Under § 9-18.1-3, the Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act, the foreign subpoena is submitted to the Superior Court clerk in the county where discovery is sought, who issues a local one. The Act requires no Rhode Island attorney. Served 123 LLC handles the clerk step and service.
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Every Rhode Island Order Includes
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Every Rhode Island County
Served 123 LLC handles subpoena domestications in all 5 Rhode Island counties. The county finder names the Superior Court where discovery is sought, and the directory lists each address. Search the finder by town or ZIP code to reach the right Superior Court clerk’s office for your subpoena.
Documents Subpoena
A person asked only for records need not appear in person under Rule 45(c)(2)(A), and may object in writing within fourteen days after service, or before a sooner compliance time. Health records add the steps set out below. Your written quote confirms the path, before you pay.
Rhode Island Subpoena Domestication Order
One written quote covers document preparation, any issuer’s or clerk’s fee and service if ordered.
The table gives each point of the clerk route with its statute or rule, and the steps below show the order of the work, from the papers you send to the signed proof.
| Point | Rhode Island | Statute or Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Law | The Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act, P.L. 2019, ch. 190, enacted July 15, 2019 | §§ 9-18.1-1 to 9-18.1-8 |
| Venue | The Superior Court clerk of the discovery county: Licht (Providence, Bristol), Noel (Kent), Murray (Newport), McGrath (Washington) | § 9-18.1-3(a) |
| Who Issues | The clerk, promptly, under the court’s procedure; or a Rhode Island lawyer in good standing | § 9-18.1-3(b) |
| Local Attorney | None needed on the clerk route; the request is not an appearance | § 9-18.1-3(a) |
| What Goes In | The foreign subpoena; Form Superior-70 asks for a certified copy | § 9-18.1-3(a) |
| Fee | The Act names no amount; any clerk’s charge is in your written quote | § 9-18.1-3(b) |
| Service | An authorized officer, or a non-party 18 or older, by delivery anywhere in the state | § 9-18.1-4; Rule 45(b)(1) |
| Witness Fee | A daily fee and mileage under the statute, tendered when attendance is commanded | § 9-29-7 |
| Proof | Filed with the issuing clerk; a notary is needed unless a sheriff, deputy sheriff or constable signs | Rule 45(b)(2) |
| Objections | Records objections within 14 days after service | Rule 45(c)(2)(B) |
| Motions | The Superior Court in the county of discovery | § 9-18.1-6 |
Your subpoena comes to us with the witness, your dates and the counsel list, and your written quote confirms the steps before you pay.
We prepare the Rhode Island subpoena with the foreign terms and every counsel’s name, address, phone and email.
The clerk in the county where discovery is sought issues it under the court’s procedure.
Your side serves each party notice of a records command, or written notice of a deposition.
Our server delivers a copy to the witness, with any tender advanced when attendance is commanded.
The server’s certified return comes back to you, signed before a notary on Form Superior-70.
Under Rule 45(c)(2)(B), a person commanded to produce may serve written objection “within fourteen (14) days after service of the subpoena or before the time specified for compliance if such time is less than fourteen (14) days after service”. Under Rule 6(a), the day of service is left out, and a last day on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday runs to the next day that is none of those.
A compliance date earlier than Day 14 controls instead.
A planning aid, not legal advice. It does not see a holiday the governor or the President appoints later, a Monday taken for a Saturday holiday, a day the clerk’s office closes, or a court order setting another time. Each can only make the date later; if a date is close, ask counsel.
Rhode Island enacted the Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act by statute in 2019, as chapter 9-18.1. The quotations below are § 9-18.1-3: where the request goes, who issues and what the Rhode Island subpoena must carry.
To request issuance of a subpoena under this section, a party shall submit a foreign subpoena to: (1) A clerk of the superior court in the county in which discovery is sought to be conducted in this state; or (2) A lawyer who is a member in good standing of the bar of this state. A request for the issuance of a subpoena under this act does not constitute an appearance in the courts of this state.
Served 123 LLC prepares the Rhode Island subpoena and handles the clerk step.
