Kentucky Subpoena
Kentucky repealed its witness-fee statute in 1978 and kept only a mileage allowance, and that allowance reaches a witness only if the witness lives outside the county. Attorney review available.
Find out where you stand in Kentucky
What do you need the subpoena to compel?
DocDraft provides document preparation, not legal advice.
Introduction
Most states answer the witness-money question with a dollar amount. Kentucky answers it by subtraction. The old witness-fee section, KRS 421.010, appears in the official index to KRS Chapter 421 as Repealed, 1978, and the section the General Assembly created in its place does one thing only: KRS 421.015 provides that a witness who resides in a county other than that to which he is subpoenaed shall be allowed the same amount allowed state employees under KRS 44.060. Read that carefully, because two limits are hiding in one sentence. A witness who lives in the same county as the courthouse falls outside the section entirely, and even a witness who does qualify gets a travel allowance pegged to the state employee rate rather than a number printed in the statute. No per-day attendance fee for a civil witness appears anywhere in Chapter 421, so there is nothing to multiply by days of testimony. The enforcement statutes still assume a payment happened, which is the quirk worth planning around: KRS 421.120 lets a court summarily order a no-show witness to pay the summoning party costs not exceeding twenty dollars, but only if it is shown that the legal fees for travel and one day of attendance were paid or tendered when the subpoena was served. Tender protects your remedy even where no statute fixes the amount. DocDraft drafts your Kentucky subpoena from your facts, and attorney review is available before it goes out.
Key Things to Know
- 1
A Kentucky subpoena is a court order in a pending case that commands a named person to attend and give testimony, to produce designated documents or tangible things in that person's possession, custody or control, or to permit inspection of premises.
- 2
Kentucky repealed its witness-fee section. The official index to KRS Chapter 421 lists .010 Repealed, 1978, and no per-day attendance fee for a civil witness appears elsewhere in the chapter, so confirm any locally allowed amount with the clerk of the court.
- 3
KRS 421.015 allows a witness who resides in a county other than that to which the witness is subpoenaed the same amount allowed state employees under KRS 44.060. A witness living in the same county is outside the section.
- 4
The clerk issues a Kentucky subpoena signed but otherwise in blank to a party who requests it, and the party fills it in before service. An attorney licensed to practice law in Kentucky may also issue and sign one on behalf of the court (CR 45.01). Confirm the current rule text with the clerk, because the Court of Justice site was not reachable when this page was sourced.
- 5
Where a Kentucky subpoena commands production of documents or inspection of premises before trial, notice goes to each other party before the subpoena is served, and copies of what comes back are furnished to the other parties (CR 45.01).
- 6
If the legal fees for travel and one day of attendance were paid or tendered at service and the witness failed to attend without reasonable cause, a Kentucky court may summarily order the witness to pay the summoning party costs not exceeding twenty dollars, plus damages occasioned by the failure (KRS 421.120).
- 7
Disobedience of a Kentucky subpoena, intentional evasion of service by concealment or otherwise, or refusal to be sworn or to answer may be punished as a contempt of the court or officer requiring the attendance (KRS 421.110), and an attached witness pays the costs of the attachment unless shown not to be at fault (KRS 421.070).
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Subpoena in Kentucky, 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
Kentucky Requirements for Subpoena
No Statutory Day Fee for a Civil Witness
The Kentucky witness-fee section, KRS 421.010, appears in the official index to KRS Chapter 421 as Repealed, 1978, and no per-day attendance fee for a civil witness appears elsewhere in the chapter. The only surviving per diem, KRS 421.030, is a criminal-side allowance for an out-of-state Commonwealth witness in a felony case. Ask the clerk of the court what is customarily allowed locally.
Mileage Only for Out-of-County Witnesses
KRS 421.015 allows a witness who resides in a county other than that to which the witness is subpoenaed the same amount allowed state employees under KRS 44.060. A witness residing in the county where the court sits is outside the section and the statute allows nothing for that trip.
The Rate Moves With the State Employee Allowance
Kentucky prints no cents figure for witness travel. KRS 421.015 borrows the amount allowed state employees under KRS 44.060, so the number changes when the state travel allowance changes. Confirm the current amount before you calculate what to send with the subpoena.
Clerk Issues a Blank, or a Kentucky Attorney Signs
Under CR 45.01 the clerk issues a subpoena signed but otherwise in blank to a party who requests it, and the party fills it in before service. An attorney licensed to practice law in Kentucky may also issue and sign a subpoena on behalf of the court. The Court of Justice site was unreachable when this page was sourced, so verify the current rule text with the clerk.
Notice to the Other Parties Comes First
Where a subpoena commands production of documents or tangible things or inspection of premises before trial, CR 45.01 requires notice to each other party before the subpoena is served, and copies of the materials produced are then furnished promptly to the other parties unless the court orders otherwise for good cause. No fixed day count was confirmed from a reachable primary source.
Tender Preserves the Summary Costs Remedy
KRS 421.120 allows a court to act summarily on a failure to attend only where it is shown that the legal fees for travel and one day of attendance were paid or tendered to the witness when the subpoena was served. Record on the return of service exactly what was tendered and when.
Summary Costs Capped at Twenty Dollars, Plus Damages
Where fees were paid or tendered at service and the witness failed to attend without reasonable cause, the court may summarily order the witness to pay the summoning party the costs occasioned by the disobedience, not exceeding twenty dollars ($20), and the witness is also liable for any damages occasioned by the failure to attend (KRS 421.120).
Contempt Reaches Evasion, Not Just Nonappearance
KRS 421.110 allows contempt for disobedience of a subpoena, intentional evasion of its service by concealment or otherwise, concealment or removal of a minor to prevent service or attendance, and refusal to be sworn or to answer as a witness. KRS 421.070 adds that an attached witness pays the costs of the attachment unless shown not to be at fault.