For Kentucky subpoena domestication, the Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act requires no attorney: a foreign subpoena is submitted to the clerk of the county where discovery occurs; the Clerks’ Manual sends a witness subpoena to a District Judge. Served 123 LLC confirms your route and handles the steps to domesticate a subpoena in Kentucky.
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Every Kentucky County
Served 123 LLC works with the Circuit Court clerk in each of Kentucky’s 120 counties, and the clerk’s fee is in your quote. The finder takes a city or ZIP code; the directory lists each clerk.
Documents Subpoena
The Clerks’ Manual has the clerk issue a foreign subpoena for documents or inspection. CR 45.01(2) lets documents come without a deposition only where the parties agree; say under Special Instructions whether they did. Notice to each party is your side’s step under CR 45.03(3); tell us when it went out.
Kentucky Subpoena Domestication Order
Our quote covers document preparation, the clerk’s fee and service if ordered.
KRS 421.360 sets the clerk step, and CR 45 supplies the working parts. These four stops take an out-of-state subpoena to a witness in any Kentucky county.
The foreign subpoena is submitted to the clerk of the Circuit Court in the county where discovery is sought, which is no appearance in a Kentucky court; we handle that step.
We prepare the Kentucky subpoena with the foreign terms and all counsel and confirm your county’s route, because the Act says the clerk shall promptly issue it and the Clerks’ Manual sends a deposition subpoena to a District Judge.
Our server delivers or offers a copy to the witness anywhere in Kentucky, and we advance any tender that is owed.
Our server signs the affidavit or certified statement of the date, the manner and the persons served, and it comes back to you to file with the issuing court.
These are the words of KRS 421.360, the uniform act (UIDDA) in the Kentucky Revised Statutes, on where the foreign subpoena goes, who the Act says issues, what the Kentucky subpoena holds, how it is served and where a motion goes.
To request issuance of a subpoena under this section, a party shall submit a foreign subpoena to the clerk of the Circuit Court of the county 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 submits a foreign subpoena to a clerk of the Circuit 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 under paragraph (b) of this subsection shall: 1. Incorporate the terms used in the foreign subpoena; and 2. 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 subsection (3)(c) lists before the Kentucky subpoena goes out.
Get a Free Quote Online →A subpoena issued by a clerk of the Circuit Court under subsection (3) of this section shall be served in compliance with any rule of court or statute relating to the service of a subpoena issued in this state.
Rules of court and any provision of the Kentucky Revised Statutes applicable to compliance with subpoenas to attend and give testimony; produce designated books, documents, records, electronically stored information, or tangible things; or permit inspection of premises shall apply to subpoenas issued under subsection (3) of this section.
An application to the court for a protective order or to enforce, quash, or modify a subpoena issued by a clerk of the Circuit Court under subsection (3) of this section shall comply with the rules of court of this state and statutes of this state and be submitted to the Circuit Court in the county in which discovery is to be conducted.
No reported Kentucky appellate decision has yet interpreted KRS 421.360. The statute itself asks that it be applied with an eye to uniformity among the states that enact it.
Official texts: KRS 421.360; Supreme Court Order 2009-01 (CR 45); KRS 422.305 and KRS 422.310; KRE 902 and KRE 803; Jefferson and Warren local rules; 45 C.F.R. § 164.512. General information, not legal advice. The official text controls.
Served 123 LLC prepares the Kentucky subpoena under KRS 421.360 and has it served under CR 45.03.
Get a Free Quote Online →KRS 421.360(4) sends service to Kentucky’s rules. These cards follow CR 45 through who serves, delivery, the tender, attendance, proof, witness fees, notice and motions. For a summons or other court papers, see process service in Kentucky.
KRS 421.360(4), quoted above, sends service to Kentucky’s rules. CR 45.03(1) opens: “A subpoena may be served in any manner that a summons might be served. It may also be served by any person over eighteen years of age, and the affidavit endorsed thereon by such person shall be proof of service or the witnesses may acknowledge service in writing on the subpoena.”
KRS 421.360(4); CR 45.03(1)CR 45.03(1): “Service of the subpoena shall be made by delivering or offering to deliver a copy thereof to the person to whom it is directed. A subpoena may be served at any place within this state.” The eFiling Rules close one door: “Subpoenas issued pursuant to CR 45 must be served as provided in CR 45.03(1) and not by use of the eFiling system.”
