Under the Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act, a foreign subpoena is submitted in the county where discovery occurs, and the circuit clerk issues it. It requires no local attorney. Served 123 LLC handles the steps to domesticate a subpoena in Maryland.
What to Send Us
Every Maryland Order Includes
Skip tracing is available if the address turns out to be bad.
Every Maryland County and Baltimore City
Served 123 LLC handles all 23 counties and Baltimore City. The place of discovery, not the witness’s home, decides the clerk (see the clerk directory). Baltimore City has its own clerk: note the discovery address under Special Instructions.
The Sworn Statement in the Request
Since June 1, 2023, a request carries a sworn statement on legally protected health care, unless a listed exception applies. Flag any health-care subject in your order so the statement fits. We prepare it.
Maryland Subpoena Domestication Order
Our quote covers document preparation, the clerk’s fee and service if ordered.
Six stops run from the out-of-state case to a witness in Maryland. Section 9-402 sets the court and the clerk’s duty; Rule 2-510.1 is the deposition route, and Rule 2-422.1 covers an inspection of land or property.
A party submits the foreign subpoena to the clerk of the circuit court for the county in which discovery is sought; Baltimore City has its own clerk, apart from Baltimore County.
The Judiciary’s request form doubles as the written undertaking; the foreign party and any out-of-state lawyer sign it, with no Maryland attorney number asked for.
Since June 1, 2023 the request includes a statement signed under penalty of perjury by the party or its counsel unless the out-of-state proceeding fits the statute’s conditions.
Names, addresses and telephone numbers of all counsel of record and of any unrepresented party go with the subpoena.
The clerk promptly issues a uniform Maryland subpoena that incorporates the foreign terms, with no court order or hearing called for by the Act.
When service is ordered, our server delivers it under Rule 2-510; the subpoena cannot be served after day 60.
A person served with a deposition subpoena that also commands documents can answer with a written objection, and Rule 2-510.1(g) sets the clock: that person “may file, within ten days after service of the subpoena, an objection to production of any or all of the designated materials.” Rule 1-203(a) does the counting.
An objection to an inspection under Rule 2-422.1 runs 30 days and is not counted here. If a date is close, ask counsel.
A planning aid, not legal advice: it cannot know a day the President or the Governor designates, a clerk’s office closed under Rule 1-203(a)(2), or a court order setting another time. Holidays here are those Rule 1-202 takes from State Personnel and Pensions § 9-201, each on its stated day, with Congress’s days under 5 U.S.C. § 6103(a) and the general election under Election Law § 8-301.
Maryland’s Act is short, and the Rules of Procedure do the detailed work. The cards below cover where the subpoena goes, what comes with it, what the clerk must do and which court hears a dispute.
To request issuance of a subpoena under this section, a party shall submit a foreign subpoena to a clerk of the circuit court for the county in which discovery is sought to be conducted in this State.
The request under subparagraph (i) of this paragraph shall include a sworn, written statement signed under penalty of perjury by the party seeking enforcement, or the party’s counsel, that no portion of the subpoena is intended or anticipated to further any investigation or proceeding related to legally protected health care, unless the out–of–state proceeding is: 1. Based in tort, contract, or statute; 2. A claim for which a similar or equivalent claim would exist in the State; and 3. A. Brought by the patient who received legally protected health care, or the patient’s legal representative; or B. Based on conduct that would be prohibited under the laws of this State.
A request for the issuance of a subpoena under this subtitle does not constitute an appearance in the courts of this State.
When a party submits 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.
The request shall be accompanied by the foreign subpoena and a written undertaking in a form approved by the State Court Administrator, signed by the foreign party and the party’s foreign attorney, if any, by which the party and the party’s foreign attorney submit to the jurisdiction of the circuit court for the purpose of adjudicating discovery disputes, motions to quash, enforcement of the subpoena, and discovery sanctions.
Rule 2‑510.1(c)
A subpoena issued by a clerk of court under § 9–402 of this subtitle shall be served in compliance with Maryland Rule 2–510.
Title 2, Chapter 400 of the Maryland Rules and Maryland Rule 2–510 apply to subpoenas issued under § 9–402 of this subtitle.
No reported Maryland appellate decision has yet interpreted §§ 9-401 to 9-407 or Rules 2-510.1 and 2-422.1; their own text governs the request, the clerk’s issuance and any dispute, which § 9-405 sends to the discovery county’s circuit court.
