Cases outside of New York may require the presence of witnesses or depositions based in NYC. When this happens, lawyers must secure a subpoena issued by the New York county clerk where the witness or source of the materials to be presented as evidence is from.
You don’t need to visit New York to serve a subpoena in person. Our experienced process servers can do it for you.
Serve Index LLC is a trusted process service agency that serves solo-practice attorneys, law practices, courts, and individuals.
Our process servers in New York ensure that the service of process is executed correctly and that the right people are served with legal documents, including subpoenas. We can serve papers anywhere in New York’s five boroughs (the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Staten Island, and Queens), as well as in Nassau County, Long Island, and Suffolk County.
Take advantage of our expertise in process service, and see to it that your subpoena will be issued accurately and as quickly as possible. Our services will benefit you and your clients:
- Spend more time on research and case preparations
- Save your client thousands of dollars in legal fees
- Ensure that your out-of-state subpoena is enforceable in New York
Out-of-State Subpoena Domestication in New York
The subpoena domestication rules in New York were much more complicated before the state enacted the UIDDA. You had to:
- Obtain a commission from the court where the action was pending.
- Initiate a special proceeding.
- Demonstrate the necessity of the demand for production of evidence, deposition of potential witnesses, or written interrogatory.
- Obtain an order that allows you to serve the subpoena.
- Hire a local attorney.
However, the process is much simpler now. You only need to present a foreign subpoena to the county clerk where the recipient lives. The clerk will then reissue the subpoena in that jurisdiction, provided that all your documents comply with the court’s procedure.
The definition of terms, domestication procedure, and the required contents of a subpoena are all outlined in the Consolidated Laws of New York, Chapter 8 – CPLR, Article 31, Section 3119, (CPLR 3119).
After obtaining the reissued subpoena, you must serve it according to the state laws. A court must give the green light for the process service, and the person delivering the documents must be at least 18 years old. They may also have a party accompany them.
Keep in mind that other states’ rules will differ. For example, they may require you to hire a process server to deliver the subpoena for you.
Experts on Subpoena Domestication
The process for domesticating a foreign subpoena in New York can be confusing, especially if the state it’s issued from hasn’t adopted the Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act (UIDDA). By having our team of experts handle the entire process for you, you get:
- Error-free service of process
- Up to 3 attempts to serve the subpoena
- Live updates of the service
- GPS tracking
- Witness fee calculation
- Signed copy of an affidavit of service
Options for Faster Delivery
Some legal documents are time-sensitive. Make sure you have everything you need before the court date with our quick subpoena delivery options in New York. We offer:
- Standard service (delivery within 3 to 5 days)
- Rush services (delivery within 24 to 48 hours)
- Same-day service delivery
Note that our rush and same-day services have additional fees.
Issuing an Out-of-State Subpoena in New York
The state of New York is one of the 31 states that have now adopted the UIDDA. As a result, litigators can depose individuals, request the presence of witnesses, and obtain discoverable materials from other states. It paved the way for a more efficient and cost-effective way of securing statements and evidence from another jurisdiction. There is, however, a limitation: lawyers may only take advantage of the UIDDA if the state of where they seek discovery also enacted the UIDDA.
The process of obtaining a subpoena in New York or another UIDDA state is easier and shorter.
Attorneys must present a draft subpoena to the clerk of court in the jurisdiction where the evidence or witnesses they need are located. This draft should comply with the rules of the state, which in this case is New York. The clerk of court will then reissue a subpoena — no need for additional judicial intervention.
Navigating UIDDA: Serving Out-of-State Subpoenas in New York
The Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act (UIDDA) has revolutionized the process of securing evidence and testimony from out-of-state witnesses and entities. A critical element of this law is issuing an “out-of-state subpoena” by a court in a state other than the one where the legal proceeding is taking place.