CR 45.03(1); eFiling Rules, § 13(5)CR 45.03(1) defines service as delivering or offering to deliver a copy, and it names no tender. Cost comes in by motion: under CR 45.02, the court may “condition denial of the motion upon the advancement by the person in whose behalf the subpoena is issued of the reasonable cost of producing the books, papers, documents, or tangible things.” Any tender owed goes on your quote, and we advance it.
CR 45.03(1); CR 45.02CR 45.04(3): “A resident of the state may be required to attend an examination only in the county wherein he resides or is employed or transacts his business in person, or at such other convenient place as is fixed by an order of the court.” KRS 421.360(5) applies Kentucky’s rules on compliance to a subpoena issued under the Act. A witness who lives in one county and works in another may be called to either.
CR 45.04(3); KRS 421.360(5)CR 45.03(1): “Proof of service shall be made by filing with the issuing court a statement showing the date and manner of service and the names of the persons served. The statement must be certified by the server.” Our server signs it, and it comes back to you to file with the issuing court. eFiling Rules: “Proof of service pursuant to CR 45.03(1) and RCr 7.02 may be electronically transmitted to the court using the court's eFiling system.” Clerks’ Manual: “You are not required to file returns on civil subpoenas unless otherwise ordered by the court. CR 5.06(1)(d).”
CR 45.03(1); eFiling Rules, § 13(5); Clerks’ Manual, § 91.3.3The CR 3.02 schedule of “Additional costs, payable to the circuit clerk at the time the service is requested,” lists “Original deposition, including appearance fees and mileage” as “Assessed as Costs”; that line does not name the witness. The rates in the Court of Justice’s Accounting Manual belong to a different fund: “The Witness Fund Imprest Account is an advance loan to the Circuit Court Clerk for compensating witnesses for their appearance in court on behalf of the Commonwealth.” That fund’s text speaks only to witnesses for the Commonwealth.
CR 3.02; Accounting ManualCR 45.03(3): “Every subpoena, except those issued for trial, shall be served, in the manner prescribed by Rule 5.02, on each party and any person whose information is being requested.” CR 45.01(1): “A copy of every subpoena served shall be certified to the opposing party and to any person whose information is being requested.” The eFiling Rules: “Notices required to be served on each party pursuant to CR 45.03(3) may be served electronically by mutual consent consistent with CR 5.02, but not via the court's eFiling system.” Only a subpoena issued for trial falls outside that duty. Tell us when your notice went out.
CR 45.03(3); CR 45.01(1); eFiling Rules, § 13(5)KRS 421.360(6) sets the court. CR 45.02: “The court, upon motion made promptly and in any event at or before the time specified in the subpoena for compliance therewith, may (a) quash or modify the subpoena if it is unreasonable and oppressive or (b) condition denial of the motion upon the advancement by the person in whose behalf the subpoena is issued of the reasonable cost of producing the books, papers, documents, or tangible things.” The Clerks’ Manual: “Upon receipt of an application (or motion) to enforce, quash, or modify a subpoena issued by the clerk, collect the filing fee for a circuit civil action.” Order 2026-15 sets $188.00, with a $20.00 court technology fee and other required fees.
KRS 421.360(6); CR 45.02; Clerks’ Manual, § 91.3.4; CR 3.02Served 123 LLC handles the CR 45.03 service, any tender owed and the server’s proof.
Get a Free Quote Online →These cards cover a Kentucky subpoena that commands production: appearance, scope, written objections, copies for the other side, and the limits KRS Chapter 422 and federal law set on hospital records.
CR 45.04(3): “A person commanded to produce documents or tangible things, or to permit the inspection of premises, need not appear in person at the place of production or inspection unless also commanded to appear for a deposition, hearing, or trial.” CR 45.01(2) limits the paper itself: “Subpoenas shall not be used for any purpose except to command the attendance of the witness and/or production of documentary or other tangible evidence at a deposition, hearing or trial; unless the parties agree that production may be made without a deposition. Upon order of the Court, with the agreement of the parties, documents may be produced without a deposition.”
