Federal Civil Discovery — How to Serve a Rule 45 Document Subpoena on a Nonparty

Jurisdiction and scope: United States federal district courts only. This note covers a pretrial subpoena under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45 commanding a nonparty to produce documents, electronically stored information or tangible things, using Form AO 88B. It excludes subpoenas for testimony or depositions, trial subpoenas, foreign service, state-court proceedings, bankruptcy, criminal and administrative subpoenas, and specialized statutory regimes.

Law checked: 28 September 2026. The current Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are the December 1, 2025 version; Rule 45 itself was not among the civil rules amended in 2025.

Short answer

Use current Form AO 88B and issue it from the federal district court where the action is pending. An attorney may sign and issue it only if authorized to practise in that court; otherwise obtain a signed blank subpoena from the clerk and complete it before service. Define requests within Rule 26(b)(1), choose a place of compliance within Rule 45(c)’s 100-mile limit, and allow a reasonable compliance period. Before serving the nonparty, serve every party with notice and a copy. Service must be made by an adult nonparty delivering a copy to the named person. A documents-only subpoena does not require personal appearance, and Rule 45’s attendance-fee tender requirement applies only when attendance is commanded.

When this note applies

This workflow is for obtaining records or tangible material from a person or entity that is not a party to a pending federal civil action. Check the scheduling order, any discovery stay, and the local rules of both the issuing and compliance districts before fixing dates.

Use AO 88A instead if testimony at a deposition is required. Do not add an attendance command merely to obtain records: Rule 45(d)(2)(A) expressly permits documents-only compliance without personal appearance.

Steps

1. Confirm that Rule 45 is the correct device. Use party discovery under Rules 33 and 34 for a party. For a nonparty, identify the evidence sought, why it is relevant, whether it can be obtained from a less burdensome source and whether privilege, privacy, trade-secret or statutory restrictions are likely. Rule 45(d)(1) requires reasonable steps to avoid undue burden or expense and authorizes sanctions for failure to do so.
2. Identify the correct subpoena recipient. Name the person or legal entity that possesses, controls or has custody of the material. For an organization, confirm its legal name and a suitable person or agent for delivery.
3. Choose the issuing court and issuer. The subpoena must issue from the court where the action is pending, even if compliance will occur in another district. Under Rule 45(a)(3), the clerk must provide a signed but otherwise blank subpoena to a requesting party. An attorney authorized to practise in the issuing court may instead issue and sign it. Enter the action caption and civil-action number exactly.
4. Use the current AO 88B form. Complete the recipient, production command, place, date and time, and issuing attorney or clerk information. AO 88B includes the required Rule 45(c), (d), (e) and (g) text.
5. Draft narrow production requests. Describe each document, ESI category or tangible item with workable subject matter, custodian and date limits. State the requested ESI form when it matters—for example, native files with metadata, reasonably usable electronic files or specified export fields. Rule 45(e)(1) governs production form if the subpoena is silent, and the recipient need not produce the same ESI in more than one form.
6. Set a lawful place and reasonable time. For documents and other discovery, Rule 45(c)(2)(A) limits the commanded place of production to within 100 miles of where the recipient resides, is employed or regularly transacts business in person. Electronic delivery can be agreed, but draft the stated place consistently with Rule 45(c). The rule gives no universal minimum response period; it requires a reasonable time and separately gives the recipient until the earlier of the compliance date or 14 days after service to object. Build in time for service and objections.
7. Notify all parties before the nonparty is served. Rule 45(a)(4) requires notice and a copy of a pretrial production subpoena to be served on every party before service on the recipient. Preserve the notice, copy, recipient list and transmission records. Simultaneous or later notice does not track the required sequence.
8. Serve the subpoena correctly. A person who is at least 18 and not a party may serve it by delivering a copy to the named person. Record the date, manner and names served. If proof becomes necessary, Rule 45(b)(4) requires a certified server statement filed with the issuing court; AO 88B includes a proof-of-service page. Because this note covers no attendance command, it does not call for the one-day attendance fee or mileage tender described in Rule 45(b)(1).
9. Manage objections and production. A written objection is due before the earlier of the compliance time or 14 days after service. Do not treat an objection as disobedience: after an objection, production may be compelled only by court order. A producer must provide documents as kept in the ordinary course or organize and label them to match the categories. A privilege claim must be express and describe withheld material sufficiently to permit assessment without revealing the protected information.
10. Use the correct court for disputes. A motion to compel, quash or modify ordinarily belongs in the federal district where compliance is required, not automatically in the issuing court. That court must quash or modify a subpoena that allows inadequate time, exceeds Rule 45(c), requires protected matter without exception or waiver, or imposes undue burden. Transfer to the issuing court is limited by Rule 45(f) to consent or exceptional circumstances.

Documents and decisions checklist

• Rule 26(b)(1) relevance and proportionality analysis.
• Exact nonparty legal name and service target.
• Current AO 88B from the U.S. Courts website.
• Narrow requests with subject, custodian and date limits.
• Chosen ESI production form and metadata requirements.
• Rule 45(c)-compliant place of production.
• Reasonable compliance date and objection-calendar entry.
• Advance notice and subpoena copy for every party.
• Adult nonparty process server and completed service record.
• Privilege, confidentiality and protective-order plan.

Deadlines and cost points

• Party notice: serve every party before serving the subpoenaed nonparty.
• Objections: due before the earlier of the stated compliance time or 14 days after service.
• Compliance: Rule 45 states no fixed national number of days; the time allowed must be reasonable.
• Motion to quash: must be timely and is ordinarily filed in the district where compliance is required.
• Attendance fees: not required for this documents-only workflow because no attendance is commanded.
• Other costs: Rule 45 and AO 88B state no national issuance fee. Confirm local practice and budget for service and production. The court must protect a nonparty from significant expense when ordering compliance after an objection.

Common errors

• Issuing from the compliance district instead of the court where the case is pending.
• Serving the nonparty before giving every party the required advance notice and copy.
• Using AO 88A or adding an unnecessary appearance command.
• Selecting a place of compliance outside Rule 45(c)’s 100-mile limit.
• Using broad “all documents” demands without proportionality, custodians or date limits.
• Setting a short deadline that leaves no reasonable time to comply.
• Ignoring the earlier-of-14-days-or-compliance-date objection deadline.
• Moving in the issuing court without checking which district is the place of compliance.
• Demanding inaccessible ESI without considering burden, cost and Rule 26(b)(2)(C).
• Treating a written objection as immediate contempt rather than seeking an order to compel.

Official sources

Automated research disclosure: This note was produced through automated research and independently checked against the official U.S. Courts rules and form pages listed above. It is not represented as human legal review. Confirm the scheduling order, local rules, protective orders and facts of the particular action before issuing or serving a subpoena.

Next review: 28 March 2027, or earlier if Rule 26, Rule 45, AO 88B or relevant local practice changes.