Rule 45.06 (Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act) requires no local attorney: a foreign subpoena is submitted in the county where discovery occurs and the court administrator issues it. Served 123 LLC handles the steps to domesticate a subpoena in Minnesota.
What to Send Us
Put it all under Special Instructions, with any notice date.
Every Minnesota Order Includes
Skip tracing is available if the address turns out to be bad.
Every Minnesota County
Served 123 LLC works with the district court administrator in each of Minnesota’s 87 counties, and the court’s fee is in your quote. Each court issues under its own procedure, which is why the county matters. The finder takes a city or ZIP code, and the directory lists every office.
If It Commands Documents
Your side serves notice on each party at least seven days before the required production. A written objection is due “within 14 days after service of the subpoena or before the time specified for compliance if such time is less than 14 days after service”.
Minnesota Subpoena Domestication Order
Our quote covers document preparation, the clerk’s fee and service if ordered.
Rule 45.06 sets the court step, and Rule 45.02 supplies service. These four stops take an out-of-state subpoena to a witness in any Minnesota county. Rule 45.06(b)(1) also lets an attorney admitted in Minnesota issue and sign it.
We prepare a subpoena that incorporates the foreign terms and lists all counsel of record and any unrepresented party.
The district court administrator in the discovery county issues the subpoena on submission of the foreign subpoena, and we handle that step.
Our server, at least 18 and not a party, delivers a copy to the witness or leaves it at the usual place of abode with “some person of suitable age and discretion then residing therein,” anywhere in Minnesota, and any tender owed is advanced by us and shown on your quote.
Our server certifies the date, the manner and the persons served, and that statement comes back to you.
Enter the date the subpoena was served. This counts Day 14 for a written objection, the way Rule 6.01 counts it: the service date is left out, every day after it counts, and a last day on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday moves to the next day that is not one.
If the compliance date comes first, it controls. If a date is close, confirm it against the rule.
A planning aid, not legal advice: this counts Rule 6.01(a)(1) alone and does not add days for mail or weather.
These are the words of Rule 45.06, the uniform act (UIDDA) in the Minnesota Rules of Civil Procedure, on where the foreign subpoena goes, who issues, what the Minnesota subpoena holds, how it is served and where a motion goes.
To request issuance of a subpoena by the court administrator under this section, a party must submit a foreign subpoena to the district court administrator of the court in the county in which discovery is sought to be conducted in this state. A request for the issuance of a subpoena under this act does not constitute an appearance in a proceeding pursuant to Rule 5.01 of these rules, but does subject the filer to the jurisdiction of the court and to Minnesota law and rules, including the Minnesota Rules of Professional Conduct. Alternatively, an attorney admitted to practice in Minnesota as an officer of the court may issue and sign a subpoena pursuant to this rule and Rule 45.01 (c).
A district court administrator in this state, upon submission of a foreign subpoena, shall, in accordance with that court's procedure, promptly issue a subpoena for service upon the person to which the foreign subpoena is directed.
A subpoena under Rule 45.06 (b)(1) or (2) must: (A) incorporate the terms used in the foreign subpoena; and (B) 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 each item Rule 45.06(b)(3) lists before the Minnesota subpoena goes out.
Get a Free Quote Online →An application to the court for a protective order or to enforce, quash, or modify a subpoena issued by a district court administrator under Rule 45.06 (b) must comply with the rules and statutes of this state and be submitted to the district court in the county in which discovery is to be conducted.
No reported Minnesota appellate decision has yet interpreted Rule 45.06. The Advisory Committee Comment asks that it be read for uniformity: “Like uniform laws, this rule should be interpreted to accomplish uniformity among the states and should be construed to promote that purpose.”
Official texts: Minn. R. Civ. P. 45, Rule 5 and Rule 6; Gen. R. Prac. 1 and Rule 14; Minn. Stat. § 357.22, § 144.293, § 480.051 and § 645.44; Minn. R. Evid. 803 and 902; 45 C.F.R. § 164.512. General information, not legal advice. The official text controls.
Served 123 LLC prepares the Minnesota subpoena under Rule 45.06 and has it served under Rule 45.02.
Get a Free Quote Online →Rule 45.06(c) sends service to Rule 45.02. These cards follow Rule 45 through who serves, delivery, the tender, attendance, witness fees, notice, proof and motions. For a summons or other court papers, see process service in Minnesota.
