Minnesota Subpoena
Minnesota is a pay-first state. Nobody has to attend as a witness in a civil case until one day of fees and travel is paid or tendered in advance, and the subpoena itself must tell the witness about reimbursement. Attorney review available.
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Introduction
Minnesota is a pay-first state, and that single fact reorders how you prepare the paperwork. Minn. Stat. Section 357.22 says no person is obliged to attend as a witness in any civil case unless one day's attendance and travel fees are paid or tendered the witness in advance, so the money moves at service rather than after the testimony. The amounts are $20 for each day of attendance and 28 cents per mile, and Minnesota measures the miles from an unusual point: the witness's residence if the witness is in state, or the boundary line of the state where the witness crossed it if the witness comes from outside Minnesota. The document also has to speak for itself. Minn. R. Civ. P. 45.01(a)(4) requires every Minnesota subpoena to contain a notice telling the recipient of the right to reimbursement for certain expenses under Rule 45.03(d) and the right to have the amount of those expenses determined before complying. A court administrator will hand a party a subpoena signed but otherwise in blank to fill in before service, and an attorney as an officer of the court may issue and sign one directly (Rule 45.01(c)). Reach is set by the county line rather than by a mileage radius: Rule 45.03(c)(1)(B) makes a court quash or modify a subpoena that sends a non-party outside the county where that person lives, works or regularly transacts business, with trial attendance the exception that reaches statewide. DocDraft assembles your Minnesota subpoena from your own facts, with attorney review available before you serve it.
Key Things to Know
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A Minnesota subpoena is a command issued in a pending Minnesota action, under Minn. R. Civ. P. 45, requiring a named person to attend and give testimony, to produce or permit inspection of designated documents or things, or to allow inspection of premises.
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Minnesota pays the witness before the testimony. One day's attendance and travel fees must be paid or tendered in advance, or the person is simply not obliged to attend a civil case (Minn. Stat. Section 357.22).
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The Minnesota rate is $20 for each day of attendance, plus 28 cents per mile for travel to and from the place of attendance (Minn. Stat. Section 357.22).
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Minnesota measures the miles from the witness's residence if the witness is in state, or from the boundary line of the state where the witness crossed it if the witness travels in from outside Minnesota (Minn. Stat. Section 357.22(2)).
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Every Minnesota subpoena must carry a notice of the recipient's right to reimbursement under Rule 45.03(d) and the right to have that amount determined before compliance (Minn. R. Civ. P. 45.01(a)(4)).
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A Minnesota subpoena commanding production or inspection must be served on its subject, and notice of the required production must reach every other party at least seven days before the production date (Minn. R. Civ. P. 45.02(a)).
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Minnesota bounds a non-party's travel by the county where that person resides, is employed or regularly transacts business, except that trial attendance can be commanded from anywhere in the state (Minn. R. Civ. P. 45.03(c)(1)(B)).
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Subpoena in Minnesota, 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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Minnesota Requirements for Subpoena
Witness Fee of $20 for Each Day
Minnesota pays $20 for each day of attendance in any action or proceeding in any court, or before any officer, person or board authorized to take the examination of witnesses (Minn. Stat. Section 357.22(1)).
Mileage at 28 Cents, Measured From the Residence or State Line
Travel to and from the place of attendance is paid at 28 cents per mile. Minnesota estimates it from the witness's residence if that is within the state, or from the boundary line of the state where the witness crossed it if the witness comes from outside Minnesota (Minn. Stat. Section 357.22(2)).
Fees Paid or Tendered in Advance
No person is obliged to attend as a witness in a Minnesota civil case unless one day's attendance and travel fees are paid or tendered in advance (Minn. Stat. Section 357.22). Rule 45.02(a) folds that tender into service itself, except where the subpoena issues on behalf of the state or its officers or agencies.
Reimbursement Notice Must Appear on the Subpoena
Every Minnesota subpoena must contain a notice advising the recipient of the right to reimbursement for certain expenses under Rule 45.03(d), and of the right to have the amount of those expenses determined before complying (Minn. R. Civ. P. 45.01(a)(4)).
Court Administrator or Attorney as Officer of the Court
The court administrator issues a subpoena signed but otherwise in blank to a requesting party, who completes it before service. An attorney as an officer of the court may also issue and sign one on behalf of the court where the action is pending (Minn. R. Civ. P. 45.01(c)).
Seven-Day Notice to Every Party Before Production
A subpoena commanding production or inspection must be served on its subject, and notice of the required production must be served under Rule 5.02 on each party at least seven days before the required production (Minn. R. Civ. P. 45.02(a)). Any non-trial use without prior notice to all parties is improper and may draw sanctions (Rule 45.01(e)).
County Limit on a Non-Party's Travel
The court must quash or modify a subpoena that sends a non-party, or a non-officer of a party, outside the county where that person resides, is employed or regularly transacts business in person, except that trial attendance may be commanded from anywhere in Minnesota (Minn. R. Civ. P. 45.03(c)(1)(B)). This is a county boundary, not a mileage radius.
Contempt, and the County Overreach Excuse
Failure without adequate excuse to obey a Minnesota subpoena may be deemed a contempt of the issuing court, and adequate cause to refuse exists where the subpoena demands that a non-party attend or produce outside the Rule 45.03(c)(1)(B) county limits (Minn. R. Civ. P. 45.05).