Subpoenas in Tennessee compel a person to testify, produce records, or both, and the rules that govern them differ depending on whether the case is civil or criminal. Tennessee subpoena rules live in two places: Rule 45 of the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure controls civil subpoenas, and Rule 17 of the Tennessee Rules of Criminal Procedure controls criminal ones. Ignoring a properly served subpoena can bring a contempt fine of up to $50 and up to 10 days in jail in circuit, chancery, and appellate courts, and the damage to your case or your wallet can go well beyond that.
The Two Kinds of Subpoenas
A subpoena ad testificandum orders a person to show up and give testimony at a trial, hearing, or deposition. A subpoena duces tecum orders someone to produce documents, records, or other tangible items. In criminal proceedings, Rule 17 specifically allows a subpoena to order production of “books, papers, documents, or other objects,” and the court can require those items to be brought in before trial so both sides can inspect them.
A single subpoena can do both jobs: command a witness to appear and bring specific records. When documents or digital evidence are the real target, though, a standalone duces tecum subpoena directed at the records custodian is more common. Either type can be quashed or narrowed if compliance would be unreasonable or oppressive.
Who Can Issue One
In civil cases, any attorney of record can issue a subpoena without asking a judge first. The clerk provides the form, the attorney fills it in, and it is ready to serve. Self-represented parties generally have to request one through the clerk’s office. Tennessee Code § 24-2-107 confirms that Rule 45 governs subpoena issuance in civil cases and overrides any conflicting local court rules.1Justia. Tennessee Code 24-2-107 – Subpoenas – Conflicts with Rules of Civil Procedure
In criminal cases, the clerk signs the subpoena but leaves the substantive fields blank. The party requesting it fills in the witness name, the court, the date, and any documents requested before serving it. Prosecutors, defense attorneys, and defendants representing themselves can all request criminal subpoenas. A defendant who cannot afford witness fees may ask the court ex parte to order the subpoena, and the state then covers the costs the same way it pays for its own witnesses.2Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts. Rule 17 – Subpoenas
How a Subpoena Must Be Served
A subpoena has no legal force until it is properly served. In both civil and criminal cases, Tennessee requires that the subpoena be delivered or offered to the person it names. Any person authorized to serve process in Tennessee can handle it, including sheriffs, constables, and private process servers. The witness can also acknowledge service in writing directly on the subpoena, which eliminates the need for formal delivery.3Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts. Rule 45.03 – Service
Criminal subpoenas give the server one additional option: leaving a copy with an adult who lives at the witness’s usual residence. Civil Rule 45.03 does not explicitly authorize substitute service at a residence or service by certified mail. For a civil subpoena, personal delivery to the witness is the safest approach. A criminal subpoena may be served anywhere within Tennessee.2Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts. Rule 17 – Subpoenas
For corporate entities or organizations, service is typically made on an officer, managing agent, or registered agent authorized to accept legal documents. When you are subpoenaing records from a hospital, bank, or other large institution, directing the subpoena to the records custodian or legal department is usually faster.
How to Challenge a Subpoena
Getting a subpoena does not mean you have to comply as written. Tennessee gives recipients several ways to push back.
Motion to Quash or Modify
In civil cases, the recipient files a motion to quash or modify under Rule 45. Courts will grant it if the subpoena is overly broad, unduly burdensome, or demands privileged or protected information. In criminal cases, Rule 17(d)(2) requires the motion to be filed promptly, and no later than the date the subpoena sets for compliance. The court can quash or modify the subpoena if compliance would be unreasonable or oppressive, and it can condition denial on the requesting party paying the reasonable cost of production.2Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts. Rule 17 – Subpoenas
If the deadline feels impossible, file the motion promptly rather than ignoring the date. Courts are far more sympathetic to someone who raises the problem early than to someone who simply fails to show up.
Privilege and Work Product Claims
When a subpoena calls for documents protected by attorney-client privilege, the work product doctrine, or another recognized privilege, you are not required to hand them over. But you must identify the withheld materials in enough detail that the requesting party can evaluate the claim, without revealing the protected content itself. In practice, that means a log listing each withheld document by date, author, recipients, general subject, and the specific privilege claimed. Skipping the log can lead a court to order production anyway.
Medical, Financial, and Other Sensitive Records
Subpoenas aimed at healthcare or banking records trigger federal privacy rules on top of Tennessee’s procedure.
