Under the Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act, a foreign subpoena is submitted in the parish where discovery is sought, and the clerk of court issues a local one. It requires no local attorney. Served 123 LLC handles the steps to domesticate a subpoena in Louisiana.
What to Send Us
Every Louisiana Order Includes
Skip tracing is available if the address turns out to be bad.
Every Louisiana Parish
Served 123 LLC works with the clerk of court in each of Louisiana’s 64 parishes, and the clerk’s fee is in your quote. In Orleans Parish, that office is the Civil District Court’s civil clerk. The parish finder places a city or ZIP in its parish, and the clerk directory lists the address.
Records Follow Article 1354
A records subpoena goes through the same parish clerk and must reproduce Article 1354 in full. Unless ordered to appear, the witness may designate a representative and produce copies. Medical records from a provider follow R.S. 13:3715.1.
Louisiana Subpoena Domestication Order
Our quote covers document preparation, the clerk’s fee and service if ordered.
R.S. 13:3825 runs through the parish clerk, and service then follows Article 1355 of the Code of Civil Procedure. These four stops take a subpoena from another state’s court to a witness in Louisiana.
The foreign subpoena and the draft Louisiana subpoena go to the clerk of court of the parish where discovery is sought; your quote says how they get there.
The clerk promptly issues the Louisiana subpoena under that court’s procedure, with no judge involved.
We handle getting the subpoena to the sheriff, with the sheriff’s charge in your quote, and our server serves the witness if Article 1355(B) opens service to a private person.
When our server serves, we handle the signed, “notarized return” and send it to you; Article 1355(B) has a private server’s return filed with the issuing clerk.
Article 1354(B) sets the time for a person served with a subpoena duces tecum to send written objections, and an earlier compliance date in the subpoena shortens it. Enter the service date to count the last day under Article 5059.
Here is the text of R.S. 13:3825, the Louisiana Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act, on presenting the foreign subpoena, what the clerk does, what the Louisiana subpoena contains, how it is served, which rules govern and which court hears an application.
To request issuance of a subpoena under this Section, a party must present the original or a certified copy of a foreign subpoena to the clerk of court of the parish in which discovery is sought to be conducted in this state. A request for the issuance of a subpoena under this Section does not constitute an appearance in the courts of this state.
When a party presents a foreign subpoena to a clerk of court in this state, the clerk, in accordance with that court’s procedure, shall promptly issue a subpoena for service upon the person to which the foreign subpoena is directed.
A subpoena issued under Paragraph (2) of this Subsection must: (a) Identify the caption and case number of the out-of-state case to which it relates and incorporate the terms used in the foreign subpoena. (b) State the name of the court in this state which has issued it with an identifying number. (c) Contain or be accompanied by the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of all counsel of record in the proceeding to which the subpoena relates and of any party not represented by counsel.
Served 123 LLC prepares the Louisiana subpoena with each item Paragraph (3) requires before it goes to the clerk.
Get a Free Quote Online →A subpoena issued by a clerk of court under Subsection C of this Section must be served in compliance with the laws of this state, including Article 1355 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
The Code of Civil Procedure and any other laws or district court rules of this state governing a deposition, production of documents or other tangible items, or an inspection of premises apply to discovery under Subsection C of this Section.
An application to a court of this state for a protective order or for an order enforcing, quashing, or modifying a subpoena issued by a clerk of court under Subsection C of this Section must comply with the district court rules, the Code of Civil Procedure, and the Rules of Professional Conduct of this state and be submitted to the district court that issued the subpoena.
No reported Louisiana appellate decision has yet interpreted R.S. 13:3825.
Official texts: R.S. 13:3825, 13:3824, 13:841, 13:3661, 13:3663, 13:3715.1, 1:55; La. C.E. art. 902; 45 C.F.R. 164.512; C.C.P. arts. 253, 1261, 1292, 1293, 1354, 1355, 1356, 1426, 1436, 1437, 1463, 5059; Acts 2014, No. 793. General information, not legal advice. The official text controls.
