To domesticate a subpoena in Texas, have it submitted to a district or county clerk in the county where discovery is sought, and the clerk issues it. Rule 201.3, based on the Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act, requires no Texas attorney. Served 123 LLC handles the filing and service, one quote.
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Every Texas County
Served 123 LLC handles subpoena domestications in all 254 Texas counties. The county finder names the county for a town or ZIP code, and the directory lists each district clerk; each address comes from an official county or state page.
Documents Subpoena
A records subpoena runs on its own clock: the notice to produce goes out at least 10 days before the subpoena itself. Medical records add the step set out below. Your written quote confirms the path and the papers, before you pay.
Texas Subpoena Domestication Order
Our quote covers document preparation, any clerk’s fee and service if ordered.
Under Rule 201.3, a district or county court clerk issues the Texas subpoena once the other state’s subpoena is submitted.
| Point | Texas | Rule or Statute |
|---|---|---|
| Law | Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 201.3, effective August 31, 2025 | Rule 201.3 |
| Venue | A district or county court clerk in the Texas discovery county | Rule 201.3(b)(1) |
| Who Issues | The clerk, promptly, for service on the person or entity named | Rule 201.3(b)(2) |
| Local Attorney | None required by the rule; the request is not an appearance in a Texas court | Rule 201.3(b)(1) |
| Fee | The clerk’s charge is in your written quote | Check |
| Service | A sheriff, a constable or any nonparty 18 or older, delivering a copy and tendering fees | Rule 176.5(a) |
| Witness Fee | Ten dollars a day, travel included, one day paid at service | § 22.001 |
| Party Notice | Notice to the nonparty and all parties; records, at least 10 days ahead | Rule 205.2 |
| Range | No appearance or production more than 150 miles away | Rule 176.3(a) |
| Motions | Protective orders under Rule 176.6(e), in compliance with Texas rules or statutes | Rule 176.6(e); 201.3(e) |
Send the subpoena, the witness, the Texas county and the counsel list; your quote comes before you pay.
We prepare it on the out-of-state terms, with every counsel’s name, address and phone number.
A district or county court clerk in the discovery county issues it promptly.
Your side serves the notice on the nonparty and every party, 10 days ahead for a records subpoena.
Our server delivers a copy and tenders the one-day witness fee, or one dollar to a records custodian not required to appear.
The server’s signed statement of service comes back to you.
Rule 205.2 says a notice to produce documents or tangible things under Rule 205.3 “must be served at least 10 days before the subpoena compelling production is served.” Under Rule 4, the day the notice is served 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 planning aid, not legal advice. It does not add the three days Rule 4 gives when service is made by mail, and it does not see a day the clerk’s office closes or a court order setting another time. If a date is close, ask counsel.
Texas adopted the uniform act as a court rule, Rule 201.3, effective August 31, 2025. Rule 201.3(b) sets where the request goes, who issues and what it must contain.
To request issuance of a subpoena, a party must submit an out-of-state subpoena to a clerk of a district or county court in the county in which discovery is sought to be conducted in Texas. A request for the issuance of a subpoena under this rule does not constitute an appearance in a Texas court.
Served 123 LLC prepares the Texas subpoena and handles the clerk step.
Get a Free Quote Online →When a party submits an out-of-state subpoena to a Texas court clerk, the clerk must promptly issue a subpoena for service on the person or entity to which the out-of-state subpoena is directed.
A subpoena under paragraph (2) must: A. incorporate the terms used in the out-of-state subpoena; and B. 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 who has appeared and is not represented by counsel.
Official texts: Tex. R. Civ. P. Rule 4, 176.1, 176.2, 176.3, 176.5, 176.6, 176.7, 176.8, 200.1, 201.3, 205.2, 205.3; H.B. 3929 (2023); Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 22.001 and § 22.004; Tex. Gov’t Code § 662.003 and § 662.021; 45 C.F.R. § 164.512. General information, not legal advice. The official text controls.
Served 123 LLC prepares the papers; your quote comes before you pay.