Rule 45.06(c): “A subpoena issued under Rule 45.06 (b) must be served in compliance with Rule 45.02 of these rules.” Rule 45.02(a) opens: “A subpoena may be served by any person who is not a party and is not less than 18 years of age.” The Judicial Branch’s subpoena page adds: “Subpoenas must be served personally by a disinterested third party”. The rule’s methods are in the next card.
Rule 45.06(c); Rule 45.02(a); MN Courts, SubpoenasRule 45.02(a): “Service of a subpoena upon a person named therein shall be made by delivering a copy thereof to such person or by leaving a copy at the person's usual place of abode with some person of suitable age and discretion then residing therein”. Rule 45.02(b): “Subject to Rule 45.03 (c)(1)(B), a subpoena may be served at any place within the state of Minnesota.”
Rule 45.02(a), (b)Rule 45.02(a) continues: “if the person's attendance is commanded, by tendering to that person the fees for one day's attendance and the mileage allowed by law. When the subpoena is issued on behalf of the state of Minnesota or an officer or agency thereof, fees and mileage need not be tendered.” Minn. Stat. § 357.22: “No person is obliged to attend as a witness in any civil case unless one day's attendance and travel fees are paid or tendered the witness in advance.” We advance any tender owed, and it appears on your quote.
Rule 45.02(a); Minn. Stat. § 357.22Rule 45.03(c)(1): “On timely motion, the court on behalf of which a subpoena was issued shall quash or modify the subpoena if it . . . requires a person who is not a party or an officer of a party to travel to a place outside the county where that person resides, is employed or regularly transacts business in person, except that, subject to the provisions of Rule 45.03 (c)(2)(C), such a person may in order to attend trial be commanded to travel from any such place within the state of Minnesota”. Rule 45.05 makes a place outside those limits “adequate cause for failure to obey”.
Rule 45.03(c)(1)(B); Rule 45.05Minn. Stat. § 357.22 pays a witness “(1) for attending in any action or proceeding in any court or before any officer, person, or board authorized to take the examination of witnesses, $20 for each day;” and “(2) for travel to and from the place of attendance, to be estimated from the witness's residence, if within the state, or from the boundary line of the state where the witness crossed it, if without the state, 28 cents per mile.” Rule 45.02(d) separately has the serving party arrange reasonable compensation under Rule 45.03(d), before the production or testimony.
Minn. Stat. § 357.22; Rule 45.02(d)The Rule 45.06 Comment says: “Notice must be provided to all other parties to the action”. Rule 45.01(e) puts a penalty behind it: “Any use of a subpoena, other than to compel attendance at a trial, without prior notice to all parties to the action, is improper and may subject the party or attorney issuing it, or on whose behalf it was issued, to sanctions.” Under Rule 5.02(a), “service shall be made upon the attorney unless service upon the party is ordered by the court” for a represented party. Tell us when your notice went out.
Rule 45.06, Comment; Rule 45.01(e); Rule 5.02(a)Rule 45.02(c): “Proof of service when necessary shall be made by filing with the court administrator of the court on behalf of which the subpoena is issued a statement of the date and manner of service and of the names of the persons served, certified by the person who made the service.” Our server certifies that statement, and it comes back to you.
Rule 45.02(c)Rule 45.06(e), quoted above, covers a subpoena “issued by a district court administrator” and does not say which court hears a motion on an attorney-issued one. On timely motion, Rule 45.03(c)(1) has a court quash or modify a subpoena that “fails to allow reasonable time for compliance”. Build that time into the date you choose.
Rule 45.06(e); Rule 45.03(c)(1)Served 123 LLC handles the Rule 45.02 service, any tender owed and the server’s proof.
Get a Free Quote Online →These cards cover a Minnesota subpoena that commands production: appearance, written objections, the seven-day notice, shared copies, and the limits Minn. Stat. § 144.293 and federal law set on health records.
Rule 45.03(b)(1): “A person commanded to produce and permit inspection, copying, testing, or sampling of designated electronically stored information, books, papers, documents, or tangible things, or inspection of premises need not appear in person at the place of production or inspection unless commanded to appear for deposition, hearing, or trial.” That holds for a Rule 45.06 subpoena too.
Rule 45.03(b)(1)Minnesota’s Rule 902 stops at paragraph (10), and its Committee Comment says the committee “recommends that Uniform Rule 902(11) not be adopted.” Rule 803(6) keeps the foundation “all as shown by the testimony of the custodian or other qualified witness, unless the source of information or the method or circumstances of preparation indicate lack of trustworthiness.” That binds a Minnesota court; the forum’s rules decide a trial elsewhere.