Served 123 LLC prepares the Louisiana subpoena under R.S. 13:3825 and has it served under C.C.P. art. 1355.
Get a Free Quote Online →Subsection D sends service to the laws of Louisiana, including Article 1355. These cards cover the sheriff and the private server, delivery, timing, notice, the return, protective orders, witness fees and the deposit, and reach. For a citation or other court papers, see process service in Louisiana.
Article 1355(B) reads: “Except as otherwise provided by law, when the sheriff has not made service of a subpoena within five days after its receipt or when a return has been made certifying that the sheriff has been unable to make service, any person over the age of majority, not a party and residing within the state, may make service of the subpoena in the same manner as is required by the sheriff.” The five days skip Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays.
C.C.P. arts. 1355(B), 5059(C); R.S. 1:55(E)(3)Article 1355(A) reads: “Except as provided in Paragraph B of this Article, a subpoena shall be served and a return thereon made in the same manner and with the same effect as a service of and return on a citation.” For a company, Article 1261 adds: “Service of citation or other process on a domestic or foreign corporation is made by personal service on any one of its agents for service of process.”
C.C.P. arts. 1355(A), 1261Article 1356(B) reads: “Subpoenas and subpoenas duces tecum compelling the appearance of a witness who is not a party shall be served within a reasonable period of time before the time specified for the deposition.” The article gives no number of days, and Subsection E of the Act applies the Code of Civil Procedure to discovery under it. Article 1437 adds: “The attendance of witnesses may be compelled by the use of subpoena as for witnesses in trials.”
C.C.P. arts. 1356(B), 1437The Louisiana subpoena carries the contact details of all counsel of record and of any party without counsel. A subpoena duces tecum for a nonparty’s documents adds Article 1463(B): “A reasonable notice of the intended inspection, specifying date, time, and place shall be served on all other parties and shall specify that the other parties may attend and participate in the inspection and copying of the things to be produced.”
C.C.P. art. 1463(B)A sheriff endorses “the date, place, and method of service” on a copy, signs it and returns it to the issuing clerk. A private server’s proof under Article 1355(B) is stricter: “Proof of service by a private person shall be made by filing with the clerk of the court by which the subpoena is issued a notarized return showing the title of the action and the name of the court issuing it, the date and manner of service, and the name of the person served, signed by the person who made the service.” That return is part of our service: we handle it and send it to you.
C.C.P. arts. 1292, 1355(B)Article 1293(A) reads: “When the sheriff has not made service within ten days after receipt of the process or when a return has been made certifying that the sheriff has been unable to make service, whichever is earlier, on motion of a party the court shall appoint a person over the age of majority, not a party and residing within the state whom the court deems qualified to perform the duties required, to make service of process in the same manner as is required of sheriffs.” Where an appointment is needed, we tell you at intake and give the steps to have our server appointed.
C.C.P. art. 1293(A)Subsection F names the issuing district court. Article 1426(A) states the standard: “Upon motion by a party or by the person from whom discovery is sought or to whom a subpoena is issued, and for good cause shown, the court in which the action is pending or alternatively, on matters relating to a deposition or subpoena, the court in the district where the deposition is to be taken or by which the subpoena is issued may make any order that justice requires to protect a party or person from annoyance, embarrassment, oppression, or undue burden or expense, including one or more of the following:” The article then lists those orders.
C.C.P. art. 1426(A); R.S. 13:3825(F)R.S. 13:3663(A) reads: “Any person not a party to a civil action who is subpoenaed and appears for deposition or whose deposition is taken shall receive the same fees and mileage as if subpoenaed for attendance as a witness at a trial or hearing in a civil action pending in the district court.” Subsection B adds: “The expense of such fees and mileage shall be paid by the party subpoenaing the witness for deposition or causing the deposition to be taken and shall be considered as costs of court.” Subsection C reads: “The provisions of this Section shall not apply to expert witnesses, whose compensation shall be as otherwise provided by law.” The section does not say when the fee is paid.
