Until January 1, 2027, a subpoena is presented to a New Hampshire justice of the peace under RSA 516:4, which requires no attorney. From that date, the superior court clerk issues it. Served 123 LLC handles the steps to domesticate a subpoena.
What to Send Us
Every New Hampshire Order Includes
Skip tracing is available if the address turns out to be bad.
Every New Hampshire County
Served 123 LLC handles subpoena domestications in all 10 New Hampshire counties. Until 2027, a justice’s writ has no filing county. From January 1, 2027, the county finder names the superior court clerk where discovery is sought, and the directory lists each address, with two offices in Hillsborough.
Documents Subpoena
Until 2027, RSA 517:18 speaks of papers produced at a deposition, so tell us up front if you need records only. From January 1, 2027, RSA 517-A:2 V(b) covers production on its own. Medical records add the privacy steps set out below. Your written quote confirms the path, before you pay.
New Hampshire Subpoena Domestication Order
One written quote covers document preparation, any issuer’s or clerk’s fee and service if ordered.
New Hampshire changes its route on January 1, 2027. Through December 31, 2026, a justice of the peace or notary issues a writ and no court file opens. From that date, the superior court clerk in the discovery county issues the subpoena. The steps below are the route through December 31, 2026, and your written quote names the route for your dates.
| Point | Through December 31, 2026 | From January 1, 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Statute | RSA 517-A:1 II and RSA 516 | RSA 517-A:3, enacted by 2026, ch. 172 |
| Who Issues | A New Hampshire justice of the peace or notary | The clerk of the superior court |
| Court File | None; no New Hampshire case is opened | A foreign subpoena submitted to the clerk, which is not an appearance |
| Fee | No statute sets a fee for issuing the writ; RSA 517:19 sets the officer’s fee for taking the deposition | The fee schedule does not name this request; your quote states the clerk’s fee |
| Venue | No filing county | The county where discovery is sought |
| Quash Forum | Unsettled: no statute names a New Hampshire court; RSA 516:7 lets the officer enforce attendance | The court in the county of discovery |
| Local Attorney | None to have the writ issued | None; the request is not an appearance |
Your subpoena or commission comes to us, and your written quote confirms the route for your dates, before you pay.
We prepare the New Hampshire subpoena in the statutory form from your papers, carrying over your court, parties and dates.
We arrange for a New Hampshire justice of the peace to issue it, with no petition and no New Hampshire counsel to retain.
Your side gives the adverse party written notice signed by a justice or notary, ahead of service when the subpoena calls for documents.
Our server reads the writ to the witness or hands over an attested copy, with the travel and attendance fees we advance.
The server completes the Return of Service, and you get the signed proof with the original.
New Hampshire has enacted the Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act, and it takes effect January 1, 2027. Until then, a foreign subpoena gets its force through RSA 517-A:1 II, which borrows the state’s own process in RSA 516.
Whenever any mandate, writ or commission is issued out of any court of record in any other state, territory, district, or foreign jurisdiction, or whenever upon notice or agreement it is required to take the testimony of a witness or witnesses in this state, witnesses may be compelled to appear and testify in the same manner and by the same process and proceeding as may be employed for the purpose of taking testimony in proceedings pending in this state.
Served 123 LLC prepares the writ and arranges its issuance.
Get a Free Quote Online →Any justice or notary may issue such writs for witnesses to appear before himself or any other justice or notary, to give depositions in any matter or cause in which the same may be lawfully taken.
To request issuance of a subpoena under this section, a party shall submit a foreign subpoena to the clerk of the superior 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 shall not constitute an appearance in the courts of this state.
Official texts: RSA ch. 516, ch. 517 and ch. 517-A; RSA 329:26; RSA 332-I; 45 C.F.R. § 164.512; the Rules of the Superior Court, the Supplemental Rules on electronic filing and N.H. R. Ev. 902. General information, not legal advice. The official text controls.
Served 123 LLC prepares the papers for the route in force on your dates, and your written quote confirms it, before you pay.
Get a Free Quote Online →These cards set out who may serve, how, what the witness is owed, the notice owed to the other side and where a motion goes on each side of the date. For a summons or other court papers, see process service in New Hampshire.
The judicial branch instructions read: “You may have it served by the sheriff’s office in the county where your witness lives, or have some other person serve it.” If the sheriff serves, “you must pay the sheriff’s fees.” From January 1, 2027, a clerk-issued subpoena “shall be served in compliance with all statutes and court rules governing service of subpoenas in civil actions in the superior courts.”
