Under the Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act, D.C. Code § 13-443, and Rule 28-I, a foreign subpoena is submitted to the Superior Court’s clerk, who issues a District subpoena; the Act requires no local attorney. Served 123 LLC prepares and serves it.
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Served 123 LLC handles subpoena domestications across Washington, D.C. Every request goes to the one Clerk of the Superior Court, the directory lists its address, and its fee is in your written quote. Search the finder by ZIP code to confirm that an address lies inside the District.
Documents Subpoena
A records-only witness skips the personal appearance under Rule 45(c)(2)(A) and has a written objection window under Rule 45(c)(2)(B). Medical records add a judge’s review after a hold of about 14 days for opposition, set out in the medical records cards. Your written quote confirms the path, before you pay.
District of Columbia 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 | District of Columbia | Statute or Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Law | The Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act, D.C. Law 18-147, dated May 22, 2010 | §§ 13-441 to 13-449 |
| Court Rule | Superior Court Civil Rule 28-I(b), amended in 2025 to carry out the affirmation | Rule 28-I(b) |
| Venue | The Clerk of the Superior Court, Civil Actions Branch, Room 5000, Moultrie Courthouse, for every address in the District | § 13-443(a); Civil Actions Branch page |
| Who Issues | The clerk, promptly, under the Superior Court rules | § 13-443(b) |
| What Goes In | The foreign subpoena and the written affirmation | Rule 28-I(b)(1)(A) |
| Affirmation | Signed by the party or counsel under penalty of perjury; without it the clerk will not issue | § 13-449; Rule 28-I(b)(2) |
| Local Attorney | None needed to request issuance; the request is not an appearance | Rule 28-I(b)(1)(A) |
| Contents | The foreign terms and every counsel’s and unrepresented party’s name, address and phone | § 13-443(c) |
| Fee | $10, listed as “Filing Petition to Serve Subpoena (Rule 28-I)”. | Rule 202 |
| Service | Any non-party 18 or older, by delivery, in the District or within 25 miles | § 13-444; Rule 45(b) |
| Witness Fee | Check: one day’s attendance and the mileage allowed by law, tendered when attendance is commanded | Rule 45(b)(1) |
| Party Notice | Notice and a copy to each party before a records subpoena is served | Rule 45(a)(4) |
| Proof | A statement certified by the server, filed with the clerk when needed | Rule 45(b)(4) |
| Objections | Records objections by the compliance date or 14 days after service, whichever is earlier | Rule 45(c)(2)(B) |
| Medical Records | Reviewed by a Civil Actions Branch judge after a hold of about 14 days | Civil Actions Branch page |
| Motions | The Superior Court, under its rules and District law | § 13-446; Rule 28-I(b)(5) |
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 District subpoena with the foreign terms and every counsel’s name, address and phone.
Your side signs the sworn affirmation of noninterference, and it goes in with the foreign subpoena.
The Clerk of the Superior Court issues the District subpoena under the court’s rules.
Your side serves each party notice of a records command; then our server delivers a copy, with any tender advanced.
The server’s certified statement of service comes back to you, signed.
Under Rule 45(c)(2)(B), “The objection must be served before the earlier of the time specified for compliance or 14 days after the subpoena is served.” Under Rule 6(a)(1), 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 President or Congress declares later, a day the court observes as a holiday or a day the clerk’s office closes; each can only make the date later. A court order setting another time controls. If a date is close, ask counsel.
The District enacted the Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act in 2010, as Chapter 4A of Title 13, and added the sworn affirmation in 2023. The quotations below are § 13-443: where the request goes, who issues and what the District subpoena must carry.
To request issuance of a subpoena under this section, a party shall submit a foreign subpoena and a copy of the sworn statement required under § 13-449(b) [§ 13-449] to the Clerk of the Superior Court. A request for the issuance of a subpoena under this chapter does not constitute an appearance in the courts of the District of Columbia.