Get a Free Quote Online →When a party submits a foreign subpoena to a clerk of the superior court in this state, the clerk, in accordance with the court’s procedure, shall promptly issue a subpoena for service on the person to which the foreign subpoena is directed. When a party submits a subpoena to a lawyer who is a member in good standing of the bar of this state, the lawyer may issue a subpoena for service on the person to which the foreign subpoena is directed.
A subpoena under subsection (b) of this section shall: (1) Incorporate the terms used in the foreign subpoena; (2) Contain or be accompanied by the names, addresses, telephone numbers, and email addresses of all counsel of record in the proceeding to which the subpoena relates and of any party not represented by counsel; and (3) Otherwise be in a form that complies with the laws of this state.
Official texts: R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-18.1-1, § 9-18.1-2, § 9-18.1-3, § 9-18.1-4, § 9-18.1-5, § 9-18.1-6, § 9-18.1-7 and § 9-18.1-8; P.L. 2019, ch. 190; § 9-29-7, § 9-17-5.1, § 5-37.3-6.1 and § 25-1-1; Super. R. Civ. P. 6, 26, 28, 30, 45 and 85; Sup. Ct. Rules Art. X, Rule 6; 45 C.F.R. § 164.512. General information, not legal advice. The official text controls.
Served 123 LLC prepares the papers under the Act, and your written quote confirms the steps, before you pay.
Get a Free Quote Online →These cards set out who may serve, how, what the witness is owed, the proof and its notary line, the notice owed to the other side, the deposition officer and where a motion goes. For a summons or other court papers, see process service in Rhode Island.
Section 9-18.1-4 sends service to the Superior Court rules, and Rule 45(b)(1) reads: “A subpoena may be served by a duly authorized officer in accordance with Title 9, Chapter 5 (Writs, Summons, and Process) of the Rhode Island General Laws or by any other person who is not a party and is not less than eighteen (18) years of age.”
§ 9-18.1-4; Super. R. Civ. P. 45(b)(1)Delivery is enough for records, and “if the person's attendance is commanded”, service adds “tendering to that person the fees for one (1) day's attendance and the mileage allowed by law.” The rule adds: “When the subpoena is issued on behalf of the state or any officer or agency thereof, fees and mileage need not be tendered.”
Super. R. Civ. P. 45(b)(1)Under Rule 45(b)(1), service “shall be made by delivering a copy thereof to such person”, and “A subpoena may be served at any place within the state.”
Super. R. Civ. P. 45(b)(1)Article X, Rule 6(a) reads: “Subpoenas, summonses and complaints, petitions or other documents that must be hand delivered or served in person with a summons shall not be served electronically.”
Sup. Ct. Rules Art. X, Rule 6(a)Section 9-29-7(a) sets one fee “For every day’s attendance before the supreme or superior court, or before any other tribunal or magistrate, including attendance in giving depositions” and another “For every mile’s travel”.
§ 9-29-7(a)(1), (2)Rule 45(b)(2) reads: “Proof of service when necessary shall be made by filing with the clerk of the court by which the subpoena is issued a statement of the date and manner of service and the names of the persons served, certified by the person who made the service.”
Super. R. Civ. P. 45(b)(2)The return on Form Superior-70 begins “hereby certify that on the date below I served a copy of this Subpoena and certified order from a foreign jurisdiction on”, and under the signature line it reads: “SIGNATURE OF PERSON OTHER THAN A SHERIFF or DEPUTY SHERIFF or CONSTABLE MUST BE NOTARIZED.”
Form Superior-70Rule 45(b)(1) reads: “Prior notice of any commanded production of documents and things or inspection of premises before trial shall be served on each party in the manner prescribed by Rule 5(b).” For a deposition, Rule 30(b)(1) calls for “reasonable notice in writing to every other party to the action.”
Super. R. Civ. P. 45(b)(1); 30(b)(1)Rule 28(a) reads: “Within the state, depositions shall be taken before an officer authorized to administer oaths by the law of the state or before a person appointed by the court.” A deposition taken by remote means “is taken in the county and at the place where the deponent is to answer questions”. Under Rule 45(a)(2)(B), a deposition subpoena issues “stating the method for recording the testimony”.