CR 45.04(3); CR 45.01(2)CR 45.04(2): “The person to whom a subpoena is directed may, within ten (10) days after the service thereof or on or before the time specified in the subpoena for compliance if such time is less than ten (10) days after service, serve upon the attorney or pro se party designated in the subpoena written objection to inspection or copying of any or all of the designated materials. If objection is made, the party serving the subpoena shall not be entitled to inspect and copy the materials except pursuant to an order of the court from which the subpoena was issued. The party serving discovery may, upon notice, move for an appropriate order.”
CR 45.04(2)CR 45.04(1): “A subpoena that commands the person to whom it is directed to produce designated documents or tangible things or to permit inspection of premises may relate only to matters within the scope of discovery permitted by Rule 26.02. Every subpoena will be subject to the provisions of Rule 26.03.”
CR 45.04(1)CR 45.03(2): “Copies of all documents received in response to the subpoena shall be forthwith furnished to all other parties to the action, except on motion and for good cause shown. Any other tangible evidence received in response to the subpoena shall be forthwith made available for inspection by all other parties to the action.”
CR 45.03(2)KRS 422.305(1): “When a subpoena duces tecum is served upon any employee of any hospital, requiring the production of any such medical charts or records at any action or proceeding, it is sufficient if the employee of the hospital charged with the responsibility of being custodian of the original thereof promptly notifies, in writing, the attorney for the party causing service of the subpoena, of the hospital's election to proceed under the provisions of KRS 422.300 to 422.330 and of the estimated actual and reasonable expenses of reproducing such charts or records.” That attorney then tells the other parties. Once the party causing service or any other party pays the estimate, the custodian delivers certified copies by certified mail or personal delivery, certifying them before a notary public.
KRS 422.305(1)–(2)KRS 422.310: “The personal attendance of the employee of the hospital charged with the responsibility of being custodian of the original charts or records specified in the subpoena shall be required if the records pertain to a patient treated by a psychiatrist and the hospital has not received within the thirty (30) days preceding service of the subpoena an authorization signed by the patient or his legal guardian permitting the contents of the records to be released.” The hospital may still elect, by written notice, to substitute copies, and payment of the duplication expenses is then a condition of anyone’s attendance unless the court or other body before which the action or proceeding is pending orders otherwise. A signed authorization received in that window lifts the requirement.
KRS 422.310Federal privacy law adds its own test for the same hospital file, and it separates a court order from a subpoena that arrives without one. 45 C.F.R. 164.512(e)(1)(i) lets a covered entity disclose “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) reaches a “subpoena, discovery request, or other lawful process, that is not accompanied by an order of a court or administrative tribunal,” and asks for either assurance: “The covered entity receives satisfactory assurance, as described in paragraph (e)(1)(iii) of this section, 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” “The covered entity receives satisfactory assurance, as described in paragraph (e)(1)(iv) of this section, from the party seeking the information 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.” Paragraph (e)(1)(v): “For purposes of paragraph (e)(1) of this section, a qualified protective order means, with respect to protected health information requested under paragraph (e)(1)(ii) of this section, an order of a court or of an administrative tribunal or a stipulation by the parties to the litigation or administrative proceeding that: (A) 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 (B) 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)(i)–(ii), (v)For the notice route, (e)(1)(iii) asks for “a written statement and accompanying documentation demonstrating that: (A) 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); (B) 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 (C) The time for the individual to raise objections to the court or administrative tribunal has elapsed, and: (1) No objections were filed; or (2) 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.” The protective-order route, (e)(1)(iv), needs the same kind of written statement, demonstrating that: “(A) 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 (B) The party seeking the protected health information has requested a qualified protective order from such court or administrative tribunal.” Paragraph (e)(1)(vi): “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)(iii)–(iv), (vi)KRE 902(11)(A) reads: “Unless the sources of information or other circumstances indicate lack of trustworthiness, the original or a duplicate of a record of regularly conducted activity within the scope of KRE 803(6) or KRE 803(7), which the custodian thereof certifies: (i) Was made, at or near the time of the occurrence of the matters set forth, by (or from information transmitted by) a person with knowledge of those matters; (ii) Is kept in the course of the regularly conducted activity; and (iii) Was made by the regularly conducted activity as a regular practice.” KRE 902(11)(C) has the custodian of a domestic record sign “a written declaration under oath subject to the penalty of perjury” to certify.