NHJB Subpoena Instructions; RSA 517-A:4“Any person may be summoned to attend and testify or give his deposition, by reading to him, or by giving to him in hand an attested copy of, the writ of summons, and by paying or tendering to him the fees established for his travel to and from the place where his attendance is required, and for one day’s attendance.” The instructions say the same in short: “A copy will be given or read to the witness.”
RSA 516:5RSA 516:5 requires the fees “for his travel to and from the place where his attendance is required, and for one day’s attendance”. The section that set the figure is gone: “516:16 Repealed by 2019, 346:157, V, eff. July 1, 2019.” Chapters 516 and 517 state no current civil amount, so we settle the tender on your quote and advance any tender owed.
RSA 516:5; RSA 516:16 (repealed)RSA 516:5 joins the two acts in one sentence: the witness is summoned by the reading or the in-hand copy “and by paying or tendering” the travel and attendance fees. The payment travels with the writ and does not wait for the deposition day, so a writ served with no tender leaves that second half undone.
RSA 516:5The instructions put “the Return of Service” on the bottom part of the original subpoena, and the person serving it completes that part and hands the original back. When you order service, our server completes the return and we send you the signed proof with the original.
NHJB Subpoena InstructionsThe party taking the deposition “shall cause a notice in writing, signed by a justice or notary, stating the day, hour, and place of taking the same” to reach the adverse party “a reasonable time before the taking thereof”. For an adverse party out of state, “a like notice, given to the agent or attorney of such adverse party or left at his abode, shall be sufficient.”
RSA 517:4, 517:5“No notice to the adverse party of the taking of depositions shall be deemed reasonable unless served at least 3 days, exclusive of the day of service and the day of caption, before the day on which they are to be taken. Provided, however, that 20 days’ notice shall be deemed reasonable in all cases, unless otherwise ordered by the court.”
Rule 26(b)A motion over confidential information “shall be filed within the time set by these rules to respond to the discovery request or within 30 days of the date of automatic disclosure required by Rule 22, including any extensions agreed to by the parties or ordered by the court, or within ten days of an order of production of records.” Those clocks run from New Hampshire case events.
Rule 29(b)Through December 31, 2026, RSA 516 and RSA 517-A:1 state no county or mileage limit. The writ itself names the place and county, and a court may order “that the discovery may be had only on specified terms and conditions, including a designation of the time or place”. In a New Hampshire case, Rule 26(a) reads: “A party may take as many depositions as necessary to adequately prepare a case for trial so long as the combined total of deposition hours does not exceed 20 unless otherwise stipulated by counsel or ordered by the court for good cause shown.”
RSA 516:1; Rule 26(a), Rule 29(a)Rule 29(a): “Upon motion by a party or by the person from whom discovery is sought, and for good cause shown, the court may make any order which justice requires to protect a party or person from annoyance, embarrassment, oppression, or undue burden or expense”. RSA 516:7 lets the officer before whom the witness was summoned enforce attendance by attachment. The instructions send a motion to quash to “the same court where the case has been filed”. Through December 31, 2026, no statute names a New Hampshire court for an out-of-state case.
Rule 29(a); RSA 516:7“An application to the court for a protective order or to enforce, quash, or modify a subpoena issued by a clerk of court under RSA 517-A:3 shall comply with the rules or statutes of this state and be submitted to the court in the county in which discovery is to be conducted.” The county of discovery then handles both the request, at its clerk, and any motion over it, whichever side brings the motion.
RSA 517-A:6Through December 31, 2026, a justice’s writ goes to no county clerk, so the route has no venue step. On January 1, 2027, a party “shall submit a foreign subpoena to the clerk of the superior court in the county in which discovery is sought to be conducted in this state”. Our county finder below names that clerk for the town where discovery takes place, once that date arrives.
RSA 516:4; RSA 517-A:3 IServed 123 LLC handles the service, any tender the witness is owed and the signed proof of service.
Get a Free Quote Online →These cards cover a request for documents on each side of the date, the notice that comes first, a custodian’s certification, New Hampshire’s patient confidentiality statutes and the federal HIPAA rule.
Through December 31, 2026, RSA 517:18 reaches “the production of papers” before a commissioner, at a deposition. No statute or rule in Chapters 516 and 517 describes production with no deposition before an officer, which leaves a records-only request outside their text. Send the subpoena and your written quote says how a documents request runs, before you pay.
RSA 517:18From January 1, 2027, a subpoena may command a person to “Produce and permit inspection and copying of designated books, documents, records, electronically stored information, or tangible things in the possession, custody, or control of the person”. The judicial branch instructions, written for a court hearing, speak of asking “that a person bring a document or other materials with them to court.”