Official texts: Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 9-402, § 9-403, § 9-404, § 9-405 and § 9-407; Rules Order of Dec. 13, 2016 (Rules 2-510.1, 2-422.1), Rules Order of Apr. 9, 2018 and Rules Order of Dec. 7, 2015 (Rule 2-412), Rules Order on the 186th Report (Rule 1-203) and Rules Order of Sept. 30, 2022 (Rule 1-202); State Personnel and Pensions § 9-201; Election Law § 8-301; 5 U.S.C. § 6103; Health-General § 4-306; 45 C.F.R. § 164.512. General information, not legal advice. The official text controls.
Served 123 LLC prepares the request form and the sworn statement for your signature and gets the Maryland subpoena issued by the circuit court clerk.
Get a Free Quote Online →Section 9-403 ties service to Rule 2-510, and Rule 2-510.1 restates it for a foreign subpoena. These cards cover delivery, who may serve, the 60-day limit, witness fees, proof, the place of attendance, notice to parties, the objection clocks and motions. For a summons or other court papers, see process service in Maryland.
Section 9-403 sends service to Rule 2-510, and Rule 2-510.1(f) repeats its terms: delivery of a copy “to the person named or to an agent authorized by appointment or by law to receive service for the person named or as permitted by Rule 2-121 (a)(3).”
§ 9-403; Rule 2-510.1(f)The rule accepts “a sheriff of any county” or “any person who is not a party and who is not less than 18 years of age.” It asks for no court appointment, and a party to the case cannot serve it, whatever the party’s age.
Rule 2-510.1(f)“A person may not serve or attempt to serve a subpoena more than 60 days after its issuance.” The Committee note lets the deposition be held later, “provided that the subpoena is served within the 60-day period,” and adds that a missed window “does not preclude the issuance of a new subpoena.”
Rule 2-510.1(e)–(f); Committee note2005 Md. Laws ch. 192 (HB 49) repealed the provisions for witness fees and mileage in State civil and criminal cases, and Rule 2-510.1 sets none. Nothing there closes the point for a foreign subpoena, so it is checked on each order. We advance any tender owed; your quote shows it.
2005 Md. Laws ch. 192Rules 2-510.1 and 2-422.1 do not themselves mention a filed return for the witness’s copy. Whether an issuing clerk expects one is left open by those rules, so each order we serve comes back with a signed proof of service from the person who made the delivery, ready for your file or any filing your case calls for.
Rules 2-510.1(f), 2-422.1(e)Section 9-404 reaches Rule 2-413, quoted in Attorney Grievance Comm’n v. Mixter (Md. 2015). A resident nonparty attends “only in the county in which the person resides or is employed or engaged in business,” a nonresident in the county of service or within 40 miles of the place of service; the court can fix another convenient place by order.
§ 9-404; Rule 2-413(a)Rule 2-510.1 lists no prior step. Rule 2-412(a), reached through § 9-404, requires notice of a deposition upon oral examination at least ten days before it, and your side serves that notice. An inspection subpoena differs: before service, “the party on whose behalf the subpoena is issued shall serve a copy of it on each other party in the manner provided by Rule 1-321 and file with the court a certificate of service attesting to the fact of service on the other parties.”
§ 9-404; Rules 2-412(a), 2-422.1(e)60 days after issuance to serve. At least 10 days before a deposition for the subpoena; at least 30 days if documents or tangible things are to be produced there. 10 days after service to object to production at a deposition. 15 days after the deposition for the serving party’s motion to compel. 45 days before an inspection, the last day to serve; 30 days after service to object to one.
Rules 2-412(a), (c), 2-510.1(f)–(g), 2-422.1(e)–(f)The person served, or “a person named or depicted in an item specified in the subpoena,” may object in writing, with reasons, within the 10-day window on the card above. The serving party then gets the materials only under “an order of the Maryland court from which the subpoena was issued.”
Rule 2-510.1(g)Section 9-405 places an application to enforce, quash or modify in “the circuit court for the county in which discovery is to be conducted.” The form’s undertaking puts the foreign party and any foreign attorney before that court, and Rule 2-510.1(g) gives a deponent Rule 2-403 protective orders.
§ 9-405; Rule 2-510.1(c), (g)Rule 2-510.1(i) puts this on the requesting side: “A party or an attorney responsible for the issuance and service of a subpoena shall take reasonable steps to avoid imposing undue burden or cost on a person subject to the subpoena.”
