Ohio Subpoena
Ohio has no statewide witness mileage rate. Each board of county commissioners sets it, capped at fifty and one-half cents a mile, and the day fee splits at noon. Attorney review available.
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Introduction
Ask what Ohio pays a witness per mile and there is no single answer, because the state never set one. Ohio Rev. Code 2335.06(A)(1) says the board of county commissioners of each county shall set the reimbursement rate for each mile necessarily traveled by a witness in a civil case in the common pleas court, any division of the common pleas court, a county court, or a county-operated municipal court, and then caps them all: the rate shall not exceed fifty and one-half cents for each mile. So the controlling figure lives with the commissioners in the county where your case is pending, and fifty and one-half cents is a ceiling rather than a rate. The attendance fee is statewide but it is measured against the clock, not the calendar. A witness receives twelve dollars for each full day's attendance and six dollars for each half day's attendance, and the statute defines those by noon: a full day is one on which the witness is required or requested to be present before and after twelve noon, a half day is one side of noon only, and in both cases it does not matter whether the witness actually testifies. The county line reappears in the tender rule. Under Civ.R. 45(B) the fees for one day's attendance and the mileage allowed by law are tendered upon demand, but if the witness being subpoenaed resides outside the county in which the court is located, they shall be tendered without demand. One more Ohio boundary catches people who draft from other states: Civ.R. 45(A)(1) says a subpoena may not be used to obtain the attendance of a party or the production of documents by a party in discovery. Those run through Civ.R. 30 and Civ.R. 34 instead. DocDraft drafts your Ohio subpoena from your own facts, with attorney review available.
Key Things to Know
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An Ohio subpoena is a command issued in a pending case that orders a non-party to attend and give testimony, to produce documents, electronically stored information or tangible things, or to permit entry on designated land or property.
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The Ohio attendance fee is twelve dollars for each full day's attendance and six dollars for each half day's attendance at a court of record, mayor's court, or before a person authorized to take depositions, taxed in the bill of costs (R.C. 2335.06(A)(1)).
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Noon decides which figure applies. A full day's attendance is a day on which the witness is required or requested to be present before and after twelve noon, and a half day is one side of noon only, in each case regardless of whether the witness actually testifies (R.C. 2335.06(B)).
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Ohio has no statewide mileage rate. The board of county commissioners of each county sets the reimbursement rate for each mile necessarily traveled by a witness in a civil case, and the rate shall not exceed fifty and one-half cents for each mile, so check the county where your case sits.
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Mileage is measured for each mile necessarily traveled to and from the witness's place of residence to the place of giving testimony, and it is taxed in the bill of costs.
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The tender obligation also turns on the county. Civ.R. 45(B) requires the fees for one day's attendance and mileage to be tendered upon demand, but tendered without demand where the witness resides outside the county in which the court is located.
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An Ohio subpoena cannot be aimed at a party. Civ.R. 45(A)(1) provides that a subpoena may not be used to obtain the attendance of a party or the production of documents by a party in discovery, which run through Civ.R. 30 and Civ.R. 34 instead.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Subpoena in Ohio, 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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Ohio Requirements for Subpoena
Mileage Is Set by the County, Capped at 50.5 Cents
R.C. 2335.06(A)(1) has the board of county commissioners of each county set the reimbursement rate for each mile necessarily traveled by a witness in a civil case in the common pleas court, any division of it, a county court, or a county-operated municipal court, and provides that the rate shall not exceed fifty and one-half cents for each mile. Confirm the figure with the commissioners for the county where the case is pending.
Twelve Dollars a Full Day, Six a Half Day
R.C. 2335.06(A)(1) pays twelve dollars for each full day's attendance and six dollars for each half day's attendance at a court of record, mayor's court, or before a person authorized to take depositions, to be taxed in the bill of costs.
Noon Decides Full Day Versus Half Day
Under R.C. 2335.06(B) a full day's attendance means a day on which a witness is required or requested to be present at proceedings before and after twelve noon, and a half day's attendance means before or after twelve noon but not both. Both definitions apply regardless of whether the witness actually testifies.
Out-of-County Witnesses Are Paid Without Demand
Civ.R. 45(B) requires the server to tender the fees for one day's attendance and the mileage allowed by law upon demand, and then provides that if the witness being subpoenaed resides outside the county in which the court is located, those amounts shall be tendered without demand.
No Subpoena Against a Party
Civ.R. 45(A)(1) provides that a subpoena may not be used to obtain the attendance of a party or the production of documents by a party in discovery. A party's deposition attendance is obtained only by notice under Civ.R. 30, and party documents or electronically stored information only under Civ.R. 34.
The Text of Divisions (C) and (D) Must Appear
Civ.R. 45(A)(1) requires every Ohio subpoena to set forth the text of divisions (C) and (D) of the rule, covering protection of persons subject to subpoenas and duties in responding. Omitting them leaves out a required element of the document.
Clerk Blank, or an Attorney Who Has Filed an Appearance
Civ.R. 45(A)(2) has the clerk issue a subpoena signed but otherwise in blank to the requesting party, who completes it before service, and allows an attorney who has filed an appearance on behalf of a party in the action to sign and issue one on behalf of the court in which the action is pending.
Fourteen Days to Object, Prompt Notice to Parties
Civ.R. 45(C)(3) allows written objections to production within fourteen days after service, or before the compliance time if that is sooner, after which production requires a court order. Civ.R. 45(A)(3) separately requires prompt written notice of the subpoena, with a copy, to all other parties under Civ.R. 5.