To domesticate a subpoena in Missouri, an ex parte application is presented to the circuit court in the county where the deponent is found, which may order a subpoena issued. Rule 57.08 does not say if an attorney must apply. Served 123 LLC handles it through our Missouri counsel.
What to Send Us
Every Missouri Order Includes
Skip tracing is available if the address turns out to be bad.
Every Missouri County
Served 123 LLC works with the circuit court in each of Missouri’s 114 counties and St. Louis City, and the clerk’s fee is in your quote. The county finder names the county; the directory has the clerk’s address. St. Louis City is its own venue.
Documents Subpoena
A Missouri documents command rides on a deposition. Items come to that deposition unless all parties agree otherwise, any party can ask for a custodian’s affidavit, and a non-party has a short objection window.
Missouri Subpoena Domestication Order
Our quote covers document preparation, the clerk’s fee and service if ordered.
Missouri has not adopted the Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act, and no clerk issues a mirror subpoena on sight of the foreign one. A judge’s order comes first, then a subpoena under Rule 57.09.
Our Missouri counsel handles the application to the circuit court in the county where the deponent is found, and your quote covers that fee.
The judge decides, since the court “may” order the subpoena and may make further orders with due regard for the foreign jurisdiction’s laws, and we carry the order’s terms into our draft.
A deposition officer or a clerk issues it, the rule leaves open which clerk on a Rule 57.08 subpoena, and we prepare it for whichever the court directs.
Our server, a non-party aged 18 or older, delivers a copy, we advance any tender owed on your quote, and the sworn return comes back to you.
One sentence of a Missouri Supreme Court rule carries the whole route. Below it are the parts of Rule 57.09 it brings in, then the points the two rules leave for the judge, the circuit and the parties.
Whenever the deposition of any person is to be taken in this state pursuant to the laws of another state or of the United States or of another country for use in proceedings there, the circuit court in the county where the deponent is found may, upon ex parte application, make an order directing issuance of a subpoena as provided in Rule 57.09, in aid of the taking of the deposition, and having due regard for the laws and rules of such foreign jurisdiction, may make such orders as could be made if the deposition were intended for use in this jurisdiction.
Every subpoena for a deposition shall: (1) Be issued by the officer or person before whom depositions may be taken as designated in Rule 57.05 or Rule 57.06 or by the clerk of the court in which the civil action is pending; (2) State the name of the court and the style of the civil action; (3) State the name, address and telephone number of all attorneys of record and self-represented parties; and (4) Command each person to whom it is directed to attend and give testimony at a time and place therein specified.
Served 123 LLC prepares the Missouri subpoena with each item Rule 57.09(a) requires, whichever official issues it.
Get a Free Quote Online →Proof of service of a notice to take a deposition as provided in Rules 57.03 and 57.04 is sufficient to authorize the issuance of a subpoena for taking a deposition.
Official texts: Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 57.08, 57.09, 57.03, 56.01, 58.02, 9.03, 103.05; RSMo 484.010, 484.020, 490.692, 491.060, 491.110, 491.120, 491.130, 491.280, 492.100, 33.095; Court Operating Rule 27; 1 CSR 10-11.010. General information, not legal advice. The official text controls.
Served 123 LLC prepares the Missouri papers under Rule 57.08 and has the subpoena served under Rule 57.09(d).
Get a Free Quote Online →Rule 57.09(d) sets the server and the delivery, and the witness statutes in chapter 491 speak to the return, the fee and a forty-mile point, as the cards below explain. They also cover notice, motions and where a deponent attends. For a summons or other court papers, see process service in Missouri.
Rule 57.09(d) reads: “A subpoena may be served by: (1) The sheriff or a sheriff's deputy, or (2) Any other person who is not a party and is not less than 18 years of age.” RSMo 491.110 says a subpoena “may be served by the sheriff, coroner, marshal or any constable in the county in which the witnesses to be summoned reside or may be found, or by any disinterested person who would be a competent witness in the cause”. Neither text asks for a court appointment.
Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 57.09(d); RSMo 491.110Rule 57.03 says “A party desiring to take the deposition of any person upon oral examination shall give not less than seven days notice in writing to every other party to the action and to a non-party deponent.” Rule 57.08 brings in Rule 57.09 by name, and whether the notice rule binds a foreign deposition is not stated. Rule 57.09(c) adds: “The party serving a subpoena on a non-party shall provide a copy of the subpoena to every party as if it were a pleading.”
Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 57.03(b)(1); Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 57.09(c)Rule 57.09(d) continues: “Service of a subpoena upon a person named therein shall be made by delivering a copy thereof to such person and by tendering to that person the fees and mileage the witness would have been entitled to receive for attending court pursuant to subpoena.” Mail is not named. RSMo 491.120 also allows reading it aloud and, on a refusal, says “the offer of the officer or other person to read the same or to deliver a copy thereof, and such refusal, shall be a sufficient service of such subpoena.” Rule 57.09(d) has no such sentence, and the rules do not say whether that statute reaches a deposition subpoena.
Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 57.09(d); RSMo 491.120RSMo 491.120 says “The return shall show the manner of service; and in civil cases, if the witness reside at a greater distance than forty miles from the place of trial, it shall be so stated in the return, and also whether his legal fees have been tendered or paid”. For a private server the clause is “if served by a private person, the return shall be verified by affidavit, which shall be received as evidence”. Rule 57.09(d) sets no return of its own, and whether this statute reaches a deposition subpoena is not stated. Our server’s affidavit follows that clause and comes back to you.
RSMo 491.120RSMo 491.130 reads: “A witness shall not be compelled to attend, as such, in a civil suit, at a greater distance than forty miles from his place of residence, unless his legal fees for traveling, in going to and returning from the place of trial, and one day's attendance, are paid or tendered to him at the time of summoning such witness.” Rule 57.09(d) calls for the tender at delivery, so the money goes with the paper. We advance any tender owed, on your quote.
RSMo 491.130; Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 57.09(d)RSMo 491.280 says “Witnesses shall be allowed fees for their services in the amount of twenty-five dollars per day plus a mileage allowance determined as provided in section 33.095.” Section 33.095 sets “the rate of ten cents per mile unless a higher rate is specifically authorized by statute or order of the commissioner of administration.” The Office of Administration’s mileage table lists a State rate of 70.0 cents for July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027, and the texts quoted here do not say that figure is a witness’s rate.
RSMo 491.280; RSMo 33.095; Office of AdministrationRule 57.09(b) says “The court may: (1) Quash or modify the subpoena if it is unreasonable or oppressive, or (2) Require the party who issued and served the subpoena to advance the reasonable cost of producing the books, papers, documents, or tangible things.” A party “objecting to the subpoena may seek a protective order under Rule 56.01(c).” During a deposition, Rule 57.03(e) lets a party or the deponent move on a showing that it is being conducted “in bad faith or in such manner as unreasonably to annoy, embarrass, or oppress the deponent or party”.
Rules 57.09(b)-(c), 56.01(c) and 57.03(e)Rule 57.09(a)(4) has the subpoena command attendance “at a time and place therein specified.” Rules 57.03, 57.08 and 57.09 set no place or distance limit of their own. RSMo 491.130 measures forty miles from the witness’s “place of residence” and RSMo 491.120 from “the place of trial”, and nothing says either applies to a deposition. One limit a deponent may raise is the motion above: whether the time and place are “unreasonable or oppressive” under Rule 57.09(b). The subpoena we prepare states the exact time and place of the deposition that you give us, so pick them with that in mind.
Rule 57.09(a)(4); RSMo 491.120 and 491.130Served 123 LLC handles the Rule 57.09(d) delivery, the tender and the server’s verified return.
Get a Free Quote Online →Rule 57.09 ties a documents command to a deposition noticed under Rule 57.03, and the notice card covers whether that rule binds here. These cards cover when items can arrive without an appearance, the custodian’s affidavit, the non-party’s objection and the physician-patient statute.
Rule 57.09(b) opens: “In conjunction with a deposition properly noticed under Rule 57.03, a subpoena may also command the person to whom it is directed to produce the books, papers, documents, or tangible things designated therein.” Rule 58.02 is separate, and Rule 57.08 does not bring it in.
Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 57.09(b); Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 58.02Rule 57.09(c) then allows a skip: “With the agreement of all parties, the non-party may be excused from appearance at the deposition and may produce the subpoenaed items to the party responsible for issuance and service of the subpoena, who shall then offer to all other parties the opportunity to inspect or copy the subpoenaed items.”
Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 57.09(c)Without the agreement of all parties, Rule 57.09(c) is firm: “Absent such an agreement, the subpoenaed items shall only be produced at the deposition.” It also says “Upon request by any party, the non-party shall also produce with the subpoenaed items a business records affidavit of the custodian of records.” Under RSMo 490.692, qualifying records “shall be admissible as a business record, subject to other substantive or procedural objections, in any court in this state” on the affidavit the statute describes.
Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 57.09(c); RSMo 490.692Rule 57.09(c) sets two clocks for a non-party production subpoena: “A subpoena to a non-party pursuant to Rule 57.09 for the production of documents and things shall be served not fewer than 10 days before the time specified for compliance.” And: “The objection shall be served on all parties to the action within 10 days after service of the subpoena or before the time specified for compliance, whichever is earlier.” On a date near the floor, the objection period ends at about the compliance date.
Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 57.09(c)Chapter 491 makes a physician, chiropractor, psychologist or dentist incompetent to testify “concerning any information which he or she may have acquired from any patient while attending the patient in a professional character, and which information was necessary to enable him or her to prescribe and provide treatment for such patient”. The statute does not say how that applies to records under a subpoena, and Rules 57.03, 57.08 and 57.09 add no notice or authorization step. The federal Privacy Rule then separates a court order from a subpoena, so the first question is which one arrived. 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”.
RSMo 491.060(5); 45 C.F.R. § 164.512(e)(1)(i)Section 164.512(e)(1)(ii) reaches a disclosure “In response to a subpoena, discovery request, or other lawful process, that is not accompanied by an order of a court or administrative tribunal, if:” and names two assurances: “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.”
45 C.F.R. § 164.512(e)(1)(ii)Under (e)(1)(iii), the party seeking Missouri medical files supplies a written statement and documents 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);” that “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” and that “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) is the second path for a Missouri records subpoena when notice to the patient is not the route, and it fits where “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.” The order itself, by (e)(1)(v), is one that “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) and (v)Served 123 LLC prepares and serves a Missouri subpoena that commands production of records.
Get a Free Quote Online →Each point ties to a Missouri rule or the 2026 bill record.
Before service, we compare the subpoena we prepare and the service plan with Rules 57.08 and 57.09 and raise anything that needs your input.
Search or pick the county where the deponent is found to see which circuit court takes the application, then start a quote. St. Louis City and St. Louis County are separate, and Kansas City lights up all four of its counties. The directory below lists the circuit clerk for all 115.
The Missouri Official Manual county chapter lists each county’s circuit clerk; the Clay, Greene, Jackson, St. Louis County and St. Louis City rows give the address on that court’s own site.
How Illinois, Kansas, Iowa, Arkansas and Kentucky handle a foreign subpoena beside Missouri’s Rule 57.08: the governing law, whether a local attorney is required and who issues the subpoena, each taken 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Missouri | Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 57.08 (no uniform act) | Check | Circuit court order on ex parte application |
| Illinois | 735 ILCS 35, a statute in force since January 1, 2016, with Supreme Court Rule 17 | Check | Circuit clerk, discovery county |
| Kansas | K.S.A. 60-228a (L. 2010, ch. 135) | Check | Clerk of the district court, discovery county |
| Iowa | Iowa R. Civ. P. 1.1702 (eff. Feb. 4, 2013) | Check | County clerk (signed blank) or an Iowa attorney |
| Arkansas | Ark. R. Civ. P. 45.1 (2017 Ark. 356, eff. 2018) | No | Circuit clerk, discovery county |
| Kentucky | KRS 421.360 (eff. July 15, 2008) | Check | Circuit Court clerk under the Act; Clerks’ Manual: District Judge for a deposition witness |
Each answer cites the Missouri rule, statute or official source behind it. For questions that apply in every state, see our Subpoena Domestication FAQ. General information, not legal advice.
No. The Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act has not become Missouri law; the 2026 bill, HB 1711, never reached final passage, and chapter 510 of the statutes stops short of the sections it proposed. A foreign deposition subpoena runs through Rule 57.08 instead, and the rule section sets that text out.
Under Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 57.08 the application goes ex parte to the circuit court for the deponent’s county, the court may order a subpoena, the subpoena follows Rule 57.09, and a qualified server delivers it with the tender. The four stops run from the first paper to the sworn return.
Not settled by the rules. Rule 57.08 says nothing about who applies, and the statutes on law practice never mention this application. Rule 9.03 and COR 27.03(b) bear on it without resolving it, as the rule section shows, which is why ours go through Missouri counsel.
Venue under Rule 57.08 turns on where the witness can be found, so the forum of the pending case plays no part. St. Louis City and St. Louis County count separately, and a Kansas City address can sit in any of four counties. Search the county finder by city or ZIP.
Rule 57.09(a)(1) gives two choices, a Rule 57.05 or 57.06 deposition officer or the clerk where the action is pending, and that second phrase fits awkwardly because the action sits outside Missouri. The rule section shows the gap in that wording. Our papers go to whichever official the court’s order or practice requires.