Super. R. Civ. P. 28(a); 30(b)(7); 45(a)(2)(B)Under Rule 45(c)(3)(A), “On timely motion, the court by which a subpoena was issued shall quash or modify the subpoena if it: (i) Fails to allow reasonable time for compliance;” or “(ii) Requires disclosure of privileged or other protected matter and no exception or waiver applies; or (iii) Subjects a person to undue burden or expense.”
Super. R. Civ. P. 45(c)(3)(A)Section 9-18.1-6 reads: “An application to the court for a protective order or to enforce, quash, or modify a subpoena issued under” § 9-18.1-3 “shall comply with the rules or statutes of this state,” and it goes to “the superior court in the county in which discovery is to be conducted.” Section 9-18.1-5 adds: “The Rhode Island superior court rules of civil procedure govern subpoenas issued under” § 9-18.1-3.
§§ 9-18.1-5, 9-18.1-6Under Rule 26(c), a motion for a protective order must be “accompanied by a certification that the movant has in good faith conferred or attempted to confer with other affected parties”, in an effort to resolve the dispute without court action. The rule names “the court in which the action is pending or alternatively, on matters relating to a deposition, the court in the county where the deposition is to be taken”.
Super. R. Civ. P. 26(c)Served 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 records alone, the fourteen-day objection, how records are produced, custodian copies from banks, insurers, utilities, agencies and colleges, the patient notice for health care records and the federal privacy rule.
Under Rule 45(c)(2)(A), a person commanded to produce “need not appear in person at the place of production or inspection unless commanded to appear for deposition, hearing, or trial”. The production command on Form Superior-70 names a “location, date, and time”.
Super. R. Civ. P. 45(c)(2)(A); Form Superior-70A person commanded to produce may object “within fourteen (14) days after service of the subpoena or before the time specified for compliance if such time is less than fourteen (14) days after service, serve upon the self-represented litigant or attorney designated in the subpoena written objection”.
Super. R. Civ. P. 45(c)(2)(B)Once written objection is served, Rule 45(c)(2)(B) stops the inspection: “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.” The serving side then has its remedy: “If objection has been made, the party serving the subpoena may, upon notice to the person commanded to produce, move at any time for an order to compel the production.”
Super. R. Civ. P. 45(c)(2)(B)Rule 45(d)(1) reads: “A person responding to a subpoena to produce documents and/or electronically stored information shall produce them as they are kept in the usual course of business or shall organize and label them to correspond with the categories in the demand.” For electronic data, Rule 45(c)(2)(D)(i) adds: “A person responding to a subpoena need not provide discovery of electronically stored information from sources that the person identifies as not reasonably accessible because of undue burden or expense.”
Super. R. Civ. P. 45(d)(1); 45(c)(2)(D)(i)Section 9-17-5.1 applies when a records subpoena “is served on a federal or state agency, public utility, national bank, insurance company, financial institution, or a public or private institution of higher education”. It is then “a sufficient response to the subpoena” if the records custodian “promptly provides the attorney for the party causing service of the subpoena copies of all documents requested by the subpoena”.
§ 9-17-5.1(a)Section 9-17-5.1 adds: “All responses to the subpoena shall contain a certificate which shall be signed before a notary public”. Under § 9-17-5.1(b), records “may be proved as to foundation, identity, and authenticity without any preliminary testimony, by use of legible and durable copies, certified in the manner provided in subsection (a)”, and those copies “may be used in any trial, hearing, deposition, or any other judicial or administrative action or proceeding”.
§ 9-17-5.1(a), (b)When records are withheld as privileged or as trial preparation materials, Rule 45(d)(2) reads: “the claim shall be made expressly and shall be supported by a description of the nature of the documents, communications, or things not produced that is sufficient to enable the demanding party to contest the claim.”
Super. R. Civ. P. 45(d)(2)Under § 5-37.3-6.1, a provider “may disclose confidential healthcare information in a judicial proceeding if the disclosure is pursuant to a subpoena and the provider or custodian is provided written certification by the party issuing the subpoena that:” the items on the next card are met.