R.S. 13:3663R.S. 13:3661(B) reads: “Witnesses who are subpoenaed to attend a trial or hearing shall be paid their travel expenses to and from the courthouse at a rate equal to the rate in effect for state officials and an attendance fee of fifty dollars for each day that the witness is required to appear in court.” Subsection C adds: “No witness shall be subpoenaed to attend a trial or hearing unless the party who desires the testimony of the witness has deposited with the clerk of court the estimated attendance fee and travel expenses.” After the witness appears, the clerk pays the fee and travel expenses from that deposit. Neither R.S. 13:3661 nor R.S. 13:3663 says whether that deposit reaches a deposition subpoena.
R.S. 13:3661(B)–(D)For a deposition, the limit is the parish. Article 1436 reads: “A witness who is a resident of this state may be required to attend an examination to take his deposition only in the parish in which he resides or is employed or transacts his business in person, or at such other convenient place as may be fixed by order of court. A witness who is a nonresident of this state, but is temporarily in this state, may be required to attend an examination to take his deposition only in the parish where he is served with a subpoena or at such other convenient place as may be fixed by order of court.” A trial or hearing reaches statewide under R.S. 13:3661(A), for witnesses who live or work in Louisiana.
C.C.P. art. 1436; R.S. 13:3661(A)Served 123 LLC handles the sheriff step, the service and any fee the witness is owed, then sends you the signed return, and our server’s is the “notarized return.”
Get a Free Quote Online →These cards cover a Louisiana subpoena duces tecum: who may appear, copies in place of originals, how records are organized, written objections, the separate statute for medical records and the federal HIPAA rule.
Under Article 1354(A): “If the party or attorney requesting the subpoena does not specify that the named person shall be ordered to appear, the person may designate another person having knowledge of the contents of the books, papers, documents, other things, or electronically stored information, to appear as his representative.” Article 1354(A) also says: “Except when otherwise required by order of the court, certified copies, extracts, or copies of books, papers, and documents may be produced in obedience to the subpoena duces tecum instead of the originals thereof.”
C.C.P. art. 1354(A)Article 1354(B) reads: “A person commanded to respond to a subpoena duces tecum may within fifteen days after service of the subpoena or before the time specified for compliance, if such time is less than fifteen days after service, send to the party or attorney designated in the subpoena written objections, with supporting reasons, to any or all of the requests, including objection to the production of electronically stored information in the form or forms requested.” The requesting side “may file a motion to compel compliance with the subpoena and may move for sanctions for failure to reasonably comply.”
C.C.P. art. 1354(B)Article 1354(C) reads: “A person responding to a subpoena to produce books, papers, or documents shall produce them as they are kept in the usual course of business or may organize and label them to correspond with the categories in the demand.” Article 1354(D) covers electronic records: “If a subpoena does not specify the form or forms for producing electronically stored information, a person responding to a subpoena may produce the information in a form or forms in which the person ordinarily maintains it or in a form or forms that are reasonably useable.” Article 1354(E) adds: “A person responding to a subpoena need not produce the same electronically stored information in more than one form.”
C.C.P. art. 1354(C)–(E)La. C.E. art. 902(11) reads: “In criminal cases, the original or a copy of a record of a regularly conducted business activity that meets the requirements of Article 803(6), as shown by a certification of the custodian or another qualified person, and that complies with Louisiana law, including R.S. 13:3733 through 3733.2, or a rule prescribed by the Louisiana Supreme Court. Before the trial or hearing, the proponent shall give an adverse party reasonable written notice of the intent to offer the record and shall make the record and certification available for inspection so that the party has a fair opportunity to challenge it.” The paragraph is written for criminal cases; have counsel confirm any use in a civil matter.