Served 123 LLC prepares the District subpoena and handles the clerk step.
Get a Free Quote Online →Except as provided in subsection (d) of this section, when a party submits a foreign subpoena to the Clerk of the Superior Court, the clerk, in accordance with the Rules of the Superior Court, shall promptly issue a subpoena for service upon the person to which the foreign subpoena is directed.
A subpoena under subsection (b) of this section shall: (A) Incorporate the terms used in the foreign 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 not represented by counsel.
Official texts: D.C. Code §§ 13-441 to 13-449, § 13-443, § 13-444, § 13-446, § 13-449, § 2-1461.01, § 11-942, § 14-307 and § 28-2701; D.C. Law 18-147 and D.C. Law 24-257; Superior Court Civil Rule 28-I, Rule 45, Rule 43-I and 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 and where, what the witness is owed, the place of compliance, the proof, the notice owed to the other side, the recording method and where a motion goes. For a summons or other court papers, see process service in Washington, D.C.
The Act hands service over to the District’s own rules in § 13-444: “A subpoena issued by a Clerk of Superior Court under § 13-443 shall be served in compliance with § 11-942 and applicable rules of the Superior Court for the service of subpoenas.” Among those rules, the first sentence of Rule 45(b)(1) sets the server’s age and status: “Any person who is at least 18 years old and not a party may serve a subpoena.”
§ 13-444; Super. Ct. Civ. R. 45(b)(1)Rule 45(a)(1)(A)(iii) has the subpoena command the person to act “at a specified time and place within the District of Columbia, unless the parties and person subpoenaed otherwise agree or the court, upon application, fixes another convenient location”. For a deposition, Rule 45(a)(1)(B) adds: “A subpoena commanding attendance at a deposition must state the method for recording the testimony.”
Super. Ct. Civ. R. 45(a)(1)(A)(iii), (B)Rule 45(b)(1) reads: “Serving a subpoena requires delivering a copy to the named person and, if the subpoena requires that person's attendance, tendering the fees for one day's attendance and the mileage allowed by law.” When a tender is owed, we advance the fees and mileage.
Super. Ct. Civ. R. 45(b)(1)Rule 45(a)(4) reads: “If the subpoena commands the production of documents, electronically stored information, or tangible things or the inspection of premises before trial, then before it is served on the person to whom it is directed, a notice and a copy of the subpoena must be served on each party.” Your side serves that notice.
Super. Ct. Civ. R. 45(a)(4)Rule 45(b)(4) reads: “Proving service, when necessary, requires filing with the clerk of the 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.”
Super. Ct. Civ. R. 45(b)(4)Under Rule 45(b)(2), “a subpoena may be served at any place: (A) within the District of Columbia;” or “(B) outside the District of Columbia but within 25 miles of the place specified for the deposition, hearing, trial, production, or inspection; or”.
Super. Ct. Civ. R. 45(b)(2)Rule 45(c)(3)(A) reads: “On timely motion, the court must quash or modify a subpoena that: (i) fails to allow reasonable time to comply;” the second is a subpoena that “requires a person who is neither a party nor a party’s officer to travel more than 25 miles from where that person resides, is employed, or regularly transacts business in person”; the last two read “(iii) requires disclosure of privileged or other protected matter, if no exception or waiver applies; or (iv) subjects a person to undue burden.”
Super. Ct. Civ. R. 45(c)(3)(A)Rule 28-I(b)(5) reads: “A motion for a protective order or to enforce, quash, or modify a subpoena issued by a clerk under Rule 28-I(b)(1) must comply with these rules and the laws of the District of Columbia and must be submitted to the Superior Court.” Rule 45(e) then allows a transfer: “A subpoena-related motion may be transferred to the court where the action is pending if the person subject to the subpoena consents or if the court finds exceptional circumstances.”
Super. Ct. Civ. R. 28-I(b)(5), 45(e); § 13-446Served 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, business records in D.C. cases, the judge’s review of medical records subpoenas in out-of-state cases and the federal privacy rule.