Rule 2-510.1(i)An inspection subpoena has its own next step under Rule 2-422.1: “If the requested discovery is refused or within 15 days after an objection is served, the requesting party may file a motion to compel entry.”
Rule 2-422.1(f)(2)(A)Served 123 LLC times service to your date against the 60-day ceiling and returns signed proof once it is served.
Get a Free Quote Online →Maryland splits this three ways: production at a deposition under Rule 2-510.1, entry on land or property under Rule 2-422.1, and an unsettled question for documents alone. These cards also cover the health-care sworn statement, Health-General § 4-306, HIPAA’s 45 C.F.R. § 164.512(e) and the limits of Rule 5-902(b). Send a documents-only subpoena and your written quote says how it can go.
Rule 2-510.1(j) lets a subpoena compel a witness to “produce and permit inspection, copying, testing, or sampling” of documents, electronically stored information or tangible things “at a deposition to the extent permitted by Rule 2-402 (a).” It “may not be used for any other purpose.” The next card takes up a request with no deposition.
Rule 2-510.1(a), (j)This one is unsettled. Rule 2-510.1 is tied to a deposition, and Rule 2-422.1, the route for discovery without one, speaks of “designated land or property.” Neither rule, the Committee note nor the request form says whether documents count as property, and the form has no documents-only box, so send it and your written quote says how it can go.
Rules 2-510.1(a), 2-422.1(a); request formA custodian produces documents or information “as they are kept in the usual course of business or shall organize and label the documents or information to correspond with the categories in the subpoena”; a custodian must “produce electronically stored information in the form specified in the subpoena or, if a form is not specified, in the form in which the person ordinarily maintains it or in a form that is reasonably usable.”
Rule 2-510.1(h)(1)Section 9-402(a)(2)(ii) puts it in the request, signed under penalty of perjury by the party or counsel, unless the out-of-state proceeding meets the conditions quoted in the rules section above. The request form, dated 07/2021, does not carry it. “Legally protected health care” takes its meaning from § 2–312 of the State Personnel and Pensions Article. Tell us in your order if the matter touches health care.
§ 9-402(a)(1)–(2)Under Rule 5-902(b), testimony of authenticity is not required for a regularly conducted business record “within the scope of Rule 5-803 (b)(6) that has been certified pursuant to subsection (b)(2) of this Rule, provided that at least ten days prior to the commencement of the proceeding in which the record will be offered into evidence,” “the proponent (i) notifies the adverse party of the proponent’s intention to authenticate the record under this subsection and (ii) makes a copy of the certificate and record available to the adverse party” and that party has not filed, “within five days after service of the proponent’s notice,” a written objection on trustworthiness grounds. The court hearing your case sets what it admits.
Md. Rule 5-902(b)A Rule 2-422.1 subpoena must describe the land or property with reasonable particularity, state the controversy and the relevancy of the proposed acts, “specify a reasonable time and manner of entering and performing the proposed acts” and “contain or be accompanied by a description of the good faith attempts made by the party to reach agreement and with the person to whom the subpoena is directed concerning the entry and proposed acts.” It also carries a written undertaking to “pay for all damages arising out of the entry and performance of the proposed acts” plus a notice of the right to object. On leased property, service reaches any record owner and any occupant or person in possession or control.
Rule 2-422.1(d)–(e)Under Health-General § 4-306(b)(6), a provider discloses on compulsory process on a written assurance, proof the court waived service for good cause, or an order “expressly authorizing disclosure.” The assurance says no person in interest objected “within 30 days after the notice was sent” (15 in a child-in-need-of-assistance case), or that objections “have been resolved” and the request follows the resolution.
Health-Gen. § 4-306(b)(6)(i)For that assurance the requester sends the subpoena, the section and the statutory notice to the person in interest by certified mail and first-class mail at least 30 days before the records are to be disclosed. Mental health records carry the extra limits of § 4-307, which the same subsection names. Build that 30-day mailing into the production date you give us, so the notice goes out well before it.
Health-Gen. § 4-306(b)(6)A clerk-issued subpoena comes without a court order. 45 C.F.R. § 164.512(e)(1)(ii) then asks for satisfactory assurance of either reasonable efforts to give the individual notice or reasonable efforts to secure a qualified protective order. The notice-assurance and protective-order cards quote what each assurance must show. Rule 2-510.1 cross-references the regulation.
