Florida Subpoena
Florida pays a subpoenaed witness $5 a day and 6 cents a mile, and no witness can be compelled to attend a civil cause until that money is paid up front or deposited with the court. Attorney review available.
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Introduction
Money moves first in Florida. Before anyone can be made to come to court as a witness in a civil cause, the party who summoned that witness has to hand over mileage plus one day of per diem, or deposit it with the executive officer of the court, and even then the witness is free to stop attending after the first day unless paid in advance (Fla. Stat. 92.151). The amounts are small and have not moved in decades: five dollars for each day of actual attendance, plus six cents per mile for the actual distance traveled to and from the courts (Fla. Stat. 92.142(1)). Florida also guards the other direction. A witness who charges and receives more than is really due forfeits four times the amount unjustly claimed, and a witness who willfully pads the account forfeits the compensation altogether. Issuing the paper itself is straightforward: the clerk of court or any attorney of record in the action may issue a Florida subpoena for testimony, for tangible evidence, or for a deposition, and the clerk will hand over one signed and sealed but blank for the attorney or party to fill in. Where the target is documents held by a nonparty and nobody is being deposed, rule 1.351 is the exclusive route and it runs on a clock: the subpoena cannot issue until 10 days after notice to every other party by delivery or e-mail, 15 days if that notice went by mail. DocDraft assembles your Florida subpoena from your own case details, with attorney review available before it goes out for service.
Key Things to Know
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A Florida subpoena is a court process that orders a named person to appear and testify, to produce records, or both, in a case already pending, and it issues from the court where that case sits.
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Florida pays five dollars for each day of actual attendance and six cents per mile for the actual distance traveled to and from the courts (Fla. Stat. 92.142(1)).
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No person is compelled to attend court as a witness in a civil cause until the summoning party pays mileage and one day of per diem, or deposits it with the executive officer of the court, and attendance after the first day requires payment in advance (Fla. Stat. 92.151).
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The clerk of court or any attorney of record may issue a Florida subpoena for testimony, for production of tangible evidence, or for taking a deposition (Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.410(a)).
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To get documents from a nonparty without deposing anyone, Florida requires notice of intent to every other party and then a 10-day wait after delivery or e-mail service, 15 days after mail service, before the subpoena may issue (Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.351(b)).
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A disinterested witness must be reimbursed the costs of searching for, producing, reproducing, or transporting documents, and a state attorney, public defender, or regional counsel request is capped at 15 cents per page and $10 per hour for retrieval (Fla. Stat. 92.153(2)).
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Failure to obey a Florida subpoena without adequate excuse may be deemed a contempt of the issuing court (Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.410(f)), and a witness who overcharges forfeits four times the amount unjustly claimed (Fla. Stat. 92.151).
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Subpoena in Florida, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Subpoena guide walks through them.
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Florida Requirements for Subpoena
Witness Fee of $5 for Each Day of Actual Attendance
Witnesses in all cases, civil and criminal, in all Florida courts receive $5 for each day of actual attendance (section 92.142(1), Florida Statutes). The same rate covers witnesses summoned before an arbitrator or a general or special magistrate appointed by the court.
Mileage at 6 Cents per Mile To and From Court
Florida adds 6 cents per mile for the actual distance traveled to and from the courts (section 92.142(1), Florida Statutes). It is a flat statewide figure set in the statute, computed on actual distance rather than on a court-approved estimate.
Pay or Deposit Before Attendance Is Compelled
No person may be compelled to attend court as a witness in a civil cause unless the summoning party first pays mileage and one day of per diem, or deposits that amount with the executive officer of the court, and the witness is not compelled to attend after the first day unless paid in advance (section 92.151, Florida Statutes).
Clerk or Any Attorney of Record May Issue
Subpoenas for testimony before the court, for production of tangible evidence, and for taking depositions may be issued by the clerk of court or by any attorney of record in an action (Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.410(a)). On oral request the clerk issues one signed and sealed but otherwise in blank, which the attorney or party fills in before service.
Rule 1.351 Notice Clock for Nonparty Records
Where documents are sought from a nonparty without deposing the custodian, a party may not cause the subpoena to be issued until 10 days after notice by delivery or e-mail service, or 15 days after notice by mail service, on every other party, and not earlier than 45 days after service on the last-served party if the notice went out with original process (Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.351(b)).
Ten Days to Object to a Records Demand
A person served with a deposition subpoena that commands production has 10 days after service, or until the compliance date if that falls sooner, to serve a written objection. Once an objection lands, the serving party needs a court order before inspecting or copying (Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.410(e)(1)).
Disinterested Witness Records Costs
A disinterested witness must be paid the costs reasonably incurred, directly or indirectly, in producing, searching for, reproducing, or transporting documents under a subpoena. Requests by a state attorney, public defender, or criminal conflict and civil regional counsel are capped at 15 cents per page and $10 per hour for research or retrieval (section 92.153, Florida Statutes).
County Limit on Examinations, and Contempt
A person may be required to attend an examination only in the county where that person resides, is employed, or transacts business in person, or at another convenient place fixed by court order (Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.410(e)(2)). Florida draws that line by county, not by a travel radius. Failure without adequate excuse to obey a subpoena may be deemed contempt of the issuing court (Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.410(f)).