La. C.E. art. 902(11)R.S. 13:3715.1(B) opens: “The exclusive method by which medical, hospital, or other records relating to a person’s medical treatment, history, or condition may be obtained or disclosed by a health care provider, shall be pursuant to and in accordance with the provisions of R.S. 40:1165.1 or Code of Evidence Article 510, or a lawful subpoena or court order obtained in the following manner:” Paragraph (1) reads: “A health care provider shall disclose records of a patient who is a party to litigation pursuant to a subpoena issued in that litigation, whether for purposes of deposition or for trial and whether issued in a civil, criminal, workers’ compensation, or other proceeding, but only if the health care provider has received an affidavit of the party or the party’s attorney at whose request the subpoena has been issued that attests to the fact that such subpoena is for the records of a party to the litigation and that notice of the subpoena has been mailed by registered or certified mail or delivered by commercial courier as defined in Code of Civil Procedure Article 1313(D) to the patient whose records are sought, or, if represented, to his counsel of record, at least seven days prior to the issuance of the subpoena; and the subpoena is served on the health care provider at least seven days prior to the date on which the records are to be disclosed, and the health care provider has not received a copy of a petition or motion indicating that the patient has taken legal action to restrain the release of the records.” Paragraph (1) closes: “If the requesting party is the patient or, if represented, the attorney for the patient, the affidavit shall state that the patient authorizes the release of the records pursuant to the subpoena. No such subpoena shall be issued by any clerk unless the required affidavit is included with the request.”
R.S. 13:3715.1(B)(1)A subpoena for protected health information also meets the federal privacy rule, which binds the covered entity holding the records. Without a court order, 45 C.F.R. 164.512(e)(1)(ii) turns on satisfactory assurance from the party seeking the information “that reasonable efforts have been made by such party to ensure that the individual who is the subject of the protected health information that has been requested has been given notice of the request” or “that reasonable efforts have been made by such party to secure a qualified protective order that meets the requirements of paragraph (e)(1)(v) of this section.” For notice, paragraph (iii) asks for “a written statement and accompanying documentation demonstrating that”: “The party requesting such information has made a good faith attempt to provide written notice to the individual (or, if the individual’s location is unknown, to mail a notice to the individual’s last known address)”; “The notice included sufficient information about the litigation or proceeding in which the protected health information is requested to permit the individual to raise an objection to the court or administrative tribunal”; and “The time for the individual to raise objections to the court or administrative tribunal has elapsed”, with either “No objections were filed” or “All objections filed by the individual have been resolved by the court or the administrative tribunal and the disclosures being sought are consistent with such resolution.” Paragraph (vi) excuses that assurance “if the covered entity makes reasonable efforts to provide notice to the individual sufficient to meet the requirements of paragraph (e)(1)(iii) of this section or to seek a qualified protective order sufficient to meet the requirements of paragraph (e)(1)(v) of this section.”
45 C.F.R. 164.512(e)(1)Paragraph (2) reads: “Any attorney requesting medical records of a patient, who is not a party to the litigation in which the records are being sought may obtain the records by written authorization of the patient whose records are being sought or if no such authorization is given, by court order, as provided in Paragraph (5) of this Subsection.” Paragraph (5) allows that order “only: after a contradictory hearing with the patient, or, if represented, with his counsel of record, or, if deceased, with those persons identified in Paragraph (3) of this Subsection, and after a finding by the court that the release of the requested information is proper; or with consent of the patient.” The section’s substance-abuse limit turns on whether a court order or subpoena “meets the criteria set forth in 42 CFR 2.61, 2.64, or 2.65.”
R.S. 13:3715.1(B)(2), (5)On production, the section says “it shall be sufficient compliance therewith if the health care provider delivers by registered or certified mail, at least forty-eight hours prior to the date upon which production is due, or delivers by hand on the date upon which production is due a true and correct copy of all records described in such subpoena”. Subsection E adds: “The records shall be accompanied by the certificate of the health care provider or other qualified witness, stating in substance each of the following:” that the copy is a true copy and that the records were prepared in the ordinary course of business. The legislature’s page adds: “NOTE: This provision of law was included in the Unconstitutional Statutes Biennial Report to the Legislature, dated March 14, 2016.” Have counsel confirm what that note reaches.
