Michigan subpoena form MC 11, titled “Subpoena, Order to Appear and/or Produce,” is the standardized SCAO form used to compel a witness to testify, produce documents, or both in a Michigan state court case. To make it enforceable, you have to fill in the caption exactly as the court file reads, specify the command clearly, get it signed by an attorney of record or the clerk, and then have a non-party adult personally serve it with the required witness fee and mileage within the advance-notice window Michigan rules require.
Download the current version from the Michigan Courts website or pick one up at the clerk’s office. The current revision is Rev. 10/24, and using an outdated version can create problems.1Michigan Courts. SCAO Form MC 11 – Subpoena, Order to Appear and/or Produce The same form covers civil and criminal cases and works for trial testimony, hearings, depositions, and document production.2Michigan Courts. Michigan Criminal Benchbook – Subpoenas
Filling Out MC 11
The Caption
Every field at the top of the form has to match the court file. Enter the judicial circuit or district, the county, the case number, and the assigned judge. List the plaintiff (or petitioner) and defendant (or respondent) with their full names as they appear in the record.1Michigan Courts. SCAO Form MC 11 – Subpoena, Order to Appear and/or Produce A misspelled name or a wrong case number gives the recipient a reason to challenge the subpoena.
The Witness and the Command
In the “TO:” field, print the full name and address of the person being subpoenaed. The form has numbered checkboxes for the specific action: appear and testify, produce documents, testify at a deposition, or appear for a debtor’s examination. You can check more than one.
If you check the production box, describe what you want with real specificity. “All financial records” won’t hold up. “Bank statements from First National Bank for the period January 2024 through December 2025” tells the recipient exactly what to pull. Enter the date, time, and location for the appearance or the deadline for production.
Signing Authority
The subpoena has to be signed by an attorney of record or the clerk of the court.2Michigan Courts. Michigan Criminal Benchbook – Subpoenas Self-represented parties take the completed form to the clerk. Debtor’s examination subpoenas under MCL 600.6110 and subpoenas tied to injunctions require a judge’s signature instead of the clerk’s.
Serving the Subpoena
Who Can Serve It
Any legally competent adult who is not a party to the case and is not an officer of a corporate party can serve a Michigan subpoena anywhere in the state. That covers professional process servers, the sheriff’s office, or any uninvolved adult over 18. You cannot serve it yourself if you’re a party.
Method and Advance Notice
Personal service, meaning physically handing the subpoena to the named person, is the standard. Michigan Court Rule 2.506(G) authorizes service anywhere in the state using the personal service methods in MCR 2.105.
How far in advance the subpoena must be served depends on what it demands:
- Testimony only: at least 2 days before the appearance date.
- Document production: at least 14 days before the compliance deadline.
- Nonparty depositions: at least 14 days.
These are floors. Serving earlier is safer, and a court can adjust the timeline by order.
Proof of Service
After delivery, the server completes a proof of service showing the date, time, location, and method, plus the name of the person served. File it with the court clerk. Without a filed proof of service, the court has no record the witness ever received the subpoena, and enforcement gets much harder if the witness fails to appear.
Serving a Business
When the target is a corporation, LLC, or other entity, service goes to the company’s registered agent. Michigan-registered entities must designate an agent authorized to accept legal documents, and you can look up the current agent through the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) business entity search.
Witness Fees and Mileage: The Step That Makes It Enforceable
A Michigan subpoena isn’t properly served unless the required witness fee and mileage are tendered at the time of delivery. Skip this, and the witness has no legal obligation to comply.
Under MCL 600.2552, the attendance fee for a witness in a court of record is $12.00 for a full day and $6.00 for a half day.3Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws Section 600.2552 – Witness Fees; Traveling Expenses The witness must also be reimbursed for round-trip travel from home to the place of appearance at the mileage rate used for Michigan state employees. For fiscal year 2026, that rate is $0.70 per mile (premium) or $0.47 per mile (standard).4Michigan DTMB. Michigan State Travel Rates FY2026 Confirm the applicable rate with the clerk before you calculate.
Cash, money order, cashier’s check, or a check drawn on the attorney of record’s account are all acceptable. Handing over the fee at the moment of service is what converts the paper into a binding obligation.
If You Receive a Subpoena and Want to Push Back
Receiving a subpoena doesn’t leave you without options. MCR 2.506(H) allows both the subpoenaed person and any party to challenge one. The standard tool is a motion to quash or modify, filed with the court before the compliance deadline, with a copy served on the nonparty witness. Filing the motion pauses the obligation to comply until the court rules.2Michigan Courts. Michigan Criminal Benchbook – Subpoenas The court can excuse the witness or narrow what the subpoena requires.
Grounds that commonly succeed:
- Undue burden — the volume of documents or the cost of complying is unreasonable.
- Privilege — attorney-client, doctor-patient, spousal, or the Fifth Amendment.
- Defective service — improper delivery, no witness fee, or insufficient advance notice.
- Overbreadth — the request is vague or sweeping rather than targeted.
For a document subpoena, the witness can also serve written objections on the issuing party before the compliance date. Timely written objections stay the production obligation until the court rules on a motion to compel.2Michigan Courts. Michigan Criminal Benchbook – Subpoenas Act before the deadline. Ignoring the subpoena is where the real problems begin.
What Happens If a Witness Ignores It
A properly served subpoena carries the force of a court order. Courts enforce them through the contempt power in MCR 2.506(E).2Michigan Courts. Michigan Criminal Benchbook – Subpoenas Under MCL 600.1701, a Michigan court can punish by fine, imprisonment, or both any subpoenaed person who refuses or neglects to appear, be sworn, or answer proper questions.5Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws Section 600.1701
If a witness appears but refuses to testify or answer without reasonable cause, MCL 600.1725 authorizes the officer who issued the subpoena to commit the witness to county jail by warrant, where the witness stays until they cooperate or are discharged.6Michigan Courts. Michigan Contempt Benchbook – Failure of Witness to Appear or Testify A judge can also issue a bench warrant for a no-show, authorizing law enforcement to arrest the witness and bring them in.
When the Witness Is Out of State
A Michigan state court subpoena has no force outside Michigan. To reach a witness in another state, use the Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act (UIDDA), which Michigan adopted in 2013 at MCL 600.2201 and following sections.7Michigan Courts. Michigan Civil Benchbook – Foreign Subpoenas You take your Michigan subpoena (the “foreign subpoena”) to the clerk in the county and state where the witness lives, along with a locally completed form and any filing fee. The local clerk reissues it under that state’s authority, and it’s served under that state’s rules. The reverse works for out-of-state parties who need a Michigan witness.
Most states have adopted the UIDDA, but not all. If the witness lives in a non-UIDDA state, you’ll usually need to file a miscellaneous action in that state’s courts, which typically means hiring local counsel.
Federal Cases Use a Different Form
If your case is in the Eastern or Western District of Michigan, MC 11 doesn’t apply. Federal subpoenas are governed by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45 and issued on federal AO 88 or AO 88A. The federal form must include the text of Rule 45(d) and (e), and a deposition subpoena must state how testimony will be recorded. Federal subpoenas also carry a geographic limit that Michigan state subpoenas don’t: attendance can generally be compelled only within 100 miles of where the person lives, works, or regularly transacts business, or anywhere in the state if the person is a party or a party’s officer.8Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 45 – Subpoena Plan around the 100-mile limit early if your witness is far from the courthouse.