Served 123 LLC domesticates and serves out-of-state subpoenas across all 88 Ohio counties under R.C. § 2319.09, effective September 14, 2016. Ohio runs on county procedure: Cuyahoga issues on its own form for no fee, Franklin wants three copies, $45, and a judge-signed process-server order — and only the clerk's instructions count. We confirm your county's intake before filing, then serve under Civ.R. 45 with the witness fee in hand.
Guides peg Ohio’s cost at “typically $25 to $80.” The official sources say otherwise at both ends: Cuyahoga County charges no filing fee at all — its clerk’s page says so — while Franklin County charges $45.00 plus $10 per subpoena for sheriff service, assigns a miscellaneous case number, and requires a judge-signed order before a process server may serve. Eighty-eight counties, eighty-eight counters. Only the clerk’s own instructions count — and we confirm them before we file.
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Ohio adopted the Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act at R.C. § 2319.09 (SB 171), effective September 14, 2016. You submit the foreign subpoena to the clerk of court — in practice, the Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas — in the county where discovery is sought; the clerk “shall promptly issue” a mirroring Ohio subpoena, and the request is not an appearance. Service and compliance run through the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure, and each county sets its own intake: form, copies, and fee — from $0 in Cuyahoga to $45 in Franklin.
Ohio adopted the Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act by statute — R.C. § 2319.09 (Senate Bill 171, 131st General Assembly), effective September 14, 2016 and applying to cases then pending; the authenticated text is published by the state. Under § 2319.09(C), the foreign subpoena goes to a clerk of court in the county where discovery is sought — in practice, the Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas — the request does not constitute an appearance, and the clerk “shall promptly issue” an Ohio subpoena that incorporates the foreign terms and carries the full counsel-and-parties contact block. A quiet detail competitors miss: § 2319.09(B)(4) has counted a federally recognized Indian tribe as a “state” since the day the statute took effect.
What § 2319.09 leaves to “that court’s procedure,” Ohio’s 88 clerks fill in very differently — and only the official county instructions count. Cuyahoga County takes its own Rule 45 form with the case-number and judge fields blank, in person or by mail, assigns a civil case number, and charges no filing fee. Franklin County wants its own form plus an original and three copies, a $45.00 fee (plus $10 per subpoena for in-county sheriff service), assigns a miscellaneous case number — and a process server may serve only under a standing order or a judge-signed appointment. Other counties take a praecipe, a motion for issuance, or a written request. We confirm the county’s mode before anything is filed.
Service and compliance run through the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure per § 2319.09(D)–(E). Civ.R. 45(B) lets the subpoena be served by delivering a copy, by reading it to the person, by leaving it at the usual place of residence, or by certified or express mail, return receipt requested — with witness fees and mileage tendered upon demand. The fee itself comes from R.C. § 2335.06: $12 per full day, $6 per half day, plus mileage at a rate set by each county’s commissioners, capped at 50.5¢ per mile. Ohio has 88 counties, each with its own Clerk of Courts — and its own habits.
Ohio publishes no statewide subpoena form — each county supplies or expects its own, like Hamilton County’s — but the statute’s contents requirement is uniform: two things on every subpoena the clerk issues.
Whether the county hands back its own form to complete or issues on the draft we supply, the Ohio subpoena shall do both of the following:
A contents requirement, not a recital — satisfied on the county’s own paper. We complete the county form with the mirrored terms and the full contact block, so the clerk’s review finds nothing to bounce.
§ 2319.09(C)(2) defers to “that court’s procedure” — and Ohio’s two biggest clerks read that invitation very differently. Both examples below come from the counties’ own official instructions.
Submit the foreign subpoena plus Cuyahoga’s own Rule 45 form with the case-number and judge fields left blank, in person or by mail. A civil case number is assigned, the subpoena issues promptly, and the clerk’s page says it plainly: “No filing fee is required.” On request, the clerk forwards to the Sheriff for service.
County form · In person or mail · $0 feeFranklin wants its own subpoena form with an original and three copies, the foreign subpoena, a $45.00 filing fee ($10 more per subpoena for in-county sheriff service), and assigns a miscellaneous case number. A process server may serve only under a standing order or a proposed appointment signed by a judge of the court.
County form + copies · Misc. number · $45 + $10/sheriffEighty-eight counties sit between these poles — praecipes, motions for issuance, written requests, fees from zero on up, and mileage rates their own commissioners set. We confirm your county’s exact intake with the clerk before filing, so issuance happens in one trip.
From intake to affidavit — the county's rules learned first, the statute's contents satisfied, and service with the witness fee in hand.
Upload the out-of-state subpoena with the Ohio county where the witness, records, or premises are located. Venue matters twice here: § 2319.09(C)(1) fixes the filing county, and Civ.R. 45(A)(1)(b)(ii) fixes any deposition in the county where the deponent resides, is employed, or transacts business in person.