45 C.F.R. § 164.512(e)(1)(ii)Rule 2-510.1(f) flags Financial Institutions Article § 1-304 for additional requirements on certain subpoenas, and it sits beside the health article in the cross reference. A subpoena that section reaches is checked against it before it goes out for service, so say in your order when a bank or other financial institution holds the records, and name the institution.
Rule 2-510.1(f), cross referenceParagraph (e)(1)(iii) asks the requester to show three things on the notice route: “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, and:” “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.”
45 C.F.R. § 164.512(e)(1)(iii)Paragraph (e)(1)(iv) accepts either showing: “The parties to the dispute giving rise to the request for information have agreed to a qualified protective order and have presented it to the court or administrative tribunal with jurisdiction over the dispute; or” “The party seeking the protected health information has requested a qualified protective order from such court or administrative tribunal.” Under (e)(1)(v), the order or stipulation: “Prohibits the parties from using or disclosing the protected health information for any purpose other than the litigation or proceeding for which such information was requested; and” “Requires the return to the covered entity or destruction of the protected health information (including all copies made) at the end of the litigation or proceeding.”
45 C.F.R. § 164.512(e)(1)(iv)–(v)Served 123 LLC reviews a records or inspection subpoena before the request, then handles issuance and service.
Get a Free Quote Online →These are the Maryland-specific errors that stall a foreign subpoena, from the clerk’s counter to the witness’s door.
Search or pick the place of discovery to see which clerk issues there, then start a quote. Baltimore goes to the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, Rockville and Gaithersburg to the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, Annapolis to the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County, and Frederick to the Circuit Court for Frederick County. The directory below lists all 24 offices.
The Maryland Courts clerk list shows each office under its county.
A Maryland witness is often one bridge or beltway from another jurisdiction. Here is how Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia compare with Maryland’s Act: the governing law, whether the law itself requires a local attorney, and who issues. “No” means that state’s own text requires none; “Check” means confirm that state’s filing rules for an out-of-state requester.
| State | Act Adopted | Local Attorney Required by the Act | Who Issues |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maryland | Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. §§ 9-401 to 9-407, with Rules 2-510.1 and 2-422.1 | No | Circuit court clerk, discovery county |
| Pennsylvania | 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 5331-5337 (Act 183 of 2012) | No | Prothonotary where the witness resides, works or does business |
| Delaware | 10 Del. C. § 4311 (eff. July 12, 2010) | Check | Superior Court Prothonotary, discovery county |
| Virginia | Va. Code §§ 8.01-412.8 to 8.01-412.15 | No | Circuit court clerk, discovery circuit |
| West Virginia | W. Va. Code §§ 56-12-1 to 56-12-8 | Check | Clerk of court, discovery county |
| D.C. | D.C. Code §§ 13-441 to 13-449, with Super. Ct. Civ. R. 28-I | Check | Clerk of the Superior Court |
Each answer cites the Maryland statute, rule or official source behind it. For questions that apply in every state, see our Subpoena Domestication FAQ. General information, not legal advice.
Under § 9-402 a party submits the foreign subpoena to the circuit clerk in the county where discovery is sought, the request carries the sworn statement unless an exception applies, and the clerk issues a Maryland subpoena for service. Served 123 LLC prepares the papers and handles the rest. The route above shows each stop.
Yes. The Act is law here as Subtitle 4 of Title 9 of the Courts Article, and the Maryland Rules carry it out through one rule for depositions and another for property inspections. The Act’s own short title uses the state’s name. See the rule section for the text that controls.
The circuit clerk at the place of discovery, per § 9-402(a)(2)(i), which may not be the county the witness calls home. Baltimore City and Baltimore County have separate clerks. The directory lists all 24 offices, one for each county and Baltimore City.
The Judiciary’s request form is one paper for both the request and the undertaking Rule 2-510.1(c) demands from the foreign party and any foreign attorney. Its 07/2021 edition predates the 2023 sworn statement and does not carry it. Your side signs what we prepare. The rule section quotes the undertaking.
No, the Act requires none. Under § 9-402(a)(3) a request is not an appearance in the state’s courts, and the form’s attorney block asks a foreign lawyer for no Maryland number. What the form does ask of that lawyer is a signature. Legal advice remains a matter for counsel. The rule section quotes the text.
