Subpoenas in Civil Cases
A subpoena is a document a party in a lawsuit can use to require a person to:
- testify at a trial, hearing, or deposition to answer questions under oath
- produce or bring documents or other items to a hearing
- provide copies of documents or electronically stored information
- allow inspection of a place
A subpoena must be signed by a court clerk, a Vermont magistrate, or a Vermont attorney before it is served. An unrepresented party must have a court clerk sign a subpoena.
Subpoenas can be complicated. See the Finding Legal Help web page for information about ways to get legal help.
Subpoenas in civil cases are governed by Vermont Rule of Civil Procedure 45. (choose Vermont Court Rules from the box at the right, then scroll down to Rules of Civil Procedure)
- Print a blank subpoena form found at the bottom of this web page, or go to a courthouse to ask for the form.
- Take the blank form to the court handling your case for a court employee to sign. If you are represented by an attorney, your attorney can sign the subpoena.
- Once the form is signed, fill it out to describe what you want the person receiving the subpoena to do, such as come to a hearing or give you copies of documents.
- Make copies. You will need copies for:
- for the person you are subpoenaing,
- for the other parties in the case, and
- for your records.
- Have a copy of the subpoena delivered in person to the person you are subpoenaing.
You may not serve the subpoena yourself. Anyone else over 18 and who is not a party in the case may deliver the subpoena. They must fill out the Return of Service section of the form and sign it.
If the subpoena requires the person to attend a hearing, you must pay them the witness fee and mileage reimbursement. The witness fee and mileage reimbursement must be paid at the same time the subpoena is served on the witness.
- Serve a copy of the subpoena to the other parties in the case before or at the same time as serving the subpoenaed person.
If the subpoenaed person is a witness, you also have the option of serving the other parties after the witness is served.
The person who served the subpoena must fill out the Return of Service section of the original form. The completed subpoena form must then be filed with the court.
After a subpoena is served, the person being subpoenaed must usually do what it says. However, if the person has good reason to object to the subpoena, they may file a “motion to quash” with the court and send a copy to all parties to the case.
If the subpoena is asking them to produce documents or allow an inspection, instead of filing a motion they can within 14 days send the party who issued the subpoena a written objection to the request. The person who issued the subpoena can then file a motion asking the court to decide whether the subpoena should be enforced. Ignoring a subpoena can lead to sanctions from the court, including potential arrest.
A foreign subpoena is a subpoena from a court case in a state other than Vermont. A subpoena for a Massachusetts case, for example, is a foreign subpoena in Vermont.
These are the steps to ask the court to issue a subpoena in connection with a non-Vermont case:
- File these documents in the county in which discovery is sought to be conducted:
- A cover letter explaining your request for a subpoena in connection to a non-Vermont case.
- The foreign subpoena.
- A Vermont Civil Subpoena (form 100-00501), with all applicable information filled in.
- A list of all attorneys or unrepresented parties in the foreign case, their addresses, and phone numbers.
- Pay the $295 filing fee, or fill out the Application to Waive Filing Fees and Service Costs (form 600-00228) to ask to waive the fee.
- A judge will review the documents and determine whether the requirements have been met.
- If the requirements have been met, the court will issue the subpoena.
- The requesting party is responsible for serving the subpoena and paying the witness fee (if applicable).
- The subject of the subpoena may object by following the procedures specified in Vermont Rule of Civil Procedure 45(f)(3)(B) (choose Vermont Court Rules from the box at the right, then scroll down to Rules of Civil Procedure).
The Vermont civil subpoena form can be found at the bottom of this web page.
The process to ask a Vermont court to issue a civil subpoena in connection with a non-Vermont case is governed by Vermont Rule of Civil Procedure 45(f). (choose Vermont Court Rules from the box at the right, then scroll down to Rules of Civil Procedure).
There is no fee to ask for a subpoena in a Vermont case.
There is a $295 fee to ask the court to issue a foreign subpoena (for a non-Vermont case).
If you are asking someone to appear at a hearing, you must pay them a witness fee and mileage reimbursement for the cost of their travel to and from the hearing.
The witness fee and mileage reimbursement must be paid at the same time the subpoena is served on the witness.