KRE 902(11)(A), (C)Where Kentucky’s rules of evidence apply, KRE 803(6) drops the custodian or qualified witness for elected hospital records, business records meeting KRE 902(11), and records under a statutory exemption from that foundation. The certificate alone is not the end of it in a Kentucky courtroom, because KRE 902(11)(B) adds a condition the proponent must meet: “A record so certified is not self-authenticating under this paragraph unless the proponent makes an intention to offer it known to the adverse party and makes it available for inspection sufficiently in advance of its offer in evidence to provide the adverse party with a fair opportunity to challenge it.”
KRE 803(6)(A); KRE 902(11)(B)Served 123 LLC prepares and serves a Kentucky subpoena that commands production of records.
Get a Free Quote Online →Each point comes from the statute, the rules or the Clerks’ Manual.
Before service, we compare the subpoena we prepare and our service plan with the statute and rules and raise what needs your input. A motion comes later, and we tell you which county’s court hears it.
Search or pick the county where discovery will be conducted to see which Circuit Court clerk the foreign subpoena goes to, then start a quote; the directory below lists all 120 counties.
The Kentucky Court of Justice county pages list each clerk under its county.
How Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia treat a foreign subpoena beside KRS 421.360: the governing law, whether it requires a local attorney and who issues the subpoena, each from that state’s own text. “Check” marks a state whose filing rules leave the local-attorney question open.
| State | Act Adopted | Local Attorney Required by the Act | Who Issues |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky | KRS 421.360 (eff. July 15, 2008) | No | Circuit Court clerk under the Act; Clerks’ Manual: District Judge for a deposition witness |
| Illinois | 735 ILCS 35 (P.A. 99-79) | Check | Clerk of court, discovery county |
| Indiana | IC 34-44.5-1 (P.L.57-2010) | Check | Clerk of court, discovery county |
| Missouri | Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 57.08 (no uniform act) | Check | Circuit court order on ex parte application |
| Ohio | R.C. 2319.09 (eff. Sept. 14, 2016) | No | Clerk of court, discovery county |
| Tennessee | Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 24-9-201 to 24-9-207 (2008 Pub. Ch. 908) | Check | Clerk of court, discovery county |
| Virginia | Va. Code §§ 8.01-412.8 to 8.01-412.15 | No | Circuit court clerk only |
| West Virginia | W. Va. Code §§ 56-12-1 to 56-12-8 | Check | Clerk of court, discovery county |
Each answer cites the Kentucky statute, rule 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 submits the foreign paper to the Circuit Court clerk at the place of discovery, and a Kentucky subpoena results. KRS 421.360(3) covers that step, and the Clerks’ Manual treats a deposition witness differently. The route walks the four stops, the statute has the words, and we confirm your county’s.
Yes. The General Assembly enacted KRS 421.360 in 2008, and it names itself the Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act. It reached discovery requests in lawsuits under way on July 15, 2008, its effective date. Service and compliance then run on Kentucky’s own rules, chiefly CR 45, as the statute section shows.
No. The Act has a party submit the foreign subpoena, and doing so counts as no appearance in a Kentucky court. A Kentucky lawyer’s own power to sign subpoenas under CR 45.01(2) is a separate matter, and the Act never says that power reaches a foreign subpoena. The statute section quotes both texts.
The two official texts differ. The Act names the Circuit Court clerk. The Clerks’ Manual, written for clerks, gives a witness subpoena to a District Judge and documents or inspection to the clerk. The statute section quotes both, and we confirm your county’s practice.
The statute points to the county in which discovery is sought to be conducted, so discovery in Louisville goes to Jefferson County’s Circuit Court clerk and discovery in Lexington to Fayette County’s. For anywhere else, the county finder takes a Kentucky city or ZIP code and names the county’s clerk.
No. Subsection (3)(c) sets what the Kentucky subpoena must hold, the foreign terms plus a counsel list, and it names no required form. The Clerks’ Manual works from the AOC civil subpoena form, and CR 45.01(1) adds its own required contents, so we prepare it to meet all three; see the statute section.