Get a Free Quote Online →For a petition or other court papers, see process service in Texas.
Rule 201.3(c) reads: “A subpoena issued under paragraph (b)(2) must be served in compliance with Rules 176 and 205.” Under Rule 176.5(a), “a subpoena may be served at any place within the State of Texas by any sheriff or constable of the State of Texas, or any person who is not a party and is 18 years of age or older.” Rule 176.3(a) sets the reach: “A person may not be required by subpoena to appear or produce documents or other things in a county that is more than 150 miles from where the person resides or is served.”
Tex. R. Civ. P. 201.3(c); 176.5(a); 176.3(a)Rule 205.2 reads: “A party seeking discovery by subpoena from a nonparty must serve, on the nonparty and all parties, a copy of the form of notice required under the rules governing the applicable form of discovery.” For testimony, “a notice of oral or written deposition must be served before or at the same time that a subpoena compelling attendance or production under the notice is served.” Rule 200.1(a) adds, for written questions: “A notice of intent to take the deposition must be served on the witness and all parties at least 20 days before the deposition is taken.”
Tex. R. Civ. P. 205.2; 200.1(a)Rule 176.5(a) reads: “A subpoena must be served by delivering a copy to the witness and tendering to that person any fees required by law.” Section 22.001(b) adds: “The party who summons the witness shall pay that witness's fee for one day, as provided by this section, at the time the subpoena is served on the witness.”
Tex. R. Civ. P. 176.5(a); Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 22.001(b)Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 22.001(a) reads: “Except as provided by Section 22.003, a witness is entitled to 10 dollars for each day the witness attends court. This fee includes the entitlement for travel and the witness is not entitled to any reimbursement for mileage traveled.”
Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 22.001(a)Rule 176.5(b) reads: “Proof of service must be made by filing either: (1) the witness's signed written memorandum attached to the subpoena showing that the witness accepted the subpoena; or (2) a statement by the person who made the service stating the date, time, and manner of service, and the name of the person served.”
Tex. R. Civ. P. 176.5(b)Rule 201.3(e) reads: “An application to the issuing court for a protective order or to enforce, quash, or modify a subpoena must comply with the rules or statutes of Texas.” Rule 176.7 adds: “A party causing a subpoena to issue must take reasonable steps to avoid imposing undue burden or expense on the person served.”
Tex. R. Civ. P. 201.3(e); 176.7Under Rule 176.6(b), when a subpoena commanding testimony goes to a corporation, partnership, government agency or other organization, and the matters are “described with reasonable particularity, the organization must designate one or more persons to testify on its behalf as to matters known or reasonably available to the organization.” The organization picks who answers, so the subpoena should list the matters with care.
Tex. R. Civ. P. 176.6(b)Under Rule 176.6(d), “a person commanded to produce and permit inspection or copying of designated documents and things may serve on the party requesting issuance of the subpoena - before the time specified for compliance - written objections to producing any or all of the designated materials.” The rule adds: “A person need not comply with the part of a subpoena to which objection is made as provided in this paragraph unless ordered to do so by the court.”
Tex. R. Civ. P. 176.6(d)Rule 176.6(e) reads: “A person commanded to appear at a deposition, hearing, or trial, or to produce and permit inspection and copying of designated documents and things, and any other person affected by the subpoena, may move for a protective order” under Rule 192.6(b), “before the time specified for compliance”, “either in the court in which the action is pending or in a district court in the county where the subpoena was served.” Then: “The person must serve the motion on all parties in accordance with Rule 21a.” A records witness can also use written objections.
Tex. R. Civ. P. 176.6(e)Rule 176.8(a) reads: “Failure by any person without adequate excuse to obey a subpoena served upon that person may be deemed a contempt of the court from which the subpoena is issued or a district court in the county in which the subpoena is served, and may be punished by fine or confinement, or both.” Rule 176.8(b) adds: “A fine may not be imposed, nor a person served with a subpoena attached, for failure to comply with a subpoena without proof by affidavit of the party requesting the subpoena or the party's attorney of record that all fees due the witness by law were paid or tendered.”