Rule 45(c)(2)(A) reads: “A person commanded to produce documents, electronically stored information, 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 deposition, hearing, or trial.”
Super. Ct. Civ. R. 45(c)(2)(A)Under Rule 45(c)(2)(B), the person commanded to produce “may serve on the party or attorney designated in the subpoena a written objection”, and “The objection must be served before the earlier of the time specified for compliance or 14 days after the subpoena is served.”
Super. Ct. Civ. R. 45(c)(2)(B)Once an objection is served, Rule 45(c)(2)(B)(i) reads: “At any time, on notice to the commanded person, the serving party may move the court for an order compelling production or inspection.”
Super. Ct. Civ. R. 45(c)(2)(B)(i)Rule 45(d)(1)(A) reads: “A person responding to a subpoena to produce documents must produce them as they are kept in the ordinary course of business or must organize and label them to correspond to the categories in the demand.”
Super. Ct. Civ. R. 45(d)(1)(A)The comment to Rule 43-I reads: “While the majority of states permit authentication of domestic or foreign business records by a certification under 902(11) or (12), this jurisdiction does not currently permit it.” The rule itself asks that the conditions be shown “by the testimony of the custodian or another qualified witness or by other means as may be provided by statute”. For the foreign case, its own evidence rules decide: Check.
Super. Ct. Civ. R. 43-I and commentThe court page reads: “Subpoenas for Medical Records, in foreign or out-of-state cases, are reviewed by a judge in the Civil Actions Branch.” It adds: “District of Columbia law prohibits judges from issuing a subpoena for medical records, outside of certain statutory exceptions, without a finding that the subject of the medical records has consented or waived consent to its release (DC Code § 14-307).”
Civil Actions Branch, medical records page; § 14-307Section 14-307(b) says the listed professionals “shall not be permitted, without the written consent of their client or of the client's legal representative, to disclose any confidential information that the individual has acquired in attending the client in a professional capacity”. The court page adds: “Consent or waiver of consent cannot be assumed from the nature of the suit in the foreign jurisdiction.”
D.C. Code § 14-307(b); medical records pageThe court page reads: “Subpoenas for Medical Records will be held for approximately fourteen (14) days to allow the other party to file opposition.” Then: “After that time, the JIC judge will review all submitted documentation and make a determination regarding the issuance of the subpoena.” And: “Consideration of this timeframe should be given when setting dates of production or deposition.”
Civil Actions Branch, medical records pageOn notice to the patient, the court page reads: “Applicants should indicate that the subject of the medical records has been notified of the pending subpoena application.” It adds: “If an objection is filed, a Show Cause Hearing will be set.” On the place of production, it warns: “If the place of production noted on the subpoena form is not in DC, and there is no indication that the parties have agreed to an alternative location, the subpoena may be denied.”
Civil Actions Branch, medical records pageThe court page reads: “The judge may issue a subpoena if one of the statutory exceptions is met, timely notice to the subject of the medical records of the pending application for subpoena in DC is clear and no objection has been received, or the documents submitted clearly show that the medical records are material evidence in the case and that the subject of the medical records consents for them to be released in due course (i.e. recent and relevant HIPAA release forms).”
Civil Actions Branch, medical records page45 C.F.R. § 164.512(e) gives a covered entity two paths. Where a judge has ordered it, the entity may release records if it “discloses only the protected health information expressly authorized by such order”. Where only a subpoena or discovery request stands behind the demand, the rule covers release “In response to a subpoena, discovery request, or other lawful process, that is not accompanied by an order of a court or administrative tribunal”. Then the entity needs “satisfactory assurance” from the requesting party that reasonable efforts were made so that “the individual who is the subject of the protected health information that has been requested has been given notice of the request”, or to “secure a qualified protective order that meets the requirements of paragraph (e)(1)(v) of this section”, § 164.512(e)(1)(ii)(A)-(B).
