Witness Fees in California: Rates, Payment, and Exceptions

Witness fees in California are set by statute: $35 per day plus $0.20 per mile of round-trip travel in civil superior court cases, and $12 per day in criminal cases, with a possible substitute payment of up to $18 per day for lost wages. In civil matters the party that issued the subpoena pays. In criminal matters the county pays, and only when the court orders it.

Civil Case Rate

Government Code 68093 fixes compensation for anyone legally required to attend a civil proceeding in superior court at $35 for each day of actual attendance, plus $0.20 per mile traveled both ways between home and the courthouse.¹ The flat $35 applies whether you are on the stand for ten minutes or the full day.

The mileage figure catches people off guard. At $0.20 per mile, a 30-mile round trip comes to $6.00. That is a statutory number, not a reimbursement of actual driving costs, and it has not kept pace with them.

The party who issued the subpoena pays. If plaintiff’s counsel called you, the plaintiff’s side owes you. If the defense called you, the defense owes you. This is not optional. It is a precondition for a valid subpoena.

Criminal Case Rate

Criminal cases run on a different statute and lower numbers. Penal Code 1329 lets the court order fees of $12 per day of actual attendance, plus a reasonable sum for necessary expenses.² Unlike the civil fee, this one is not automatic. The court has to issue an order directing the county auditor to pay.

The same statute offers a modest lost-wage alternative. If you are employed and your employer does not pay you for the time you miss testifying, the court may authorize payment equal to your gross daily salary, capped at $18 per day. You cannot collect both. It is the $12 attendance fee or the lost-wage payment, not both.²

Criminal witness fees are a county charge. The court orders the county auditor to issue a warrant drawn on the county treasury, so neither the prosecution nor the defense pays an ordinary lay witness out of pocket.

When You Should Receive Payment

A California subpoena carries a financial obligation that must be satisfied upfront. Witness fees and mileage are payable in advance, which means the summoning party should tender at least the basic daily fee and estimated travel costs when the subpoena is served.³

For a civil case, the minimum is $35 plus estimated mileage at $0.20 per mile round trip. If a subpoena arrives without that tender, the witness has grounds to refuse to appear, and the court can quash the subpoena. If testimony runs longer than expected or additional travel costs come up, you can ask the party that issued the subpoena for further reimbursement, and the court can order payment and impose sanctions if they refuse.

Peace Officer Subpoenas

Subpoenaing a law enforcement officer to testify in a civil case costs more. Instead of $35, the party issuing the subpoena has to tender $150 per day to the person accepting service on behalf of the officer.⁴ That $150 is an advance deposit, not the final bill.

The subpoenaing party ultimately reimburses the public entity — the city, county, or state agency employing the officer — for the full cost of the officer’s salary and travel for each day of required attendance. If the real cost comes in under $150, the balance is refunded. If it runs higher, the party pays the difference.⁴ The officer does not personally pocket any extra witness fee. The money goes to the employing agency.

Government Code 68097.1 governs service. Two copies of the subpoena can be delivered to the officer’s immediate superior or a designated agent at the employing agency rather than to the officer personally. This covers peace officers, sheriff’s deputies, district attorney investigators, firefighters, city police officers, and certain state employees testifying about matters they investigated on the job.

Expert Witnesses Are Different

If you are being called as an expert, none of the $35 or $12 figures apply to you. Expert compensation is not capped by statute. The party that wants to depose an expert must pay that expert’s reasonable and customary hourly or daily fee for the entire time at the deposition, counted from the noticed time or the expert’s arrival (whichever is later) until dismissal.⁵ It applies whether or not every party present actually asks the expert questions.

A deposing party who thinks the rate is unreasonable can file a motion asking the court to set the fee. The court weighs the expert’s qualifications, typical rates in the field, and the complexity of the subject. Expert rates in California routinely run several hundred dollars per hour for physicians and forensic specialists, though no specific number is prescribed by statute.

Non-payment has an immediate consequence. Under CCP 2034.460, if the deposing party fails to tender the expert’s fee, the deposition simply cannot proceed unless the parties agree otherwise.⁵

Keeping Your Job While You Testify

California law prohibits employers from firing, demoting, suspending, or otherwise retaliating against an employee who takes time off to comply with a subpoena or court order to appear as a witness in any judicial proceeding.⁶ The protection also extends to crime victims appearing in court.

An employee who faces retaliation for testifying can seek reinstatement, reimbursement of lost wages, and recovery of work benefits lost because of the employer’s actions, either by filing a complaint with the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement or by going to court.⁶

One practical point about pay. The statute lets employees use accrued vacation, personal leave, or compensatory time for a witness appearance. California does not require employers to pay employees for time spent testifying, so unless your employer voluntarily covers it or a collective bargaining agreement does, you may need to burn paid time off or go unpaid. With witness fees capped at $35 in civil cases and $12 to $18 in criminal cases, the gap between what you earn at work and what you collect as a witness can be large.

Are Witness Fees Taxable?

Yes. The IRS treats attendance fees and travel reimbursements paid to witnesses as reportable income, and when total payments to a witness reach the applicable threshold during a calendar year, the paying party has to issue a Form 1099-MISC.⁷

The reporting threshold for most categories on Form 1099-MISC is $600 in a calendar year.⁸ At the civil witness rate of $35 per day, you would need to testify in a very large number of proceedings in a single year to cross that line. Expert witnesses collecting hundreds or thousands of dollars per engagement will typically receive a 1099-MISC from each party that pays them above the threshold. Witness fees should be reported as “other income” on your federal return, and unreimbursed expenses directly related to your testimony may be deductible.

Federal Court Subpoenas Are Separate

If your subpoena comes from a federal court sitting in California rather than a state court, the numbers change. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1821, witnesses in federal proceedings receive $40 per day of attendance.⁹

Federal mileage reimbursement for witnesses who drive is based on the rate set under 5 U.S.C. § 5704 for official government travel, which is typically higher than California’s $0.20 per mile. Witnesses who have to stay overnight because the courthouse is too far from home to commute receive a subsistence allowance for lodging and meals, capped at the GSA per diem rate for federal employees in that area.⁹

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45 requires the person serving a subpoena to tender one day’s attendance fee plus mileage at the time of service, similar to California’s advance payment rule. One exception: no advance fee tender is required when the subpoena is issued on behalf of the United States government.¹⁰

1
California Legislative Information. California Government Code 68093 (2025)
2
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code PEN 1329
3
Cornell Law School. Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 8, 340.48 – Subpoenas and Subpoenas Duces Tecum – Witness Fees
4
Legal Information Institute. Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 8, 382 – Witness Fees
5
Justia. California Code of Civil Procedure 2034.410 – 2034.470
6
California Legislative Information. California Labor Code 230 (2025)
7
Internal Revenue Service. 25.5.9 Fees and Costs for Summoned Witnesses
8
Internal Revenue Service. About Form 1099-MISC, Miscellaneous Information
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S. Code 1821 – Per Diem and Mileage Generally; Subsistence
10
Legal Information Institute (LII) / Cornell Law School. Rule 45. Subpoena