Utah Subpoena
Utah pays a witness $18.50 on day one and $49 on every day after, and its travel money is a formula: nothing for the first 50 miles, then $1 for each four miles past 50, one way. Attorney review available.
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Introduction
Most states pay travel money by the mile. Utah does not. Under Utah Code Section 78B-1-119(1)(b) a subpoenaed witness gets nothing at all for the first 50 miles, and then $1 for each four miles in excess of 50 miles actually and necessarily traveled, counted in going only rather than both ways and regardless of county lines. The daily fee is tiered the same unusual way: $18.50 for the first day of attendance and $49 per day for each subsequent day. A witness who travels in from outside Utah in a civil case is handled separately, at 25 cents per mile for the in-state distance, going only (Section 78B-1-119(3)). Both the first day of fees and the mileage have to change hands at the start, not afterward: Utah Rule of Civil Procedure 45(b)(2) requires the issuing party or attorney to tender them with the subpoena, and that tender is excused only when the subpoena is issued on behalf of the United States, this state, or an officer or agency of either. A Utah attorney signs and issues the subpoena as an officer of the court, while an unrepresented party takes the form to the clerk, who issues it signed but otherwise in blank for the party to complete before service (Rule 45(a)(2)). If you are after documents rather than testimony, serve every other party first and leave the recipient at least 14 days to comply (Rule 45(b)(3), 45(e)(2)). DocDraft assembles your Utah subpoena from your own case facts, with attorney review available before you serve it.
Key Things to Know
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A Utah subpoena is a court-backed command issued in a pending Utah case that requires a person to appear and testify, to copy or produce documents and electronically stored information, or to permit inspection of premises, under Utah Rule of Civil Procedure 45.
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The Utah witness fee is tiered: $18.50 for the first day of attendance and $49 per day for each subsequent day (Utah Code Section 78B-1-119(1)(a)).
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Utah travel money is a formula, not a per-mile rate. A witness traveling more than 50 miles gets $1 for each four miles in excess of 50 miles, counted in going only, regardless of county lines (Section 78B-1-119(1)(b)).
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A witness coming in from outside Utah in a civil case is allowed 25 cents per mile, taxed only for the distance actually and necessarily traveled inside the state, going only (Section 78B-1-119(3)).
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One day of fees plus the mileage allowed by law must be tendered with the subpoena when it commands an appearance (Utah Rule of Civil Procedure 45(b)(2)).
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A Utah attorney may issue and sign a subpoena as an officer of the court. An unrepresented party gets one from the clerk, issued signed but otherwise in blank, and completes it before service (Rule 45(a)(2)).
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Utah publishes the paperwork as a set: form 1220GE Subpoena, 1221GE Notice to Persons Served with a Subpoena, 1222GE Objection to Subpoena, and 1223GE Declaration of Compliance with Subpoena.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Subpoena in Utah, 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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Utah Requirements for Subpoena
Tiered Witness Fee: $18.50 Then $49
Utah pays a subpoenaed witness $18.50 for the first day of attendance and $49 per day for each subsequent day (Utah Code Section 78B-1-119(1)(a)). Budget the day-two rate separately, because it is not a multiple of day one.
Mileage: $1 Per Four Miles Over 50, One Way
Utah pays no travel money for the first 50 miles. Past that it pays $1 for each four miles in excess of 50 miles actually and necessarily traveled in going only, regardless of county lines (Section 78B-1-119(1)(b)). A witness from outside Utah in a civil case gets 25 cents per mile for the in-state distance, going only.
Tender Fees With the Subpoena
If the subpoena commands an appearance, the issuing party or attorney must tender the fees for one day of attendance and the mileage allowed by law with the subpoena itself (Utah Rule of Civil Procedure 45(b)(2)). Tender is excused only for subpoenas issued on behalf of the United States, the State of Utah, or an officer or agency of either.
Clerk or Utah Attorney Must Sign
An attorney admitted to practice in Utah may issue and sign a subpoena as an officer of the court. Otherwise the clerk issues it signed but otherwise in blank and the requesting party completes it before service (Rule 45(a)(2)). An unrepresented party cannot self-issue.
Forms 1220GE Through 1223GE
Utah publishes a packet rather than one sheet: 1220GE Subpoena, 1221GE Notice to Persons Served with a Subpoena, 1222GE Objection to Subpoena, and 1223GE Declaration of Compliance with Subpoena. Rule 45(a)(1)(E) requires the notice to the person served to track the approved form.
Records Subpoena: 14 Days Minimum
A Utah subpoena to copy, produce or permit inspection must allow the recipient at least 14 days after service to comply (Rule 45(e)(2)), and the issuing party pays the reasonable cost of producing or copying the materials (Rule 45(d)).
Serve Every Party Before the Recipient
For a records or inspection subpoena, Utah requires the issuing party or attorney to serve each party by delivery or other method of actual notice before serving the subpoena on the person it names (Rule 45(b)(3)). The Utah Judiciary applies that ordering unless the subpoena only calls a witness to court.
County Limits and the Arrest Warrant
Utah limits depositions and production to the county where a resident lives, works or transacts business, and for a non-resident to the county of service, with trial attendance allowed in the county where the case is pending (Rule 45(c)). There is no mileage radius. Ignoring the subpoena is contempt, and a witness who evades service or fails to attend can be arrested on a warrant to the county sheriff (Rule 45(g), 45(h)).