45 C.F.R. § 164.512(e)(1)(i)-(ii)The notice path starts with: “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);” The requester’s papers must also establish two more things, the second with two alternatives: “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 D.C. statute, court rule or Superior Court page. Most come from the affirmation, 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.
The District has one clerk for every foreign subpoena. Type a ZIP code to confirm the address lies in the District, and the finder names the Clerk of the Superior Court.
Under D.C. Code § 13-443, every request in the District is made to that one office.
A witness may sit just over the line, so the route changes with the state. Each “No” rests on that jurisdiction’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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | D.C. Code §§ 13-441 to 13-449, with Super. Ct. Civ. R. 28-I | No | Clerk of the Superior Court |
| Maryland | Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. §§ 9-402 and 9-407, with Rules 2-510.1 and 2-422.1 | No | Circuit court clerk, discovery county |
| Virginia | Va. Code §§ 8.01-412.8 to 8.01-412.15 | Check | Circuit court clerk, discovery circuit |
Each answer cites a D.C. statute or rule. For questions that apply in every state, see our Subpoena Domestication FAQ. General information, not legal advice.
In 2010. D.C. Law 18-147 enacted it as Chapter 4A of Title 13, sections 13-441 through 13-449, with May 22, 2010 in its history line. Superior Court Civil Rule 28-I(b) repeats the procedure in court-rule form, and D.C. Law 24-257 added the affirmation requirement in 2023. See the statute cards for the text.
D.C. Code § 13-443(a) names a single office for every request, the Clerk of the Superior Court, so no county has to be chosen inside the District. The Civil Actions Branch page lists the clerk’s office in Room 5000 of the Moultrie Courthouse, 500 Indiana Avenue NW. The clerk directory gives the full three-line address.
No. Rule 28-I(b)(1)(A) says a request for issuance is not an appearance in the District’s courts, and neither that rule nor § 13-443 calls for local counsel to make one. A later motion differs: Superior Court Civil Rule 101 limits appearing for another person to active members of the D.C. Bar, with narrow exceptions. See the route table.
A sworn written statement, made under penalty of perjury, that no part of the foreign subpoena is meant to further an investigation or proceeding of a kind listed in D.C. Code § 2-1461.01(a), such as one over abortion, contraception or gender-affirming care. It travels with the foreign subpoena to the clerk, and without it the request is turned away. The affirmation cards quote it.
Under § 13-443(c), the issued subpoena carries the foreign subpoena’s terms plus contact details (name, address, phone) for every counsel of record and every unrepresented party. Rule 45(a)(1)(A) adds the court name, case title and number, and the text of Rule 45(c) and (d). We check that list against the foreign case before service; see the rule text.
The clerk does not issue the subpoena. Under § 13-443(d), the clerk instead gives the person named a copy of the paper and a notice of violation, and Rule 28-I(b)(2)(C) has that notice mailed first class to the address on the subpoena, saying the foreign one is not recognized as valid. See the refusal card.
Yes, if the case was still pending. Section 13-448 applies the chapter to discovery requests in cases pending on May 22, 2010, the date in the history line of D.C. Law 18-147, so an older foreign case uses the same clerk route under § 13-443 and Rule 28-I(b). The statute cards quote the section.
Yes. Rule 45(b)(1) leaves service to a person at least 18 who is not a party, and § 13-444 and Rule 28-I(b)(3) apply that rule to these subpoenas, along with D.C. Code § 11-942. The same rule holds wherever in the District the witness is. Our server delivers the copy, and the signed proof comes back to you; see the service card.
Yes, within limits. Rule 45(b)(2) allows service anywhere in the District, or outside it within 25 miles of the place set for the deposition, production or inspection, and § 11-942 gives a 25-mile reach measured from the hearing or trial place. Beyond that, the witness’s own state decides the route; see the reach card and the neighbor table.