Minn. R. Evid. 902, Comment; Minn. R. Evid. 803(6)Rule 45.03(b)(2) gives the person commanded to produce the right to serve written objection “within 14 days after service of the subpoena or before the time specified for compliance if such time is less than 14 days after service”. Then: “If objection is made, the party serving the subpoena shall not be entitled to inspect, copy, test, or sample the materials or inspect the premises except pursuant to an order of the court by which the subpoena was issued.”
Rule 45.03(b)(2)Minn. Stat. § 144.293, subd. 2: “A provider, or a person who receives health records from a provider, may not release a patient's health records to a person without: (1) a signed and dated consent from the patient or the patient's legally authorized representative authorizing the release; (2) specific authorization in Minnesota law; or (3) a representation from a provider that holds a signed and dated consent from the patient authorizing the release.” Its text does not say whether a subpoena alone counts as “specific authorization”.
Minn. Stat. § 144.293, subd. 2Rule 45.02(a) has a production subpoena served on its subject, and “notice of the required production must be served in the manner prescribed by Rule 5.02 on each party to the action, at least seven days before the required production.” Rule 45.04(a)(5) repeats the count for a change: “the party issuing the subpoena must give notice to all parties to the action at least seven days in advance of the rescheduled production.” The same rule then says the issuing party “shall make available to all parties any books, papers, documents or electronically stored information obtained from any person following issuance of a subpoena to that person.”
Rule 45.02(a); Rule 45.04(a)(5)Federal law applies its own test to the same chart. Paragraph 164.512(e)(1)(i) covers a disclosure “In response to an order of a court or administrative tribunal, provided that the covered entity discloses only the protected health information expressly authorized by such order”. Paragraph (e)(1)(ii) covers a subpoena “that is not accompanied by an order of a court or administrative tribunal” and asks for satisfactory assurance of one of two things: “reasonable efforts” to give the patient notice under (e)(1)(iii), or “reasonable efforts” to secure a qualified protective order under (e)(1)(iv).
45 C.F.R. § 164.512(e)(1)(i)–(iv)Served 123 LLC prepares and serves a Minnesota subpoena that commands production of records.
Get a Free Quote Online →Each point comes from the rules or a Minnesota statute.
Before service, we compare the subpoena we prepare and our service plan with the rules and raise what needs your input. A motion comes later, and Rule 45.06(e) names the court for a subpoena a court administrator issued.
Search or pick the county where discovery will be conducted to see which district court administrator the foreign subpoena goes to, then start a quote; the directory below lists all 87 counties.
Each office sits under its county. A district administrator supervises the court administrators in each judicial district, Minn. Stat. § 484.68, subd. 3.
How Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin treat a foreign subpoena beside Rule 45.06: the governing law, whether it requires a local attorney and who issues the subpoena, each from that state’s own text. “No” applies to Minnesota’s rule; “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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota | Minn. R. Civ. P. 45.06 (eff. July 1, 2015) | No | Court administrator, discovery county, or a Minnesota attorney |
| Iowa | Iowa R. Civ. P. 1.1702 (2013) | Check | Clerk of court, a signed blank subpoena, or an Iowa attorney |
| North Dakota | N.D.R.Ct. 5.1 (eff. March 1, 2013) | Check | Clerk of court, discovery county |
| South Dakota | SDCL 15-6-28.1 to 15-6-28.6 (eff. July 1, 2012) | Check | Clerk of court, discovery county |
| Wisconsin | Wis. Stat. § 887.24 (S. Ct. Order 13-16A, 2016) | Check | Clerk of circuit court, discovery county, or a Wisconsin attorney |
Each answer cites the Minnesota rule, statute or official source it rests on. For questions that apply in every state, see our Subpoena Domestication FAQ. General information, not legal advice.
A party hands the out-of-state paper to the court administrator for the discovery county, and that office issues a Minnesota subpoena that carries the same terms. The route walks the four stops, and the rule section prints the governing words. Once issued, ordinary Minnesota subpoena practice takes over for service and compliance.
Because Minnesota treats court procedure as ground that belongs to its Supreme Court, the uniform act arrived inside the civil rules, with its operative provisions kept. The authority to cite is Minn. R. Civ. P. 45.06, not a statute section. The rule took effect in the middle of 2015, and the rule section gives its history.