§ 5-37.3-6.1(a)The certification states: “A copy of the subpoena has been served by the party on the individual whose records are being sought on or before the date the subpoena was served, together with a notice of the individual's right to challenge the subpoena; or, if the individual cannot be located within this jurisdiction, that an affidavit of that fact is provided; and”.
§ 5-37.3-6.1(a)(1)It then states: “Twenty (20) days have passed from the date of service on the individual and within that time period the individual has not initiated a challenge; or (3) Disclosure is ordered by a court after challenge.” On a challenge, § 5-37.3-6.1(c) adds: “The party issuing the subpoena may file with the court such papers, including affidavits and other sworn documents, as sustain the validity of the subpoena.”
§ 5-37.3-6.1(a)(2), (3), (c)Under a court order, a covered entity may disclose if it “discloses only the protected health information expressly authorized by such order”. With no order, the rule reaches 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”. The first notice assurance reads: “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);”
45 C.F.R. § 164.512(e)(1)(i)-(iii)The requesting party’s written statement and documentation go on to show: “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” “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)For a records request, we prepare the papers under the Act, and your written quote confirms the steps, before you pay.
Get a Free Quote Online →Each of these points comes from a Rhode Island statute, rule or court form. Most come from the venue, the subpoena’s contents or the service rules.
Before service, we compare the papers we prepare with the statutes and raise anything that needs your input.
Type a town, city or ZIP code to find the county, and the finder names that county’s Superior Court clerk.
The Rhode Island Superior Court gives each Superior Court’s address.
A witness may sit just over the line, so the route changes with the state. Each “No” rests on that state’s own rule text; “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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rhode Island | R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 9-18.1 (P.L. 2019, ch. 190) | No | Superior Court clerk, discovery county, or a Rhode Island lawyer |
| Connecticut | C.G.S. §§ 52-655 to 52-660 (P.A. 22-26, 2023) | No | Clerk of the Superior Court, judicial district 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 |
| New York | N.Y. CPLR 3119 (eff. Jan. 1, 2011) | No | County clerk where discovery is sought, or a New York attorney |
| New Jersey | N.J. Court Rule 4:11-4(b) (eff. Sept. 1, 2014) | No | A New Jersey attorney or the Clerk of the Superior Court |
| 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 |
Each answer cites a Rhode Island statute or rule. For questions that apply in every state, see our Subpoena Domestication FAQ. General information, not legal advice.
Not since 2019. The history line under § 9-18.1-3 lists two session laws, P.L. 2019, ch. 190, § 1 and P.L. 2019, ch. 241, § 1, and nothing later, so the 2019 wording quoted on this page is the current text. See the statute section for the enactment record.
Four complexes serve the five counties, as Form Superior-70 lists them: a Providence or Bristol request goes to Licht, Kent to Noel, Newport to Murray and Washington to McGrath. Under § 9-18.1-3(a)(1), the place of discovery decides which complex acts, not the place of the lawsuit. Pick a county on the map to see its complex.
No. Section 9-18.1-3(a) gives two routes, the Superior Court clerk or a lawyer in good standing of the Rhode Island bar, and says the request is not an appearance in Rhode Island courts. A later motion is another matter: Rule 85 lets only a Rhode Island attorney, or a person given leave, act as counsel in Superior Court; see the statute cards.
Yes. Under § 9-18.1-3(b), when the foreign subpoena goes to a lawyer in good standing of the Rhode Island bar, the lawyer may issue the Rhode Island subpoena, and Form Superior-70 has a box for issuance by clerk or attorney. Either route must meet the content rules of § 9-18.1-3(c), quoted in the statute section.
Superior-70, in its May 2023 revision. One page holds the deposition and production commands, the Rule 45 text, the clerk or attorney issuance box and a proof of service, and it calls for a certified foreign subpoena to be attached. It is the Judiciary’s posted form; the Rule 84 appendix of forms lists a general civil subpoena but not this foreign form. See the form cards.