Handing a copy to the person named, under Rule 45(b)(1). A subpoena that commands attendance carries a tender with that copy, as the tender card explains, and one for records only carries none. Rule 45(b)(2) sets where in or near the District service may happen, and Rule 45(b)(4) has the server certify the proof.
Every party in the case. When a subpoena seeks documents, stored data, things or an inspection before trial, Rule 45(a)(4) puts the parties first and the witness second. Your side serves that notice, and our server delivers the subpoena once you confirm it has gone out. The notice card quotes the rule in full.
The server. When proof is needed, Rule 45(b)(4) calls for a statement filed with the clerk saying when and how service was made and on whom, certified by the server. Our server prepares and signs that statement, and the signed proof comes back to you for your records. See the proof card.
Rule 45(c)(2)(B) sets the cutoff at whichever arrives sooner: the date set for compliance, or fourteen days after service. The objection is written and goes to the party or attorney the subpoena designates, not to the clerk. After an objection, the serving party may move to compel on notice. The objection calculator finds Day 14.
Yes, unless it also commands a deposition, hearing or trial; under Rule 45(c)(2)(A), a person told only to produce need not come to the place of production. For evidence in D.C. cases, the Rule 43-I comment rules out a 902(11) or (12) certification; whether a declaration serves the foreign case is for that court’s rules (Check). See the business records card.
In the D.C. Superior Court, as § 13-446 and Rule 28-I(b)(5) direct for any dispute over a clerk-issued subpoena, handled under the court’s rules and District law. Rule 45(e) allows a move to the court hearing the case, with the subpoenaed person’s consent or on a finding of exceptional circumstances. See the motions card.
Rule 45(c)(3)(A) has the court quash or modify, on a timely motion, a subpoena that leaves too little time to comply, makes a non-party travel more than 25 miles from home, work or regular in-person business, reaches privileged matter with no exception or waiver, or imposes undue burden. See the grounds card.
Because D.C. Code § 14-307 bars listed professionals from releasing confidential information without the client’s written consent outside its exceptions. The Civil Actions Branch page says a judge reviews these requests after holding them about 14 days for opposition. Show that the patient was notified; see the medical records cards.
The Civil Division fee schedule lists $10 for filing a petition to serve a subpoena under Rule 28-I, and Superior Court Civil Rule 202 lists the same amount among its initial filing fees. The schedule names the line “Filing Petition to Serve Subpoena (Rule 28-I)”, and both sources are named in the route table.
D.C. Code § 13-443(b) says the clerk shall promptly issue it once the foreign subpoena is submitted, and it sets no number of days. Sending the foreign subpoena, the signed affirmation, the counsel list and your dates together keeps that step moving. Medical records take longer; see the hold card and the route.
Only a subpoena that commands attendance carries money: one day’s attendance fee and the legal mileage, handed to the witness with the copy under Rule 45(b)(1). A records-only subpoena carries none. Your written quote confirms the amount for a deposition, and our server carries it; see the tender card.
Rule 45 gives no set count. A judge may quash or modify one that leaves too little time to comply, Rule 45(c)(3)(A)(i), while records objections run 14 days from service or to an earlier compliance date. For medical records, the court page says to plan dates around its hold of about 14 days. See the grounds card.
The holidays set out in the note under the calculator, which follows Rule 6(a)(6)(A) and D.C. Code § 28-2701, so the District’s own Emancipation Day on April 16 counts too. A Day 14 that lands on a weekend or one of those holidays rolls forward to the next day that is neither; enter the service date to see it.
Yes. One written quote, given before you pay, covers preparing the District subpoena with the counsel list, the clerk’s fee and service by our server with signed proof. Your side signs the affirmation of noninterference, which Rule 28-I(b)(2)(A) asks of the party or its counsel. We advance any tender owed under Rule 45(b)(1). See the route table, or start your order online.
One written quote covers document preparation, any issuer’s or clerk’s fee and service if ordered.
