from the same witness.5California Courts. Deposition Subpoena for Personal Appearance and Production of Documents and Things
The common error is reaching for SUBP-010 when you actually need the records custodian to answer questions under oath. SUBP-010 is records-only. If you want testimony plus documents, the form is SUBP-020.
Filling Out and Issuing the Subpoena
Every form opens with the case caption. Enter the court’s name and address, the full case name with plaintiff/petitioner and defendant/respondent, and the case number exactly as they read on the filed complaint. A mismatch between the subpoena and the court’s records can be enough to invite a challenge.
Identify the witness by full legal name and last known address. Specify the exact date, time, and location for the appearance or production. When requesting documents, describe them with enough detail that the witness knows what to pull. Language like “all relevant records” draws objections. If the description won’t fit, attach it as a separate page and reference the attachment on the form.
An attorney of record can sign and issue a deposition subpoena directly. A self-represented party cannot. If you are representing yourself, the clerk of the court where the case is pending will issue the subpoena signed and sealed but otherwise blank, and you fill in the details. A self-represented party who signs a deposition subpoena without the clerk’s seal has issued a defective subpoena.
Notice Rules for Consumer and Employment Records
This is where most subpoenas go wrong. When your subpoena targets personal records of a consumer or employment records of an employee, California layers advance-notice obligations on top of normal service. Skip them and no court will compel production.
Consumer Records
Before the records custodian is served, the consumer whose records you want must receive a copy of the subpoena, any supporting affidavit, and a written notice telling them three things: their records are being sought, they can object by filing papers with the court before the production date, and they should consult an attorney if they have privacy concerns. The notice must reach the consumer at least 10 days before the production date, with extra time added if you serve by mail. It must also go out at least five days before you serve the custodian.6California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 1985.3
Employment Records
The structure is the same for employment records. Before serving the employer, give the employee a copy of the subpoena and a notice stating that their employment records are being sought, that those records may be protected by a right of privacy, that they can object by filing papers with the court, and that they should consult an attorney. Same timing: at least 10 days before the production date, and at least five days before serving the employer.7California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 1985.6
If the consumer or employee files a timely objection, the custodian cannot release the records until the court resolves the dispute. Ignoring the notice step doesn’t just slow things down; it exposes you to sanctions and a motion to quash.
Service and Witness Fees
A subpoena must be personally delivered by someone at least 18 years old who is not a party to the case. That can be a friend, a professional process server, or a county sheriff’s office.8California Courts. Serving Court Papers The subpoena needs to land directly in the witness’s hands so there is no dispute about receipt.
Witness fees are a separate obligation. California sets the fee at $35 per day of attendance plus $0.20 per mile for round-trip travel from the witness’s home to the place of attendance.9California Legislative Information. California Code GOV 68093 For a deposition subpoena that requires personal attendance (SUBP-015 or SUBP-020), the noticing party can pay the fee either at the time of service or when the witness shows up.10California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 2020.230 For a trial subpoena (SUBP-001 or SUBP-002), the safer practice is to tender fees at the time of service, because a witness who gets no fees can argue the subpoena is unenforceable.
Minimum Lead Times
Each form has a floor on how far out the appearance or production can be scheduled. Miss it and the subpoena is defective.
- Deposition subpoena for personal appearance (SUBP-015, SUBP-020): the deposition must be at least 10 days after service of the notice.11California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure CCP 2025.270
- Deposition subpoena for business records (SUBP-010): the compliance date must be no earlier than 20 days after the subpoena is issued or 15 days after it is served, whichever is later.12California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure CCP 2020.410
- Consumer or employment records: the deposition must be at least 20 days after issuance of the subpoena, to account for the notice obligations above.11California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure CCP 2025.270
Add days if you are mailing the consumer or employee notice; California adds time for mailing under Code of Civil Procedure section 1013. Counting backward from the production date and building in a buffer prevents most timing problems.
Filing the Proof of Service
After service, the person who delivered the subpoena completes a proof of service. The Judicial Council forms include a proof of service section on the form itself. The server fills in the date, time, and location of service, confirms how the subpoena was delivered, and notes whether witness fees were tendered. The server signs under penalty of perjury, and the completed form is filed with the court clerk together with the original subpoena.
This filing is what gives the subpoena teeth. Without a filed proof of service, the court has no basis to hold a non-compliant witness in contempt. If you served notice on a consumer or employee under CCP 1985.3 or 1985.6, file that proof of service too.
How a Subpoena Can Be Challenged
A properly served subpoena is not the end of the matter. California lets several categories of people ask the court to quash or modify it. The court can throw it out, narrow it, impose protective orders, or set conditions for compliance. The standard is whether the subpoena is unreasonable or oppressive, including unreasonable invasions of privacy.13California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 1987.1
Who can file a motion to quash:
- Any party to the lawsuit
- The subpoenaed witness
- A consumer whose personal records are targeted under CCP 1985.3
- An employee whose employment records are targeted under CCP 1985.6
- A person whose identifying information is sought in a case involving their free-speech rights
Common grounds are attorney-client privilege, overbreadth, undue burden, and privacy. A consumer or non-party employee has a lighter alternative to a court motion: serve a written objection on the subpoenaing party, the records custodian, and the deposition officer before the production date. That objection blocks production until the subpoenaing party obtains a court order compelling it.6California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 1985.3
Penalties for Ignoring a Subpoena
A witness who disobeys a properly served subpoena can be held in contempt by the issuing court, which carries the possibility of fines and jail until the witness complies. For deposition subpoenas, the court does not have to first issue a separate order to comply; the subpoena itself is the order.14Justia Law. California Code of Civil Procedure 1985-1997
A witness who fails to appear also forfeits $500 to the party who issued the subpoena, plus any actual damages caused by the no-show. If a bench warrant issues and the witness still fails to appear after being released on a promise to do so, the court can add a civil assessment of up to $1,000.14Justia Law. California Code of Civil Procedure 1985-1997
None of this applies if the subpoena was defective to begin with. A witness who was never properly served, never received the required fees, or whose records were subpoenaed without the required consumer or employee notice has a built-in answer to any contempt motion. That is why the form, notice, service, and fee pieces all have to line up.