Georgia Subpoena
In Georgia the county line decides whether your service is good: an out-of-county witness must be tendered one day of the $25 fee plus 45 cents a mile at the moment of service, or the service is not valid. Attorney review available.
Find out where you stand in Georgia
What do you need the subpoena to compel?
DocDraft provides document preparation, not legal advice.
Introduction
One county line decides whether a Georgia subpoena was served properly at all. O.C.G.A. 24-13-25 begins by saying payment of witness fees shall not be demanded as a condition precedent to attendance, which means a witness who lives in the county where the testimony will be given cannot refuse to show up merely because no check arrived. Then the same sentence flips: when a witness resides outside the county where the testimony is to be given, service of the subpoena, to be valid, must be accompanied by tender of the witness fee for one day of attendance plus mileage of 45 cents per mile for going from and returning to that person's place of residence by the nearest practical route. The per diem is $25.00. Tender can be made in United States currency, a postal money order, a cashier's check, a certified check, or the check of an attorney or law firm, and no tender is needed when the subpoena issues on behalf of the state, one of its officers, agencies, or political subdivisions, or an accused in a criminal proceeding. Reach is a separate question from payment: under O.C.G.A. 24-13-22 a hearing or trial subpoena may be served at any place within Georgia, so there is no travel radius to compute. Timing has a floor rather than a deadline. In any enforcement proceeding the court must consider whether service came within a reasonable time, and in any event not less than 24 hours before the appearance was required (O.C.G.A. 24-13-26(a)). DocDraft drafts your Georgia subpoena around those facts, with attorney review available before you serve it.
Key Things to Know
- 1
A Georgia subpoena is court process that commands a named person to attend and give testimony, or to produce designated evidence, at a stated time and place, and it must state the name of the court, the name of the clerk, and the title of the proceeding (O.C.G.A. 24-13-21(b)).
- 2
The Georgia witness fee is $25.00 per diem, and the clerk issues execution on the witness's own affidavit to enforce payment (O.C.G.A. 24-13-25).
- 3
Mileage in Georgia is conditional rather than automatic: it is 45 cents per mile, and it must be tendered along with one day of the fee at the moment of service when the witness resides outside the county where the testimony is to be given, or the service is not valid (O.C.G.A. 24-13-25).
- 4
Tender may be made in United States currency, a postal money order, a cashier's check, a certified check, or the check of an attorney or law firm, and none is required when the subpoena issues for the state, its officers, agencies, or political subdivisions, or for an accused in a criminal proceeding (O.C.G.A. 24-13-25).
- 5
The clerk of court supplies subpoenas in blank on demand, and an attorney who is counsel of record may issue and sign one as an officer of the court for any deposition, hearing, or trial in that proceeding. The subpoena must be completed before it is served (O.C.G.A. 24-13-21(c), (d), (f)).
- 6
A Georgia hearing or trial subpoena may be served at any place within the state, so there is no mileage radius limiting whom you can reach (O.C.G.A. 24-13-22).
- 7
Georgia subpoenas are enforced by attachment for contempt and a fine of not more than $300.00 or not more than 20 days of imprisonment, or both, and the court weighs whether service came at least 24 hours before the appearance (O.C.G.A. 24-13-26(a)).
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Subpoena in Georgia, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Subpoena guide walks through them.
Open the Subpoena guideCustomize your Subpoena Template with DocDraft
Georgia Requirements for Subpoena
Witness Fee of $25.00 per Diem
The Georgia witness fee is $25.00 per diem, and execution is issued by the clerk upon affidavit of the witness to enforce payment (O.C.G.A. 24-13-25). A separately fixed rate applies to law enforcement officers subpoenaed as state witnesses outside their regular duty hours under O.C.G.A. 24-13-28.
Conditional Tender: 45 Cents per Mile for an Out-of-County Witness
Payment of witness fees shall not be demanded as a condition precedent to attendance, but when a witness resides outside the county where the testimony is to be given, service of the subpoena is valid only if accompanied by tender of one day of the fee plus 45 cents per mile for going from and returning to the place of residence by the nearest practical route (O.C.G.A. 24-13-25).
Accepted Forms of Tender, and When None Is Needed
Tender may be made by United States currency, postal money order, cashier check, certified check, or the check of an attorney or law firm. No tender is required when the subpoena issues on behalf of the state, an officer, agency, or political subdivision of the state, or an accused in a criminal proceeding (O.C.G.A. 24-13-25).
Clerk Supplies Blanks, Counsel of Record May Issue
The clerk of court makes subpoenas in blank available on demand by electronic or other means to parties, their counsel, or the grand jury, and an attorney who is counsel of record may issue and sign one as an officer of the court for any deposition, hearing, or trial in that proceeding. The subpoena shall be completed prior to being served (O.C.G.A. 24-13-21(c), (d), (f)).
Statewide Service, No Distance Cap
A subpoena requiring the attendance of a witness at a hearing or trial may be served at any place within Georgia, and those subpoenas issue under the authority of the clerk of the court where the hearing or trial is held (O.C.G.A. 24-13-22). The 100-mile figure in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure governs federal cases and is not the Georgia standard.
Service Methods Including Certified Mail
A subpoena may be served by any sheriff, by a deputy, or by any other person not less than 18 years of age, with proof by return or endorsed certificate. Georgia also allows registered or certified mail or statutory overnight delivery, where the return receipt is prima facie proof of service, and service on a party may be made on counsel of record (O.C.G.A. 24-13-24).
Contempt Range and the 24-Hour Reasonableness Floor
Subpoenas may be enforced by attachment for contempt and by a fine of not more than $300.00 or not more than 20 days of imprisonment, or both, and the court must consider whether service came within a reasonable time and in any event not less than 24 hours before the appearance required. Where evidence is unsuccessfully sought, secondary evidence becomes admissible (O.C.G.A. 24-13-26).
Notice to Produce Replaces a Subpoena Against a Party
To compel evidence in the possession, custody, or control of another party, Georgia uses a written notice to produce served on that party or counsel instead of a subpoena, and no witness fees or mileage are allowed for it (O.C.G.A. 24-13-27). Members of the General Assembly cannot be compelled to attend or produce evidence while it is in regular or extraordinary session (O.C.G.A. 24-13-29).