Tex. R. Civ. P. 176.8(a), (b)Served 123 LLC handles the service, the witness fee tendered with it and the signed return of service.
Get a Free Quote Online →Rule 205.3 records subpoenas, and another person’s medical records.
Rule 205.3(a) reads: “A party may compel production of documents and tangible things from a nonparty by serving - reasonable time before the response is due but no later than 30 days before the end of any applicable discovery period - the notice required in Rule 205.2 and a subpoena compelling production or inspection of documents or tangible things.” Under Rule 176.6(c), the witness “need not appear in person at the time and place of production unless the person is also commanded to attend and give testimony”.
Tex. R. Civ. P. 205.3(a); 176.6(c)Rule 205.3(b) reads: “Contents of notice. The notice must state:” It names “the name of the person from whom production or inspection is sought to be compelled”, “a reasonable time and place for the production or inspection” and “the items to be produced or inspected, either by individual item or by category, describing each item and category with reasonable particularity”. Rule 205.2 has it served at least 10 days before the subpoena; the calculator counts the days.
Tex. R. Civ. P. 205.3(b); 205.2Rule 205.3(c) reads: “If a party requests a nonparty to produce medical or mental health records of another nonparty, the requesting party must serve the nonparty whose records are sought with the notice required under this rule. This requirement does not apply under the circumstances set forth in Rule 196.1(c)(2).”
Tex. R. Civ. P. 205.3(c)Rule 205.3(f) reads: “A party requiring production of documents by a nonparty must reimburse the nonparty's reasonable costs of production.” Under Rule 205.3(e), the party obtaining the production also “must furnish copies to any party who requests at that party’s expense.”
Tex. R. Civ. P. 205.3(e), (f)A Texas provider that is a HIPAA covered entity also answers to 45 C.F.R. § 164.512(e). An order limits what goes out: the provider “discloses only the protected health information expressly authorized by such order”. A subpoena alone is covered “In response to a subpoena, discovery request, or other lawful process, that is not accompanied by an order of a court or administrative tribunal”, and one assurance it may accept is 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);”
45 C.F.R. § 164.512(e)(1)(i)-(iii)The same assurance, on the notice to the patient, continues: “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)Records too: we prepare the papers and quote before you pay.
Get a Free Quote Online →Each point comes from a Texas rule.
Before service, we compare the papers we prepare with the rules and raise anything that needs your input.
The request goes to a district or county court clerk in the discovery county; the directory lists each district clerk. Type a town, city or ZIP code to find the county.
The Texas Judicial Directory (Office of Court Administration) names each district clerk under its county.
A witness just over a state line falls under that state’s route instead. “No” reads each state’s rule text alone.
| State | Act Adopted | Local Attorney Required by the Act | Who Issues |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | Tex. R. Civ. P. 201.3 (2025) | No | District or county court clerk, discovery county |
| Arkansas | Ark. R. Civ. P. 45.1 (2017 Ark. 356, eff. 2018) | No | Circuit clerk, discovery county |
| Louisiana | R.S. 13:3825 (Acts 2014, No. 793) | No | Clerk of court, discovery parish |
| New Mexico | NMRA Rule 1-045.1 (Order 09-8300-018, 2009) | No | Clerk of the district court, discovery county |
| Oklahoma | 12 O.S. §§ 3250-3257 (Laws 2021, c. 184) | No | Court clerk, discovery county |
Each answer cites a Texas rule or statute. For questions that apply in every state, see our Subpoena Domestication FAQ. General information, not legal advice.
In the Texas county where the witness will testify or produce, not where your case is pending. Rule 201.3(b)(1) lets you pick either court level there, district or county, and the finder turns any Texas town or ZIP code into that county. See the county finder.
Not by its text. Rule 201.3(b)(1) lets a party submit the out-of-state subpoena, names no Texas license for that step, and says the request is not an appearance in a Texas court. A later motion in a Texas court follows Texas law. See Texas Rules Protect the Witness.
