A subpoena is enforceable only if served the way the Code of Civil Procedure requires: for a witness, personal delivery with the fee offered on demand. StrikeServe assigns a California registered process server to deliver the subpoena, tender the fee you provide, complete the proof of service section on the form, and return it to your dashboard with a GPS-timestamped record of each attempt.
Upload the issued subpoena and attachments, enter the witness or custodian address, and pick a speed. The flat price is the same statewide.
California uses different Judicial Council subpoena forms depending on what you need and when. Give the server the issued form and any attachments.
Orders a non-party witness to appear and testify at trial or a hearing.
Appear at trial or hearing and bring specified documents, ESI or things; includes a declaration.
Directed to a records custodian; production for copying, no testimony.
Orders a non-party to appear and testify at a deposition.
Appear at a deposition and bring specified documents or things.
Consumer and employee records subpoenas carry additional notices; include them so the server delivers the complete set.
Code of Civil Procedure section 1987(a) states that a subpoena may be served by any person, and that service is made by delivering a copy to the witness personally. The server need not be registered, but must sign the proof and, if challenged, describe the delivery; law firms use registered servers because the proof carries a registration number.
Section 1987(a) also requires service far enough ahead to give the witness a reasonable time for preparation and travel; Rush and Same-Day tiers exist so a subpoena issued this week can still be delivered with that time to spare.
Three flat tiers, the same price in all 58 California counties. Every tier includes up to three attempts and a court-formatted proof of service.
First attempt within 5–7 business days. For trial and deposition subpoenas issued well ahead of the date, and most records subpoenas to custodians.
First attempt within 2–3 business days. For subpoenas issued a week or two before the deposition or hearing.
Order by noon; first attempt the same day. For a witness who must be served today, or a custodian whose production date is fixed and close.
File-stamped papers, blank response forms, the service address and any notes.
Routine, Rush or Same-Day. Flat price, up to three attempts. Same-Day orders must be placed by noon.
Each attempt appears on your timeline with GPS coordinates and a timestamp.
Court-formatted, signed under penalty of perjury, or a Declaration of Non-Service if service fails.
Ready when you are. Upload the packet to start.
Under section 1987(a), the server must give or offer the witness, at the time of service and if demanded, the fees for one day's attendance and for travel to and from the place designated. Government Code section 68093 sets those fees in civil superior court matters at $35 per day plus mileage actually traveled, both ways, at $0.20 per mile. Fees are the client's cost: provide a check payable to the witness with your order, and the server records on the proof whether fees were demanded and paid.
A business-records deposition subpoena on SUBP-010 must set a production date no earlier than 20 days after issuance or 15 days after service under Code of Civil Procedure section 2020.410(c), and is directed to the custodian of records or another person qualified to certify them. Appearance subpoenas must allow reasonable time to prepare and travel. The tier controls when the first attempt happens, not when the subpoena becomes enforceable.
A records subpoena to a hospital, bank or employer is delivered to the custodian of records or a subpoena desk during business hours, and the server records who accepted. A subpoena to an individual witness must reach that person; leaving it with a receptionist or family member does not satisfy section 1987(a).
Each Judicial Council subpoena form has its own proof of service section. The server completes it with the date, time and address of delivery, the person served, whether fees were demanded and paid, and the server's name, address, telephone and registration details, then signs under penalty of perjury.
Subpoenas in criminal cases are governed by Penal Code section 1328 rather than the Code of Civil Procedure. Service is still by personal delivery, and the defendant may not serve a subpoena in their own case. Note the case type on your order.
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