On the county’s own form — like Hamilton County’s — we incorporate every term of the foreign subpoena and attach the complete contact block: names, addresses, and telephone numbers of all counsel of record and any unrepresented party, exactly as § 2319.09(C)(3) commands.
Our representative submits the foreign subpoena, the conforming county form, and the county’s actual fee — $0 in Cuyahoga, $45.00 in Franklin, confirmed everywhere else. Under § 2319.09(C)(2) the clerk “shall promptly issue,” and under (C)(1) the request is not an appearance. Where the county assigns a case or miscellaneous number, we report it back to you.
First, the Civ.R. 45(A)(3) duty: prompt written notice, with a copy of the subpoena, to every other party under Civ.R. 5. Then service through the authorized Civ.R. 45(B) roster — attorney service, sheriff, or a court-designated server arranged per the county’s practice — by personal delivery, with the § 2335.06 witness fee ($12 full day / $6 half day plus the county’s mileage rate) carried so any on-the-spot demand is met.
You receive a signed affidavit of service (PDF) for your originating court. If the witness objects — the written-objection window runs 14 days from service, or to the compliance date if sooner — Ohio first requires a good-faith attempt to resolve undue-burden claims with the issuing attorney before any motion (Civ.R. 45(C)(5)); under § 2319.09(F), motions go to the discovery-county court, where an appearance means Ohio-licensed counsel.
The old § 2319.09 — the Uniform Foreign Depositions Act — sat on Ohio’s books from 1953 until 2016, and the state still publishes the original text. Here’s what those sixty-three years cost litigants.
The complete framework — R.C. § 2319.09 (SB 171, effective September 14, 2016) plus the Civ.R. 45 and fee provisions it engages, each linked from the sections above.
| Authority | Subject | Key requirement |
|---|---|---|
| § 2319.09(B) | Definitions | Foreign jurisdiction, foreign subpoena, person, subpoena — and “state” includes the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, a federally recognized Indian tribe, and U.S. territories |
| § 2319.09(C)(1) | Where to Request | Submit the foreign subpoena to a clerk of court in the county where discovery is sought; the request does not constitute an appearance in the courts of this state |
| § 2319.09(C)(2) | Clerk’s Duty | On submission, the clerk, in accordance with that court’s procedure, shall promptly issue a subpoena for service on the person named in the foreign subpoena |
| § 2319.09(C)(3) | Subpoena Contents | Shall incorporate the terms used in the foreign subpoena and contain or be accompanied by the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of all counsel of record and any unrepresented party |
| § 2319.09(D)–(E) | Service & Compliance | Service per any Ohio rule or statute on serving subpoenas; the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure and related statutes govern compliance for testimony, production, ESI, and inspection |
| § 2319.09(F) | Applications to Court | Protective orders and motions to enforce, quash, or modify must comply with the Ohio Civil Rules and be submitted to the court in the county where discovery is to be conducted |
| Civ.R. 45(A)(1)(b)(ii) | Deposition Venue | Deposition attendance may be commanded only in the county where the deponent resides, is employed, or transacts business in person, or another convenient place fixed by court order |
| Civ.R. 45(A)(3) | Notice to Parties | The party on whose behalf a pretrial subpoena issues shall serve prompt written notice, including a copy of the subpoena, on all other parties under Civ.R. 5 |
| Civ.R. 45(B) | Service + Tender | Service by sheriff, bailiff, coroner, clerk, constable, their deputies, an attorney at law, or a court-designated person — by delivery, reading it to the person, residence service, or certified/express mail RRR — with fees and mileage tendered upon demand |
| Civ.R. 45(C) | Protections | Written objection within 14 days of service (or by the compliance date if sooner); quash grounds listed; undue-burden motions require a prior good-faith attempt to resolve with the issuing attorney |
| Civ.R. 45(E) | Contempt & Sanctions | Failure without adequate excuse to obey may be deemed contempt; frivolous resistance to discovery can carry the other side’s reasonable expenses, including attorney fees |
| R.C. § 2335.06 | Witness Fees | $12.00 per full day and $6.00 per half day of attendance, plus mileage residence-to-courtroom at the rate set by the county commissioners, not to exceed 50.5¢ per mile |
County filing fees per each clerk’s official instructions — no fee in Cuyahoga; $45.00 plus $10.00 per sheriff-served subpoena in Franklin (Rev. 7/5/23); confirmed with every other county before filing. Mileage rates confirmed per county at tender.
The statute is clean — the failures come from treating 88 counties as one, and from guides that never read the official instructions. Every error below is live on a competitor page right now.
A national guide pegs Ohio clerk fees at “typically” $25 to $80. The official sources miss that range at both ends: Cuyahoga charges nothing, and Franklin charges $45 plus $10 per sheriff-served subpoena. The only real number is the one your county’s clerk publishes — and that’s the one we confirm and pay.