RSA 517-A:2 V(b)“If a subpoena duces tecum is to be served on the deponent, the notice to the adverse party must be served before service of the subpoena, and the materials designated for production, as set out in the subpoena, must be listed in the notice or in an attachment.” Order matters here: notice first, service second, and the same list in both the notice and the subpoena.
Rule 26(d)In a New Hampshire proceeding, Rule 902(11) covers “The original or a copy of a domestic record that meets the requirements of Rule 803(6)(A)-(C), as shown by a certification of the custodian or another qualified person that complies with a statute or a rule prescribed by the Supreme Court.” The proponent “must give an adverse party reasonable written notice of the intent to offer the record” before the trial or hearing.
N.H. R. Ev. 902(11)“The confidential relations and communications between a physician or surgeon licensed under provisions of this chapter and the patient of such physician or surgeon are placed on the same basis as those provided by law between attorney and client”. A subpoena for those records meets that privilege, so the request should name what the case needs and how the patient’s consent or an order fits.
RSA 329:26RSA 332-I:2, on patient information, reaches beyond physicians: “The health care provider shall not reveal confidential communications or information without the consent of the patient, unless provided for by law or by the need to protect the welfare of the individual or the public interest.” Expect a provider to ask for the consent or the authority behind a request.
RSA 332-I:2 I(e)45 C.F.R. § 164.512(e) lets a covered entity answer a court order with “the protected health information expressly authorized by such order”. A subpoena with no order needs “satisfactory assurance” from the requester “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”.
45 C.F.R. § 164.512(e)(1)(i)-(ii)Paragraph (e)(1)(vi) closes the rule: “Notwithstanding paragraph (e)(1)(ii) of this section, a covered entity may disclose protected health information in response to lawful process described in paragraph (e)(1)(ii) of this section without receiving satisfactory assurance under paragraph (e)(1)(ii)(A) or (B) of this section, 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)(vi)The requester shows notice and lapsed objections with “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”; “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) asks for a like written statement and accompanying documentation showing that “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 that “The party seeking the protected health information has requested a qualified protective order from such court or administrative tribunal.” Under (e)(1)(v) that 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)For a records request, we prepare the papers for the route in force on your dates, on one written quote.
Get a Free Quote Online →Each of these points comes from a New Hampshire statute or rule. Most come from treating New Hampshire as if the Uniform Act were already in force.
Before service, we compare the papers we prepare with the statute and rules and raise anything that needs your input.
Through December 31, 2026, a justice of the peace issues the writ and no county office takes part. From January 1, 2027, the clerk of the superior court in the discovery county issues it. Type a town, city or ZIP code to find the county.
The New Hampshire Judicial Branch court pages list each court under its county.
A witness may sit just over the line, so the route changes with the state. “No” reads the law’s text alone; “By route” marks a state where the answer turns on the route used; “Check” marks a state whose own sources leave open whether its request counts as an appearance.
| State | Act Adopted | Local Attorney Required by the Act | Who Issues |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Hampshire | RSA 517-A:1 II until 01/01/2027, then the Uniform Act in RSA 517-A | No | Justice of the peace or notary; from 01/01/2027 the superior court clerk |
| Maine | 14 M.R.S. §§ 401-408 (P.L. 2019, c. 109) | No | District or Superior Court clerk at the place of discovery |
| Massachusetts | None: G.L. c. 233, § 45 and c. 223A, § 11 | By route: none named in § 45; a signing rule on a court filing | Notary or justice of the peace; or a Superior Court order |
| Vermont | V.R.C.P. 45(f) | Check | Superior Court clerk, once a judge approves |
Each answer cites a New Hampshire statute or rule. For questions that apply in every state, see our Subpoena Domestication FAQ. General information, not legal advice.
On January 1, 2027, not before. HB 1489 was signed June 19, 2026 as Chapter 172, and the Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act becomes the text of RSA 517-A on that date. Until the Act starts, the route stays RSA 517-A:1 II and RSA 516, with a writ from a justice or notary.
Yes, where testimony is required on notice or agreement, until January 1, 2027. The statute in force until then treats that as its own trigger, so a commission from your court is not the only way in. Send what your court issued, with any notice or agreement behind it.
A New Hampshire justice of the peace or notary, on the writ we prepare from your papers. The statute, RSA 516:4, reaches depositions in any cause where one may lawfully be taken, so your case does not have to be pending here. We arrange the signature as part of your written quote.