Under Rule 45(b)(1), an officer authorized by Title 9, Chapter 5 of the General Laws, or any other person who is not a party and is at least 18. Section 9-18.1-4 applies that rule to a subpoena issued on a foreign one. Outside the sheriff, deputy and constable offices, the server signs the return in front of a notary; see the return card.
Not by email. Article X, Rule 6(a) of the Supreme Court Rules bars electronic service of subpoenas, and Rule 45(b)(1) makes service a delivery of a copy to the person named, at any place within the state. Rule 45 names no mail method for a subpoena, so a copy is put in the witness’s hands. The methods card quotes both rules.
The clerk of the court that issued the subpoena, under Rule 45(b)(2), stating when and how service was made and on whom, certified by the server. Form Superior-70 prints that return, and a server who is not a sheriff, deputy or constable signs it before a notary. See the proof card.
Every party. Rule 45(b)(1) requires prior notice of a commanded pretrial production or inspection to each side, by the Rule 5(b) methods, and gives no lead time. A deposition needs reasonable written notice to every other party under Rule 30(b)(1), with the time and place, and any records list attached. The notice card quotes both.
An officer authorized to administer oaths under Rhode Island law, or a person the court appoints, under Rule 28(a). A remote deposition counts as taken in the county and at the place where the deponent answers, under Rule 30(b)(7). A subpoena to an organization must advise it of its Rule 30(b)(6) duty; see the officer card.
Yes. Rule 45(a)(1)(E) has every subpoena carry the full wording of subdivisions (c) and (d), which hold the protections of a person subpoenaed and the duties in responding. Superior-70 prints its own copy under a line citing Rule 45(c), (d), and (e), but that copy differs in places from the February 2024 rule text, so check it against the current rule. See the Rule 45 text card.
Not under Rule 45(b)(1); the fee and mileage tender rides with a command to attend, and a records-only subpoena carries none. Rule 45(c)(2)(A) also spares the keeper a personal appearance at the place of production unless a deposition, hearing or trial is commanded too. See the records cards.
Day 14 from service, under Rule 45(c)(2)(B), unless the subpoena sets an earlier compliance date, which then controls. The objection is in writing and goes to the self-represented litigant or attorney the subpoena designates, not to the clerk. The objection calculator finds Day 14 from the service date you enter.
The Superior Court of the discovery county hears it, under § 9-18.1-6, and the motion must comply with Rhode Island rules or statutes. Rule 45(c)(3)(A) lists the grounds, and a protective-order motion carries the good-faith conferral certificate of Rule 26(c). See the motions cards.
A written certification from the issuing party. Under § 5-37.3-6.1(a), it states that the patient was served a copy with a “notice of the individual’s right to challenge” it, or that an affidavit shows the patient cannot be located “within this jurisdiction”, and that “Twenty (20) days have passed” with no challenge, or that a court ordered disclosure. Both steps are quoted on the health records cards.
In the written quote you receive before you pay, together with preparation and service if you order it. Section 9-18.1-3(b) has the clerk issue the subpoena “in accordance with the court’s procedure,” and the Act itself names no amount for the clerk’s step. See the route for the order of the work.
No number of days. Under § 9-18.1-3(b) the clerk “shall promptly issue” the subpoena, following the court’s own procedure, once the foreign one is submitted in the county of discovery. Sending the certified foreign subpoena, the witness, the counsel list and your dates at the outset keeps the clerk step moving; the route lists each step.
No. Rule 45 uses a standard, not a count, and on a timely motion a subpoena that leaves too little time to comply is quashed or modified, Rule 45(c)(3)(A)(i). Records objections are the exception, due in 14 days from service or by an earlier compliance date, Rule 45(c)(2)(B). See the grounds card.
Yes. One written quote, given before you pay, covers preparing Form Superior-70 with the counsel list, the step at the Superior Court clerk and, if ordered, delivery by our server with the return signed before a notary (see the return card). We advance the witness money Rule 45(b)(1) calls for when a person must attend. Start your order online with the county of discovery.
One written quote covers document preparation, any issuer’s or clerk’s fee and service if ordered.
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