Not in the Act or Rule 2-510.1: neither asks the party for a proposed Maryland subpoena. The issued paper takes in the foreign subpoena’s terms, and Served 123 LLC prepares what goes to the clerk. Your side supplies the foreign subpoena. Details sit in the rule section.
Not settled. Rule 20-106’s mandate speaks to an attorney who enters an appearance, while § 9-402(a)(3) says this request is not one, and neither Rule 20-106 nor the MDEC page fixes the channel for a foreign attorney. Whichever channel the clerk takes, we tell you before anything is submitted. See the rule section.
Once the clerk issues the Maryland subpoena, § 9-403 applies Rule 2-510: a copy goes to the person named, to an authorized agent, or as Rule 2-121(a)(3) permits. The foreign paper alone is not what the witness needs to receive. See how service works.
Rule 2-412(a), reached through § 9-404, requires a subpoena served at least ten days before the deposition, and Rule 2-412(c) makes that at least 30 days when documents or tangible things are to be produced there. An entry on land or property needs 45 days under Rule 2-422.1(e), and the 60-day ceiling still runs from issuance. See the deadline card.
A sheriff of any county, or an adult who is not a party, under Rule 2-510.1(f). No court appointment of the person serving appears in the rule. Served 123 LLC uses a local process server near the witness on each order. See who may serve for the rule’s full list.
It can no longer be served or attempted, and the subpoena says so on its face. The Committee note to Rule 2-510.1(e) adds that “the failure to serve a subpoena within the 60-day period does not preclude the issuance of a new subpoena,” so the path is a fresh issuance. See the 60-day card.
Not under Rule 2-510.1 itself, but Rule 2-412(a) has your side give notice of an oral deposition at least ten days ahead, and Rule 2-412(c) puts any document designation in or with that notice. An inspection subpoena carries an earlier step of its own, set out on the notice card.
Not by a stated figure: Rule 2-510.1 prints no witness fee or mileage amount, and Chapter 192 of 2005 repealed the provisions paying witness fees and mileage in State civil and criminal cases, yet that does not close the question for a foreign subpoena, so it is checked per order; we advance any tender owed and your quote shows it. See witness fees.
Rule 2-413, applied through § 9-404, keeps a resident nonparty to the county of home, job or business, or a convenient place the court fixes. A nonresident attends only in the county where served, within 40 miles of the place of service, or where the court orders. The attendance card quotes the limits.
Ten, for production at a deposition: the count starts at service, and the calculator runs it. The property-inspection rule, 2-422.1(f), allows 30. A Rule 2-403 protective order is a separate path. Objections stay with the witness and the court; we report any that reach us. See objections.
In the circuit court where the discovery is happening, per § 9-405, with Maryland’s rules and statutes applying. Protective orders and motions to enforce or modify take the same road. The motion itself is for a party or the witness, while naming the right court is our part. See the disputes card.
Yes at a deposition, with conditions: one of three showings under Health-General § 4-306(b)(6), and on the assurance route a 30-day mailing to the person in interest. HIPAA adds its own conditions and § 4-307 limits mental health records. A request for documents alone stays unsettled. See Medical Records.
Not settled. The request form lists three purposes, and documents alone is not one of them, which leaves Rule 2-510.1 as the deposition route. Send it and flag it under Special Instructions: we review it, and your written quote says how it can go. See documents only.
A deposition subpoena costs $110 at any Maryland circuit clerk, and the statewide fee schedule gives it a line of its own. That total already carries the surcharges. Served 123 LLC’s quote includes the clerk’s fee. The rule section breaks the figure down.
No. The Circuit Court Fee Schedule makes its charges uniform across the state. What it leaves open is whether the $110 line also reaches an inspection-only request, since its wording speaks of a witness for deposition. Your all-in quote carries the clerk’s fee for the request you place, whatever the county. The fee row shows it.
No fixed number of days. Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 9-402(b) says promptly, so the timing sits with each clerk’s office, with no deadline written in it. Issuance starts the 60-day service clock, so service is arranged inside that window. Put your date in Requested Deadline and your quote will speak to it. See the deadline card.
One all-in figure: document preparation, including the request form and the § 9-402(a)(2)(ii) sworn statement, the clerk’s fee, and service if you order it. Send the out-of-state subpoena and the witness’s details through the form on this page. The route shows what that covers.
One written quote covers document preparation, the clerk’s fee and service, when you order service.
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