Subpoena Template, Free Download 2026

TO: [Name of Person/Custodian of Records], [Address]: YOU ARE HEREBY COMMANDED, pursuant to [Rule 45 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure / applicable state subpoena statute] and the authority of the [United States District Court for the ____________ District of ____________ / ____________ Court of the State of ____________], in the matter of [Case Name], Case No. [____________], to [appear and testify at a deposition to be held on [____________] at [____________] a.m./p.m. at the offices of [____________] located at [____________] / produce and permit inspection and copying of the documents and electronically stored information described in the attached Exhibit A at [____________] on [____________] by [____________] a.m./p.m.]. Failure to comply with this Subpoena may subject you to the penalties described herein.

If you are commanded to appear and testify, you are required to appear in person at the time and place specified, to be examined under oath by counsel of record, and to bring with you all documents, electronically stored information, and tangible things identified in any attached Exhibit A. If you are an organization, you are required to designate one or more officers, directors, managing agents, or other persons who consent to testify on your behalf concerning the matters described in the attached Schedule of Topics, and to state, for each person designated, the matters on which that person will testify. The deposition will be recorded by [stenographic / videographic / audiovisual] means.

For purposes of this Subpoena, the following definitions apply: (a) "Document" means any writing, recording, or photograph as defined in Rule 1001 of the Federal Rules of Evidence, and includes electronically stored information ("ESI") in any format in which it is ordinarily maintained or can be reasonably translated, including emails, text messages, instant messages, social media communications, databases, spreadsheets, and metadata; (b) "You" and "Your" mean the person or entity to whom this Subpoena is directed, including all agents, employees, representatives, and attorneys acting on your behalf; (c) "Concerning" means relating to, referring to, reflecting, describing, evidencing, or constituting.

The documents and testimony requested in this Subpoena are relevant to the claims and defenses in the above-captioned action and are proportional to the needs of the case considering the importance of the issues at stake, the parties' relative access to relevant information, the parties' resources, and the importance of the discovery in resolving the issues. Each request shall be construed to include all documents and ESI within your actual or constructive possession, custody, or control, including documents and ESI held by your agents, attorneys, accountants, or any other person or entity acting on your behalf. Documents shall be produced in the order in which they are maintained in the ordinary course of business and shall not be shuffled, rearranged, or separated from any file folder or other organizational unit in which they are ordinarily maintained.

You may object to any request in this Subpoena by serving written objections on the issuing party's counsel at the address below no later than [____] days before the compliance date, or by the date specified in [Rule 45(d)(2)(B) / applicable state rule] if earlier. Objections must state with specificity all grounds for objection; general or boilerplate objections are improper and shall be deemed waived. If you timely serve objections, you must still comply with any non-objected-to portions of this Subpoena and must identify any documents withheld on the basis of privilege or work product protection in a privilege log served concurrently with your objections, identifying for each withheld document: the date, author, recipients, general subject matter, and the privilege(s) asserted.

You are advised that you have the right to retain counsel and to seek a court order quashing or modifying this Subpoena if compliance would require disclosure of privileged or protected material and no exception or waiver applies, would subject you to undue burden, would require disclosure of an unretained expert's opinion or information that does not describe specific occurrences in dispute and results from that expert's study that was not requested by a party, would require disclosure of a trade secret or other confidential research, development, or commercial information, would require a person to travel more than 100 miles from where that person resides, is employed, or regularly transacts business in person (except within the state), or if the Subpoena otherwise fails to comply with the requirements of [Rule 45 / applicable state rule]. Any motion to quash or modify must be filed before the compliance date or within [____] days of service of this Subpoena.