Competitors send readers to the “appropriate Ohio county clerk,” and one says issuance happens where “the case will be handled.” The office is the Clerk of Courts of the Court of Common Pleas, and the county is fixed by § 2319.09(C)(1): where discovery is sought — there is no Ohio “case” being handled. We file at the right counter in the right county.
One guide says Ohio adopted the UIDDA on “September 23, 2011” — off by five years — and others still link the retired old-code URL. The statute is SB 171, effective September 14, 2016; the current text lives at codes.ohio.gov, and even the superseded 1953 text is preserved on its own official page. We cite it dated, linked, and authenticated.
Ohio’s roster is specific: Civ.R. 45(B) authorizes the sheriff, bailiff, coroner, clerk, constable, their deputies, an attorney at law, or a person designated by court order — and Franklin enforces it with a judge-signed appointment. “Any non-party over 18” is another state’s rule. We serve through the authorized roster, arranged per county practice.
There is no statewide form — each county supplies or expects its own, and Cuyahoga and Franklin both tell filers to use the county’s. We complete the right county’s form — Hamilton’s, Cuyahoga’s, Franklin’s, or any of the other 85 — with the § 2319.09(C)(3) contents intact.
For pretrial subpoenas, Ohio requires prompt written notice — including a copy of the subpoena — to every other party under Civ.R. 5. Out-of-state teams that skip it hand the witness and opposing counsel an objection. We serve the notice as part of every order.
End-to-end handling of a clean statute wrapped in 88 county procedures — with the rule mechanics competitors never read.
Form, copies, praecipe or motion, fee, and server-designation practice — confirmed with your county’s Clerk of Courts before filing, so issuance happens in one visit.
$0 in Cuyahoga, $45 in Franklin, and the actual published number everywhere else — quoted up front, never a “typical range.”
The county’s own form completed with every foreign term incorporated and the full counsel-and-parties contact block attached.
Attorney service, sheriff, or court-designated server per county practice — with the § 2335.06 witness fee carried so a Civ.R. 45(B) demand never stalls service.
Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Dayton, Toledo, Akron — and every courthouse from Lake Erie to the Ohio River, one point of contact.
Filing confirmation with any assigned case or miscellaneous number, service updates, and a signed affidavit of service (PDF) ready for your originating court.
Every discovery subpoena § 2319.09 reaches — mirrored to the foreign command, issued on the county’s form, and served through the authorized roster.
Records and ESI — with the witness’s 14-day written-objection window calendared from service, and the Civ.R. 45(C)(5) meet-and-confer rule working in your favor if burden is claimed.
Testimony in the Civ.R. 45(A)(1)(b)(ii) county — where the deponent resides, is employed, or transacts business in person — with the $12-per-day witness fee and county-rate mileage carried at service.
Combined appearance-and-records subpoenas mirroring the foreign command exactly per § 2319.09(C)(3) — one county filing, one service, both obligations.
Hospitals, banks, manufacturers, and corporate custodians — served through the authorized roster, with § 2319.09(F) enforcement routed to the discovery-county court if compliance fails.
Out-of-state counsel and the teams behind them — anyone who needs an Ohio witness without learning eighty-eight counties’ habits.
Out-of-state litigators reaching Ohio witnesses and custodians without decoding county intake modes, fee schedules, or server-designation practice.
Discovery from the headquarters, plants, and logistics operations concentrated along the I-71 and I-75 corridors and across the industrial northeast.
Records from hospital systems and insurers in Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Dayton — served on the custodian with the witness fee in hand.
Banks, lenders, and fintech custodians statewide — subpoenaed on the county’s form with the § 2319.09(C)(3) contents intact.
One vendor for the chain — venue check, county-intake call, drafting, fee handling, notice, service, affidavit — with the case number reported back.
Agencies reselling Ohio coverage — we run the § 2319.09 filing and Civ.R. 45 service under your brand’s timeline.
We file and serve in every Ohio county — Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Dayton, Toledo, Akron, and every courthouse from Lake Erie to the Ohio River.
That’s all 88 — each with its own Clerk of Courts and its own intake habits. We file where § 2319.09(C)(1) puts the request — the county where discovery is sought — and depositions sit where Civ.R. 45(A)(1)(b)(ii) puts the deponent: residence, employment, or in-person business.
Straight answers on domesticating and serving an out-of-state subpoena in Ohio under R.C. § 2319.09.
Send the originating state or tribal court, the Ohio county, and your subpoena PDF. We confirm the county’s intake and fee, complete the county’s form with the § 2319.09(C)(3) contents, serve the Civ.R. 45(A)(3) notice on every party, serve the witness through the authorized roster with the § 2335.06 fee in hand, and return a filing-ready affidavit — all 88 counties.
Served 123 LLC is a process service and litigation-support company, not a law firm, and does not provide legal advice. Clerk filings and service are performed administratively at the direction of the client and its counsel. Fee figures are cited from the official Cuyahoga and Franklin County Clerk of Courts publications and R.C. § 2335.06 as published; every county’s intake and fee confirmed with its Clerk of Courts before filing.