HIPAA and Medical Records
A healthcare provider covered by HIPAA cannot simply turn over patient records in response to a civil subpoena. Before disclosing, the provider must have evidence that reasonable efforts were made either to notify the patient so they have a chance to object, or to obtain a qualified protective order from the court.4HHS.gov. Court Orders and Subpoenas A court order that specifically directs disclosure satisfies HIPAA on its own; a bare subpoena does not. If you are the one requesting medical records, building in the required notice or protective order at the outset prevents later delays.
Bank and Financial Records
Banks and other financial institutions operate under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act’s Privacy Rule, which generally restricts disclosure of customer data. Responding to a subpoena falls within a recognized exception, so the institution can comply without violating GLB. Customers have no right to opt out of disclosures made under this exception.5Federal Trade Commission. How To Comply with the Privacy of Consumer Financial Information Rule of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act Institutions can still object on scope or burden grounds.
Witness Fees and Cost Shifting
Tennessee law entitles subpoenaed witnesses to a small attendance fee and travel reimbursement. The statutory daily attendance fee under Title 24, Chapter 4 is modest. The requesting party is generally responsible for tendering the fee and mileage at the time of service or shortly after. In criminal cases where the defendant cannot afford these costs, the court can order the state to cover them.2Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts. Rule 17 – Subpoenas
For non-party document production, the cost calculation flips. A non-party facing significant expense or undue burden in assembling records can ask the court to shift some or all of those costs to the requesting party. Courts weigh factors like the non-party’s stake in the case, each side’s ability to absorb the expense, and whether the requesting party made any effort to narrow the request. Time spent on privilege review, HIPAA compliance, and preparing the production typically qualifies. Legal fees for filing objections generally do not.
Out-of-State Subpoenas
Tennessee has adopted the Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act at Tennessee Code § 24-9-201 through § 24-9-207. Under the UIDDA, a party holding a subpoena from the court where the case is pending presents that foreign subpoena to the clerk of court in the Tennessee county where the discovery will happen. The clerk then issues a local Tennessee subpoena that incorporates the terms of the original. The local subpoena must comply with Tennessee’s rules for service, objections, and enforcement.
Submitting the foreign subpoena to a Tennessee clerk does not count as a court appearance, so the out-of-state attorney does not need a Tennessee law license just to request it. If a dispute arises and someone has to appear in court to enforce, quash, or modify the Tennessee subpoena, Tennessee-licensed counsel is required at that point.
Criminal cases are different. Out-of-state witnesses in criminal proceedings are handled under the Uniform Act to Secure the Attendance of Witnesses from Without a State in Criminal Proceedings, which typically requires a court order from the originating state and a corresponding order from a Tennessee court.
What Happens If You Ignore a Subpoena
Courts take subpoena enforcement seriously because the discovery process depends on it. If a witness or records custodian ignores a properly served subpoena, the requesting party can file a motion to compel. When the court grants that motion, it sets a new deadline and puts the non-compliant party on notice that further defiance will escalate.
Contempt of Court
The most direct penalty is contempt. Tennessee Code § 29-9-102 authorizes courts to hold anyone in contempt for willfully disobeying a lawful court process, which includes subpoenas.6Justia Law. Tennessee Code 29-9-102 – Scope of Power Under § 29-9-103, the penalty is a fine of up to $50 and imprisonment of up to 10 days in circuit, chancery, and appellate courts. Other courts are capped at a $10 fine.7Justia Law. Tennessee Code 29-9-103 – Punishment Those dollar amounts sound low, but contempt fines can be imposed repeatedly, and the real leverage is the court’s power to jail someone until they comply. In criminal cases, a bench warrant for the witness’s arrest is also available.
Sanctions in the Underlying Case
Non-compliance can also wreck your position in the case itself. Courts can strike pleadings, bar evidence, dismiss claims, or enter default judgment against a party that refuses to produce evidence. Those sanctions often hurt worse than any fine because they can decide the outcome. For a non-party, the stakes look different but still bite: repeated defiance leads to escalating contempt sanctions and potential liability for the other side’s attorney fees incurred in forcing compliance.
Attorney Fees
In federal court proceedings in Tennessee, the fee-shifting rule is explicit. When a motion to compel is granted, the court must order the non-compliant party or their attorney to pay the requesting party’s reasonable expenses, including attorney fees, unless the non-compliance was substantially justified or an award would be unjust.8Cornell Law School | Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 37 – Failure to Make Disclosures or to Cooperate in Discovery; Sanctions Tennessee state courts have similar discretion to award expenses when compelling compliance, and the prospect of paying the other side’s legal bills adds a practical reason to respond on time even when the statutory contempt fine is small.