TEXT OF FEDERAL RULE OF CIVIL PROCEDURE 45(d), SET OUT AS REQUIRED BY FED. R. CIV. P. 45(a)(1)(A)(iv). Rule 45(d), Protecting a Person Subject to a Subpoena; Enforcement. (1) Avoiding Undue Burden or Expense; Sanctions. A party or attorney responsible for issuing and serving a subpoena must take reasonable steps to avoid imposing undue burden or expense on a person subject to the subpoena. The court for the district where compliance is required must enforce this duty and impose an appropriate sanction, which may include lost earnings and reasonable attorney's fees, on a party or attorney who fails to comply. (2) Command to Produce Materials or Permit Inspection. (A) Appearance Not Required. A person commanded to produce documents, electronically stored information, or tangible things, or to permit the inspection of premises, need not appear in person at the place of production or inspection unless also commanded to appear for a deposition, hearing, or trial. (B) Objections. A person commanded to produce documents or tangible things or to permit inspection may serve on the party or attorney designated in the subpoena a written objection to inspecting, copying, testing or sampling any or all of the materials or to inspecting the premises, or to producing electronically stored information in the form or forms requested. The objection must be served before the earlier of the time specified for compliance or 14 days after the subpoena is served. If an objection is made, the following rules apply: (i) At any time, on notice to the commanded person, the serving party may move the court for the district where compliance is required for an order compelling production or inspection. (ii) These acts may be required only as directed in the order, and the order must protect a person who is neither a party nor a party's officer from significant expense resulting from compliance. (3) Quashing or Modifying a Subpoena. (A) When Required. On timely motion, the court for the district where compliance is required must quash or modify a subpoena that: (i) fails to allow a reasonable time to comply; (ii) requires a person to comply beyond the geographical limits specified in Rule 45(c); (iii) requires disclosure of privileged or other protected matter, if no exception or waiver applies; or (iv) subjects a person to undue burden. (B) When Permitted. To protect a person subject to or affected by a subpoena, the court for the district where compliance is required may, on motion, quash or modify the subpoena if it requires: (i) disclosing a trade secret or other confidential research, development, or commercial information; or (ii) disclosing an unretained expert's opinion or information that does not describe specific occurrences in dispute and results from the expert's study that was not requested by a party. (C) Specifying Conditions as an Alternative. In the circumstances described in Rule 45(d)(3)(B), the court may, instead of quashing or modifying a subpoena, order appearance or production under specified conditions if the serving party: (i) shows a substantial need for the testimony or material that cannot be otherwise met without undue hardship; and (ii) ensures that the subpoenaed person will be reasonably compensated.

TEXT OF FEDERAL RULE OF CIVIL PROCEDURE 45(e), SET OUT AS REQUIRED BY FED. R. CIV. P. 45(a)(1)(A)(iv). Rule 45(e), Duties in Responding to a Subpoena. (1) Producing Documents or Electronically Stored Information. These procedures apply to producing documents or electronically stored information: (A) Documents. A person responding to a subpoena to produce documents must produce them as they are kept in the ordinary course of business or must organize and label them to correspond to the categories in the demand. (B) Form for Producing Electronically Stored Information Not Specified. If a subpoena does not specify a form for producing electronically stored information, the person responding must produce it in a form or forms in which it is ordinarily maintained or in a reasonably usable form or forms. (C) Electronically Stored Information Produced in Only One Form. The person responding need not produce the same electronically stored information in more than one form. (D) Inaccessible Electronically Stored Information. The person responding need not provide discovery of electronically stored information from sources that the person identifies as not reasonably accessible because of undue burden or cost. On motion to compel discovery or for a protective order, the person responding must show that the information is not reasonably accessible because of undue burden or cost. If that showing is made, the court may nonetheless order discovery from such sources if the requesting party shows good cause, considering the limitations of Rule 26(b)(2)(C). The court may specify conditions for the discovery. (2) Claiming Privilege or Protection. (A) Information Withheld. A person withholding subpoenaed information under a claim that it is privileged or subject to protection as trial-preparation material must: (i) expressly make the claim; and (ii) describe the nature of the withheld documents, communications, or tangible things in a manner that, without revealing information itself privileged or protected, will enable the parties to assess the claim. (B) Information Produced. If information produced in response to a subpoena is subject to a claim of privilege or of protection as trial-preparation material, the person making the claim may notify any party that received the information of the claim and the basis for it. After being notified, a party must promptly return, sequester, or destroy the specified information and any copies it has; must not use or disclose the information until the claim is resolved; must take reasonable steps to retrieve the information if the party disclosed it before being notified; and may promptly present the information under seal to the court for the district where compliance is required for a determination of the claim. The person who produced the information must preserve the information until the claim is resolved.

[If this Subpoena is issued under state law rather than the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, set out or attach here the text of any rule or statute that the governing state requires to accompany a subpoena, and strike the two preceding paragraphs if the governing state does not apply Rule 45: ____________.] The text of the governing rule controls over any summary or description of it in this Subpoena, and nothing in this Subpoena limits any right, protection, or objection that the rule affords you.

FAILURE TO OBEY THIS SUBPOENA WITHOUT ADEQUATE EXCUSE MAY SUBJECT YOU TO CONTEMPT OF COURT. The court issuing this Subpoena may hold in contempt any person who, having been served, fails without adequate excuse to obey the Subpoena or an order related to it. Contempt sanctions may include a fine, imprisonment, or both. In addition, the issuing party may seek an order compelling compliance, and the court may award reasonable attorneys' fees to the issuing party if it determines that your non-compliance was without adequate justification.