Not to get the papers issued on either route: the statute behind each side of the date calls for no New Hampshire attorney at that stage. The rule to watch is Rule 19(a), which applies if a lawyer from elsewhere will take part in a trial or hearing here.
RSA 517-A:3 takes effect. Under the Act, a party submits the foreign subpoena to the superior court clerk in the county where discovery is sought, and the clerk issues a New Hampshire subpoena under that court’s procedure. RSA 517:18 is repealed the same day. A date on your schedule that crosses this line changes who issues.
A clerk’s writ under RSA 516:2 is for “witnesses in any case pending therein”, and an out-of-state case is not pending in a New Hampshire court. Through December 31, 2026, the writ for a deposition comes from a justice or notary, and the Act brings the clerk in from January 1, 2027.
Nothing through December 31, 2026: the writ itself is the paper, and the statutory form in RSA 516:1 sets what it says. We draft it from your subpoena. After the date, your subpoena goes to the clerk as it stands, and the Act names no application form for that step.
No. The judicial branch instructions add “some other person”, so a private server can carry the writ, and sheriff’s charges fall on you only if that office serves it. The Act, once in force, points a clerk-issued subpoena to the existing rules on service and writes no new ones.
Yes. The statute puts a reading on the same footing as handing over an attested copy, so either one completes the summons step, and neither one replaces the tender of fees. Mail is not among those methods, and the judicial branch instructions do not add it.
Whoever served it, on the original. That is why the original travels with the server and comes back afterward, and why signed proof goes to you with it when you order service from us. Keep the return with your deposition record: it shows the service the statute requires.
Not by statute, which does not make a distant place safe. In a case before it, a New Hampshire court may designate the time or place under Rule 29(a), and from January 1, 2027 a witness’s motion goes to the county of discovery. RSA 516:5 covers travel both ways, so a nearby place keeps the tender down.
That it has to pick its own witness. Rule 26(m) puts that duty on a nonparty organization and requires the subpoena to say so, which is why our draft carries the advice. Give us the company’s exact name and address, and your written quote covers the service of that subpoena.
Travel and one day’s attendance under the statute. Since the 2019 repeal, neither chapter states a current civil figure, so the tender is worked out for your witness and shown on your written quote, and we advance it at the time of service.
No. The statute makes the tender part of the summons itself, so a writ served first and paid later is a summons only half done. The tender goes out with the server, who carries what your quote covers. We advance it, so nothing is left for you to arrange on the day.
The route through December 31, 2026 leaves that unsettled: no statute picks a court for a case pending elsewhere. Rule 29(a) speaks of a motion for good cause, and the judicial branch instructions point to the court where the case was filed, which for your case is out of state.
The county where discovery is to be conducted. Under the Act, that is the county whose clerk issued the subpoena, so the motion stays with the discovery rather than your home court, and New Hampshire’s own rules govern it. Our county finder names that superior court.
Not under Chapters 516 and 517, where RSA 517:18 speaks of producing papers at a deposition and neither chapter describes a records-only request. Rule 26(d) also requires notice listing the materials before service. From January 1, 2027, RSA 517-A:2 V(b) covers producing documents and electronically stored information. A documents request before that date is one to raise up front, on the form.
As confidential. The statute, RSA 329:26, ties physician communications to the attorney-client standard, and RSA 332-I:2 carries the duty to any health care provider, with limited exceptions. So plan on consent or a court order. For a subpoena with no court order, the federal HIPAA rule looks for “satisfactory assurance” from the requester, or the provider’s own notice efforts.
A sum within a range, not a flat rate. The statute leaves the figure to what the justice feels is sufficient, and mileage to swear witnesses comes on top of that figure. That fee belongs to the officer, so it is separate from any charge by a court.
Not in the fee schedule as it stands. That schedule took effect 07/01/2025, before the Act was signed, and none of its lines names this request. If your order reaches the clerk on or after January 1, 2027, your written quote states the clerk’s fee.
At least 3, and the day of service and day of caption do not count, so Rule 26(b) means a longer gap on the calendar. Twenty days is treated as reasonable unless the court orders otherwise. A justice or notary signs that notice, and for documents it goes out before the subpoena.
Yes. Everything sits on one written quote, whichever side of the date your witness falls on. Tell us the witness, the date and whether the subpoena calls for testimony, documents or both. If your dates cross January 1, 2027, the quote follows the route in force that day, under RSA 516 or the Act.
One written quote covers document preparation, any issuer’s or clerk’s fee and service if ordered.
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Nearby States: Maine · Massachusetts · Vermont