Yes, in one narrow case. Under RSMo 492.100, a commissioner appointed by another state, a U.S. territory or the District of Columbia and living in Missouri can compel attendance at a deposition. Rule 57.08 needs no commissioner, and it is the route this page covers. The commissioner card quotes the statute.
Not in the text of Rule 57.08, which prints no numbered form. On the subpoena side, Rule 57.09(a) lists required contents rather than a numbered form, and that list is what our draft tracks. The rule section also covers what Rule 57.09(e) says about notice proof.
Under Rule 57.09(d), a sheriff, a deputy, or an adult who is not in the case. RSMo 491.110 lists more officers plus a disinterested competent witness. Neither text requires a court appointment for this subpoena, and our Missouri process service page covers summons papers. See who serves.
Not under the text. Rule 57.09(d) describes delivery of a copy with a tender, and RSMo 491.120 describes reading or delivering it. Neither one mentions the post office, so our servers work in person. The delivery card quotes both provisions. If you plan on any other method, raise it with us before the service date is set.
Not settled. A statute and Rule 57.09(d) part ways on a refusal, and no text says which governs a deposition subpoena. The delivery card quotes both. Our server records in the return exactly what happened, so your side has the facts if the point is ever raised.
Whether RSMo § 491.120 reaches a deposition subpoena is not stated, and we follow it: an officer’s return is conclusive, while a private person swears to theirs, recording how service happened, plus distance and fee status past forty miles from the trial. Our server signs that return before it reaches you. See the proof section.
Not under the subpoena text. Rule 57.09(d) sets only two limits on a private server: not a party, and at least 18. RSMo 491.110 is similar, with “disinterested” as its test. If a circuit’s practice calls for an appointed server, we tell you at intake; if the order itself does, we tell you when it arrives. See who serves.
Twenty-five dollars a day plus mileage under RSMo 491.280, and Rule 57.09(d) ties the tender to that attendance amount. The mileage runs through RSMo 33.095, and the witness fee card traces that chain, including the open point on the current rate. Your written quote lists the tender amount we advance.
Not in Rule 57.09, which requires a stated time and place and sets no mileage cap. The forty-mile statute, RSMo 491.130, speaks of a civil suit and a place of trial, and whether it reaches depositions is unresolved. The attendance card has the detail.
Rule 57.09(c) lets the non-party serve a written objection on the party who issued and served the subpoena, with specific reasons why it should be quashed or modified. The objections card gives the deadline. The objection reaches all parties, and it covers inspection and copying of any or all of the designated items.
Not expressly. Rule 57.09(b) gives “the court” that power without saying which court in a Rule 57.08 matter. For abuse during a deposition, Rule 57.03(e) points to the forum or to a Missouri court where it is held. Good cause under Rule 56.01(c) supports a protective order. See motions.
Rule 57.09 has no special step for them, though RSMo 491.060(5) keeps a privilege for physicians, chiropractors, psychologists and dentists. The statute speaks of testimony, and how it applies to subpoenaed records is unaddressed. Federal privacy rules may also bear on a provider. The medical records card quotes the Missouri text.
Yes, unless all parties agree under Rule 57.09(c). The party responsible for the subpoena obtains that agreement, tells the non-party in writing and copies all counsel and self-represented parties. Other parties then get a chance to inspect or copy. The documents card quotes the rule, and a custodian’s affidavit is available on any party’s request.
Your written quote is all-in: our Missouri counsel’s fee and the clerk’s fee are inside it, and any witness tender shows on it as its own line. Published court fees differ by circuit, and the fee card states the local lines that name a foreign deposition. Rule 57.08 itself states no fee.
The 10-day floor belongs to a non-party production subpoena under Rule 57.09(c), and the objections card quotes it. A testimony-only subpoena falls outside that sentence. Served right at that floor, the objection deadline lands at about the compliance date itself.
Rule 57.03(b)(1) asks for seven days in writing in a Missouri action. Rule 57.08 does not say whether that period controls a deposition taken for another forum, which keeps its own notice rules. Parties get a copy of a non-party subpoena too, and the notice card quotes that text.
Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 57.08 sets no deadline for the judge, and the word “may” leaves the timing with the court. Build in room before your deposition date, because Rule 57.09(c) wants a documents subpoena served not fewer than 10 days before compliance, and that service follows the order. Enter your date under Requested Deadline; your quote states the last service day. See the route for the order of events.
One written quote covers document preparation, Missouri counsel’s fee, the clerk’s fee and service, when you order service.
