Vermont Subpoena
Vermont wants the money in the witness's hand at the moment of service: $30 a day under 32 V.S.A. Section 1551 plus mileage at the state employee rate, on form 100-00501. Attorney review available.
Find out where you stand in Vermont
What do you need the subpoena to compel?
DocDraft provides document preparation, not legal advice.
Introduction
Vermont settles up at the handshake. The Judiciary's own instruction is blunt: the witness fee and mileage reimbursement must be paid at the same time the subpoena is served on the witness, so a server who shows up with paper and no money has not done the job. The fee itself is $30.00 a day under 32 V.S.A. Section 1551, and that subdivision is written broadly enough to cover attendance before a court or giving a deposition before a notary public at the same rate. Travel money works differently from almost everywhere else, because the statute names no cents-per-mile figure at all: witnesses receive mileage at the rate of reimbursement allowed State employees for travel under the terms of the prevailing collective bargaining agreement, and the rate table the Judiciary points parties to currently shows $.70 per mile for 1/1/25 to present. The paperwork order is also distinctive. Vermont tells you to print the blank Civil Subpoena, form 100-00501, get it signed first by a court clerk, a Vermont magistrate, or a Vermont attorney, and only then fill in what you want the recipient to do. An unrepresented party has to get the clerk's signature, and nobody may serve their own subpoena: someone else over 18 who is not a party delivers it and completes the Return of Service. DocDraft drafts your Vermont subpoena around these rules, with attorney review available before anyone is served.
Key Things to Know
- 1
A Vermont subpoena is a signed command, used in a civil case, that requires a person to testify at a trial, hearing or deposition, to produce or copy documents and electronically stored information, or to allow inspection of a place.
- 2
The Vermont witness fee is $30.00 a day for attendance before a court or to give a deposition before a notary public, and $30.00 a day for attendance on other courts or tribunals (32 V.S.A. Section 1551(1) and (3)).
- 3
Vermont writes no per-mile figure into the statute. Witnesses receive mileage for travel in the State at the rate of reimbursement allowed State employees under the prevailing collective bargaining agreement (Section 1551(4)); the rate table the Judiciary links to shows $.70 per mile for 1/1/25 to present.
- 4
The fee and the mileage must be paid at the same time the subpoena is served on the witness, not after the hearing.
- 5
A Vermont subpoena must be signed by a court clerk, a Vermont magistrate, or a Vermont attorney before it is served. An unrepresented party must have a court clerk sign it.
- 6
Vermont uses one numbered form, the Civil Subpoena, form 100-00501, and the Judiciary's sequence is to get the blank form signed first and fill it out afterward.
- 7
A party may not serve its own Vermont subpoena. Anyone else over 18 who is not a party may deliver it, must complete and sign the Return of Service section, and the completed form is filed with the court.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Subpoena in Vermont, 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
Vermont Requirements for Subpoena
Witness Fee of $30.00 a Day
Vermont allows witnesses $30.00 a day for attendance before a court or to give a deposition before a notary public, and $30.00 a day for attendance on other courts or tribunals (32 V.S.A. Section 1551(1) and (3)). A deposition witness is owed the same daily figure as a trial witness.
Mileage at the State Employee Rate
Vermont sets no cents-per-mile figure in the statute. For travel in the State, witnesses receive mileage at the rate of reimbursement allowed State employees under the prevailing collective bargaining agreement (Section 1551(4)). The rate table the Judiciary links to shows $.70 per mile for 1/1/25 to present, so confirm the current figure before paying.
Pay the Witness at the Moment of Service
The Vermont Judiciary requires the witness fee and mileage reimbursement to be paid at the same time the subpoena is served on the witness. Send your server out with the money attached to the paper, because paying after the hearing does not satisfy this.
Clerk, Magistrate or Vermont Attorney Signature
A Vermont subpoena must be signed by a court clerk, a Vermont magistrate, or a Vermont attorney before it is served, and an unrepresented party must have a court clerk sign it. The Judiciary's order is to get the blank form signed first, then fill in what the recipient must do.
Form 100-00501, Civil Subpoena
Vermont publishes one numbered form for this purpose, the Civil Subpoena, form 100-00501. The same form is used when a Vermont court is asked to issue a subpoena based on a case pending in another state.
Copies to Every Other Party
Serve a copy on the other parties before or at the same time as serving the subpoenaed person. If the recipient is a witness rather than a records custodian, Vermont also allows you to serve the other parties after the witness is served.
14-Day Written Objection on Records
Where a Vermont subpoena asks for documents or an inspection, the recipient may within 14 days send the issuing party a written objection instead of moving to quash. The issuing party then has to ask the court whether the subpoena will be enforced.
Who May Serve It, and What Ignoring It Costs
A party may not serve its own Vermont subpoena. Anyone else over 18 who is not a party may deliver it, must complete and sign the Return of Service, and the original is filed with the court. Ignoring a subpoena can lead to sanctions from the court, including potential arrest. There is no fee for a subpoena in a Vermont case, but a foreign subpoena from another state's case costs $295.