R.S. 13:3715.1Served 123 LLC prepares and serves a Louisiana subpoena that commands production of records.
Get a Free Quote Online →Each of these points comes from the statutes or the official comments to Act 793.
Before service, we check the papers we prepare against the statutes and raise anything that needs your input. A motion comes later; we tell you which district court hears it.
Search or pick the parish where discovery will take place to see which clerk of court issues the Louisiana subpoena there, then start a quote; the directory below lists the office in all 64 parishes.
The Louisiana Secretary of State clerk of court directory lists each parish clerk.
How Texas, Arkansas and Mississippi handle a foreign subpoena beside Louisiana’s R.S. 13:3825: the governing law, whether a local attorney is required and who issues the subpoena, each taken from that state’s own text. The word Check marks a state whose filing rules leave the local-attorney question open.
| State | Act Adopted | Local Attorney Required by the Act | Who Issues |
|---|---|---|---|
| Louisiana | R.S. 13:3825 (Acts 2014, No. 793) | No | Clerk of court, discovery parish |
| Texas | Tex. R. Civ. P. 201.3 (2025) | Check | District or county clerk, discovery county |
| Arkansas | Ark. R. Civ. P. 45.1 (2017 Ark. 356, eff. 2018) | No | Circuit clerk, discovery county |
| Mississippi | Miss. Code Ann. §§ 11-59-1 to 11-59-15 (S.B. 2264, 2011); M.R.C.P. 45 | No | Clerk of court, discovery county |
Each answer cites the Louisiana statute, article or official source behind it. For questions that apply in every state, see our Subpoena Domestication FAQ. General information, not legal advice.
Under R.S. 13:3825(C), the original or a certified copy of the foreign subpoena goes to the clerk of the discovery parish, and the official comments add a draft Louisiana subpoena. The clerk issues the Louisiana subpoena promptly, and service then follows C.C.P. art. 1355. The four stops are above.
Enacted by Acts 2014, No. 793 and effective August 1, 2014, R.S. 13:3825 lets a party to a case elsewhere obtain a Louisiana subpoena from a parish clerk without a court order. Testimony, documents and inspection of premises all fall within its definition of a subpoena, and the text is quoted above.
Yes. Issuance takes no local counsel under the Act’s official comments, and the request itself is no appearance in Louisiana’s courts. A later motion differs: a lawyer applying to enforce, quash or modify must meet the rules for lawyers appearing there.
No. R.S. 13:3825(C) has the clerk for the place of the discovery issue the subpoena under that court’s own procedure, so nobody needs a signature from a Louisiana judge. The official comments say why, and the parish finder shows which parish a city or ZIP falls in.
No. R.S. 13:3825(C)(1) admits only two forms of the paper, and a photocopy is neither of them. The statute card names both in the Act’s own words, and stop one of the route shows this paper traveling with the draft Louisiana subpoena to the parish clerk.
No. The statute defines a foreign jurisdiction as a state, and its definition of state stops at the states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and U.S. territories and possessions. The official comments exclude foreign countries, and R.S. 13:3824(A)(2) gives those proceedings a court-order or letter-rogatory route, as the Act’s text shows.
Not clearly. Since 2026, Article 253(B) has narrowed how attorneys file, while keeping mail or courier for listed originals. The article never names a foreign subpoena and R.S. 13:3825 never mentions mail, so a mailed request stays unsettled; the Article 253 text is quoted above. What to Send Us covers getting the original there.
A person over the age of majority who is not a party and lives in Louisiana, under Code of Civil Procedure art. 1355(B). That person may step in five days after the sheriff’s receipt without service, not counting weekends or legal holidays, or once a return says the sheriff could not serve. The private server card quotes it, and it names no motion or order for the step.