Not for testimony or documents. Under Rule 201.3(b)(2), once a party submits the out-of-state subpoena, the clerk must promptly issue the Texas subpoena for the witness named, with no hearing or signed order first. Entering land or a building to inspect it is handled differently. See the rule section.
The terms used in it. Under Rule 201.3(b)(3), the Texas subpoena incorporates the terms used in the out-of-state subpoena and adds a contact list: every counsel of record and any unrepresented party who has appeared, with addresses and phone numbers. Send that list with your papers. See the rule section.
Only as a court rule. H.B. 3929 let the Supreme Court of Texas adopt the uniform act as rules of civil procedure and repealed Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 20.002; the court’s order in Misc. Docket No. 25‑9060 made Rule 201.3 effective August 31, 2025. See the rule section.
A private process server may serve it, since Rule 176.5(a) lets any nonparty 18 or older serve a subpoena, as well as a sheriff or constable. The rule names no certification or court order, and service may be made anywhere in Texas. See Any Nonparty Adult, 150-Mile Reach.
Yes. Rule 176.5(b) accepts either the witness’s signed memorandum accepting the subpoena or a statement by the person who served it, giving the date, time, manner and person served, so a witness who will not sign does not stop the proof. See Two Ways to Prove Service.
The nonparty and every party. Rule 205.2 has your side serve each the notice that form of discovery requires: a deposition notice before or with the subpoena, a notice to produce 10 days before a records subpoena. Written questions need 20 days’ notice. See Notice to Every Party.
Yes. Rule 176.3(a) caps it at 150 miles, counted from where the witness lives or was handed the subpoena, for a records production as well as a deposition. A witness asked to go farther may seek a protective order under Rule 176.6(e). See Any Nonparty Adult, 150-Mile Reach.
Ten dollars for each day the witness attends court, under Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 22.001(a), except as Section 22.003 provides. The fee includes travel, and no mileage is paid, however far the drive. See Ten Dollars a Day, No Mileage.
Yes. Under Rule 176.6(d), a witness told to produce can object in writing, served on the party who requested the subpoena before compliance is due, and keep back the objected part until a court orders it produced. See Written Objections to Records.
One of two ways, at the witness’s choice. Under Rule 176.6(c), documents come as they are kept in the usual course of business, or organized and labeled to match the categories in the demand. A nonparty answering a records notice and subpoena does the same, since Rule 205.3(d) sends its response to Rule 176.6. See Records by Notice and Subpoena.
Either of two: the court where the action is pending, or a district court in the Texas county of service, under Rule 176.6(e). File it before compliance is due and serve every party under Rule 21a; Rule 201.3(e) has Texas rules or statutes govern it. See A Motion for Protection.
An unexcused failure to obey can be treated as contempt under Rule 176.8(a), but under Rule 176.8(b) no fine or attachment follows without an affidavit that all fees due the witness were paid or tendered. So tender the fee at service. See Contempt, After the Fees.
Any fees the law requires. Rule 176.5(a) makes tendering them part of service, and Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 22.001(b) has the summoning party pay one day’s witness fee when the subpoena is served on the witness. See One Day’s Fee at Service.
Thirty days before the discovery period ends is the cutoff under Rule 205.3(a), and the witness must still have a reasonable time before the response is due. Rule 201.3(d) brings Rules 190 to 200 and 205 to the clerk’s subpoena. See Records by Notice and Subpoena.
The requesting party. Under Rule 205.3(f), the side that asks a nonparty for documents pays back its reasonable costs of producing them. A records custodian answering a subpoena is also owed one dollar under Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 22.004(a), however many records, except a nonparty city under § 22.004(a-1). See Reasonable Costs Reimbursed.
Yes. Preparing the Texas subpoena under Rule 201.3(b), the clerk’s charge and service, when ordered, sit on one written quote sent before any payment. The signed return of service comes back to you once the witness is served. See the route section.
Our quote covers document preparation, any clerk’s fee and service if ordered.
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