Not under the Act. Subsection (3)(b) has a Kentucky subpoena issued for service on the person named, and subsection (4) speaks of serving that subpoena, so the foreign paper is where the process starts, not the thing served. We prepare that Kentucky paper; subsections (3) and (4) are quoted above.
Not stated either way. The Clerks’ Manual and the eFiling Rules are both silent on how a clerk receives one, and eFiling Rules § 6 opens accounts only to the groups it lists. We settle your county’s channel order by order; the statute section carries that list.
Anyone over eighteen may, and the rule also allows service in any manner a summons could be served in Kentucky. An affidavit from the server on the subpoena proves it, or the witness can acknowledge service in writing on the subpoena itself. The service card quotes the rule.
No. It reaches any place in the state, and handing over or offering a copy is what service means under Civil Rule 45.03(1). Where the witness can be made to show up is narrower, because CR 45.04(3) ties attendance to county lines. See the delivery card and the attendance card.
No. eFiling Rules § 13(5) keeps a CR 45 subpoena out of the system: it goes out the CR 45.03(1) way. The system’s role comes afterward, because the server’s proof may reach the court through it. Party notices stay outside it too; see the notice card.
Every party, plus anyone whose information is being sought, unless the subpoena is for trial. CR 45.03(3) runs that service through Rule 5.02, and CR 45.01(1) separately calls for a certified copy of each subpoena served. The notice card quotes both rules.
Under Civil Rule 45.03(1), the server’s affidavit on the subpoena, or the witness’s written acknowledgment on it, is proof of service; proof is made by filing with the issuing court a statement of date, manner and persons served, certified by the server. Clerks need not file returns on civil subpoenas without a court order. The proof card quotes it.
Not in the words of Civil Rule 45.03(1): it defines service as delivering or offering a copy to the witness and says nothing about money. If a tender turns out to be owed for your witness, it appears on your written quote, and we advance it for you. The witness fee card has the rest.
Only to the county where the resident lives, works or personally transacts business, unless a court order fixes another convenient place. Civil Rule 45.04(3) draws that line in counties rather than miles, and a records holder stays home unless also commanded to appear. The attendance card quotes the rule.
You get ten days from service, or until the compliance time if that falls earlier. Under Civil Rule 45.04(2), the objection is written and goes to the attorney or pro se party the subpoena designates. It stops inspection and copying until a Kentucky court orders otherwise. The objections card has the rule.
In the discovery county’s Circuit Court, under KRS 421.360(6), rather than back in the forum. Timing comes from Civil Rule 45.02: promptly, and no later than the compliance time. The ground for quashing there is a subpoena that is unreasonable and oppressive. The motions card quotes the rule in full.
Only where the parties agree. Civil Rule 45.01(2) otherwise ties a subpoena to attendance or production at a deposition, hearing or trial, and it lets the Court order documents produced with no deposition, again by agreement. See the documents card.
Yes. A hospital’s custodian may elect, in writing, to send certified copies instead of bringing the chart once the estimated copying expenses are paid, and the subpoenaing attorney tells the other side. Psychiatric files can bring the custodian in person under KRS 422.310, and 45 C.F.R. 164.512(e) adds federal conditions; the privacy card quotes them.
The Act sets no count of days; “promptly” is its only word on timing. The Clerks’ Manual’s § 91.3 sets none either. Put your deadline on the form, and we plan service around it. The statute section quotes the language.
One all-in figure: we prepare the documents, the clerk’s fee sits inside it, and service is included when you order it. On the signing step itself, the statute section says what Clerks’ Manual § 91.3 and CR 3.02 leave unsettled. Anything filed later is separate; see the motions card.
The same fee as a new circuit civil case: $188.00 under the CR 3.02 schedule, plus $20.00 for court technology and whatever else is required. Clerks’ Manual § 91.3.4 makes it due once a clerk-issued subpoena draws that motion, or one to enforce or modify. The motions card quotes both.
For a hospital, any party, including the one causing service, may pay the custodian’s estimate. For anyone else, Civil Rule 45.02 lets the court deny a motion on condition that the requester advance reasonable production costs. See the hospital and motions cards.
One written quote covers document preparation, the clerk’s fee and service, when you order service.