Yes. Article 1355(A) has it served, and returned, in the same manner and with the same effect as a citation, and Subsection D of the Act keeps service under Louisiana law, including that article. A corporation is reached through personal service on one of its agents for service of process, as the delivery card quotes.
A deposition is limited by parish. Under Code of Civil Procedure art. 1436, a Louisiana resident can be made to attend only where they live, work or do business in person, and a nonresident passing through only where served, unless the court fixes another convenient place. For a trial or hearing, R.S. 13:3661(A) sets a different limit. The reach card gives the text of Article 1436 in full.
It depends on who served. A sheriff’s return goes on a copy of the subpoena, back to the issuing clerk. Code of Civil Procedure art. 1355(B) asks more of a private server: a “notarized return,” filed with that clerk and signed by the server. The return card quotes what each must show.
Yes, when a nonparty is commanded to produce. Code of Civil Procedure art. 1463(B) requires reasonable notice of the inspection, with its date, time and place, on all other parties, who may attend and take part. Separately, the Louisiana subpoena itself must carry the list of counsel and unrepresented parties, with addresses and telephone numbers.
Yes, the Act’s comments leave that door open: “Any party can move for an order in the foreign state” to bar a Louisiana deposition, and that can happen “before the subpoena is ever presented to the clerk of court in this state.” The Louisiana side is on the protective orders card.
Fifteen days after service, or until the compliance time if that is sooner, under Code of Civil Procedure art. 1354(B). The objections are written, carry reasons and go where the subpoena designates. The date calculator counts the period and moves a last day that lands on a Louisiana legal holiday.
Under Article 1354(B), the party serving the subpoena may file a motion to compel compliance and may also move for sanctions for failure to reasonably comply, as the objections card quotes. Under the Act, that motion goes to the district court that issued the subpoena, and a lawyer on it must follow the rules for lawyers appearing there.
A nonparty deposition witness gets the same fees and mileage as a trial or hearing witness under R.S. 13:3663, experts excepted, paid by the party taking the deposition. R.S. 13:3661(B) sets fifty dollars for each day required in court, plus travel at the rate for state officials. The fee card quotes it. Your quote states any fee the witness is owed, and we advance it.
No, unless a court orders otherwise. Code of Civil Procedure art. 1354(A) allows certified copies, extracts or copies in place of originals, and Article 1354(C) has the responder produce records as kept in the usual course of business, or organized and labeled to match the demand. The records cards cover designating a representative too.
Yes, in the manner R.S. 13:3715.1(B) sets; it also names R.S. 40:1165.1 and Code of Evidence art. 510. A party-patient’s records need an affidavit of seven days’ notice before any clerk may issue. Outside the case, the door is the patient’s written authorization or, failing that, a Paragraph (5) order. The legislature’s page carries a note on the section, shown in the note card.
It varies by parish. R.S. 13:841(A) lists capped charges, and neither that section nor the Act says which items a foreign subpoena draws. The fee card quotes the text. Whatever the parish clerk charges for this step is already built into your one written quote.
R.S. 13:3825(C)(2) says promptly and sets no number of days. The clerk works under that court’s own procedure, so timing can differ from parish to parish. Once the sheriff receives it, the sheriff has five days, counted under Article 5059, before a private server may step in, unless a return says the sheriff could not serve, and the route shows where that falls.
No number of days applies: Code of Civil Procedure art. 1356(B) says only a reasonable period. The sheriff’s five days run inside that period, so a date set close to service leaves little room. Medical records carry their own seven-day periods. The timing card quotes the article. Put your compliance date on the form and your quote states the last day for service.
C.C.P. art. 5059 leaves out the event day, counts the last day, and carries a last day on a legal holiday to the next day that is not one. A period under seven days skips Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays (art. 5059(C)(3); R.S. 1:55(E)(3)). Mardi Gras is a clerk holiday in the parishes R.S. 1:55(E)(1)(a)(iii) lists, and a parish governing authority may declare it; the calculator shows both dates.
One written quote covers document preparation, the clerk’s fee and service, when you order service.
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