Not for asking the court administrator. The rule says a party submits the foreign subpoena, and it adds no local-counsel condition to that step. A lawyer admitted in Minnesota matters only on the separate attorney route. Either way, your request carries consequences of its own, which the counsel card sets out.
Yes, since the 2021 amendment to Rule 45.06(b)(1), a lawyer admitted here can bypass that office and act as an officer of the court. A party without a lawyer has no such option. The attorney card quotes the text, and the foreign terms and counsel list belong in that subpoena as well, because the contents rule covers both routes.
Rule 45.06(b)(1) points to the one where discovery is sought, not the county named on a case caption or the place the lawsuit began. The finder matches a town to its county. Dakota and St. Louis counties each list more than one location, so their rows show each office separately.
No, not under Rule 5.01. That protection is narrower than it sounds, though, because the same sentence places the filer under the court’s jurisdiction and Minnesota’s professional conduct rules. Counsel from another state should read that sentence in full before anything goes to a court administrator.
Anyone at least 18 who is not a party to the case qualifies under the rule. The Judicial Branch’s help page adds a disinterested third party and says “personally,” while Rule 45.02(a) names two methods. The service card quotes both texts.
Yes, in the right circumstances. The person who takes it must live there and be of suitable age and discretion, and the home must be the witness’s usual place of abode. Leaving it at a workplace is not one of the two methods the rule names. See where and how for the exact words.
Yes. County lines do not stop service under Rule 45.02(b). Reach is not the same as what the subpoena can command, however. The county limit on travel for non-parties still applies, so a witness found in one county may be protected from attending in another. The travel card explains it.
When and how the paper was delivered and who received it, with the server’s certification. The rule has it filed, when proof is necessary, with the court administrator for the issuing court. The proof card quotes the words, and you get that paper for your file when you order service.
Not safely. On timely motion, the court quashes or modifies a subpoena sending a non-party, other than a party’s officer, outside the county of home, job or regular in-person business. A trial command sits under a proviso of its own, tied to Rule 45.03(c)(2)(C). An overreaching place is adequate cause for failing to obey, so the travel card belongs in your planning.
Rule 45.03(b)(2) gives fourteen days from service, unless compliance falls sooner, in which case the objection must come before that date. The calculator works out the last day. Once a witness objects, the party who served the subpoena needs a court order to get the materials.
No, not for a subpoena a court administrator issued. Rule 45.06 sends that motion to the district court of the county where discovery happens, under Minnesota’s law. An attorney-issued subpoena is not covered by that sentence, as the motions card notes.
No. Under Rule 45.03(b)(1), a custodian told only to produce can stay away, as long as the subpoena does not also command testimony at a deposition, hearing or trial. For whether a certificate can stand in for live testimony, see the business records card.
Compliance runs on Minnesota’s rules, but the compliance card sends substantive issues of privilege, competence and the duty to answer through a conflict-of-law analysis, by way of Rule 45.04(b)(3). Separately, on timely motion a court shall quash or modify a subpoena that “requires disclosure of privileged or other protected matter and no exception or waiver applies,” Rule 45.03(c)(1)(C).
Not always. Minn. Stat. § 144.293 has its own consent test and never mentions subpoenas, and the federal privacy rule separately sets conditions on a subpoena that comes with no court order. Read the health records card before relying on the subpoena alone.
Neither fee line on the Judicial Branch chart names a Rule 45.06 request. The cost card shows the amounts in play and the law library caveat. Whatever applies sits inside our written quote, along with preparation and, if you order it, service.
One day’s attendance amount and mileage. Minn. Stat. § 357.22 sets a daily figure plus mileage counted from home, or from the state line for someone coming from outside Minnesota. The fee card quotes the figures, and we advance any tender owed, and it appears on your quote.
No. The rule gives no day count. Its words are that the administrator “shall, in accordance with that court's procedure, promptly issue” the subpoena, so timing can differ between counties. The route shows that step. Tell us your deadline on the order, and leave room for the seven-day notice before any production date.
Build in at least two clocks. Rule 45.02(a) requires notice to each party at least seven days before the required production, and the witness has the objection window that runs from service. A date that ignores them invites a motion, and too little time for compliance is itself a ground to quash or modify when that motion is timely. The notice card has the text.
One written quote covers document preparation, the clerk’s fee and service, when you order service.
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Nearby States: Iowa · North Dakota · South Dakota