As one of the 47 states that have adopted this law, litigators can proceed domesticating a foreign subpoena in New York. The subpoena requires a person to:
- attend a deposition and give testimony
- produce documents or other materials for inspection and copying
- allow inspection of premises
UIDDA allows lawyers to depose individuals and obtain evidence from states that adopted UIDDA. It is intended to promote uniformity among states that enact it. So, when serving an out-of-state subpoena in New York or another state, litigators must present a draft subpoena to the court clerk in the jurisdiction where the evidence or witnesses are located. The rules and statutes of the state where discovery is sought must be followed when applying to the court to enforce or modify the out-of-state subpoena.
If the conditions are met, the clerk reissues a subpoena without requiring additional judicial intervention. The legal document must be checked if it contains the terms of the out-of-state subpoena. Also, it needs to incorporate the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of all counsel of record and unrepresented parties involved. This subpoena must be served in compliance with the relevant sections of the law. This seamless process makes UIDDA in New York essentially helpful in obtaining the materials required from New York or from other jurisdictions.
Accurate Process Serving of Out-of-State Subpoenas in New York
Obtaining a reissued subpoena in New York is just the first step; what comes next is finding a professional process server to deliver the subpoena to the intended individuals, companies, or organizations.
Serve Index LLC employs some of the most knowledgeable, dependable, and capable out-of-state process servers in New York.
You can trust them to deliver subpoenas anywhere in the New York State — accurately and swiftly.
We’ve provided our team with the means to locate and identify subpoena recipients, whether they are civilians, witnesses or service providers, offices, or companies that have exclusive access to the discoverable materials you need to strengthen your case. Our process servers also have vast experience in the field; they can navigate their way through the city and serve subpoenas at the intended recipients’ homes, office premises, or in any of their frequent haunts.
Secure the witnesses and evidence your client needs. Once a New York state clerk has reissued a subpoena, get in touch with Serve Index LLC.
Meeting the Requirements of Process Servicing
Anyone who needs to obtain depositions or evidence from New York City, or ensures that a key witness from NYC can testify in another state, must follow the rules for service of process. There are two types of service processes: one involves the service of “summons and complaint,” and the other involves a “subpoena.”
Subpoena server services are bound by the following rules:
On process servers: Anyone with a vested interest in the outcome of a case, or is involved in the legal proceedings (i.e., any of the attorneys, any of the parties involved in the case) are not allowed to serve legal documents. People without any affiliation to the case are ideal, although friends of either party may be allowed to serve documents. Process servers can also accept payment in return for their services. In New York, process servers must also be 18 years or older. Additionally, licensed process server can serve an unlimited number of documents while unlicensed ones can only serve a maximum of five in one year.
On serving documents: One crucial fact about process serving is that if it is done wrong, a judge might rule a “dismissal without prejudice.” This means the judge acknowledges there are errors in the service of process, and the current case is dismissed. “Without prejudice” means, however, that the person whose case was dismissed may try again and correct what went wrong the first time around.
Judges may dismiss a case without prejudice if they recognize a possible weakness in the evidence. Process service that violates the rules laid out by the NYC State Court may be considered as an example. This is why the service of process must be done correctly and promptly.
What is the correct way of serving documents?
- Process servers must hand the documents personally to the recipient of the subpoena (personal delivery). They must try to reach the recipient from 6:00 in the morning to 10:00 at night. They may not, however, serve legal papers on Sundays or any day when the recipient practices religious observance.
- If the recipient of the subpoena is absent for at least two attempts at serving papers, the process server may entrust the papers to an individual who lives or works with the recipient. He or she must be deemed responsible and can be trusted to hand the papers over to the recipient (substituted service). The substitute recipient may be a teenager of responsible age and disposition. People who are indisposed at the time of giving, i.e., they are inebriated or mentally impaired, are not fit to be substitute recipients of legal documents.
- If personal or substituted service still fails despite more than two tries at different times and day, and the process server has exhausted all means to reach the intended recipient of the subpoena, the process server may tape the documents on the door of the recipient’s home (conspicuous service).
- Both substituted service and conspicuous service require the process server to send copies of the papers to the defendant or the respondent via regular mail. These documents must be sealed in an envelope labelled, “Personal and Confidential,” and must not indicate that its contents are legal documents.
The New York State Court attached other stipulations to these types of process serving, as well as the nature of the case for which subpoena documents are filed. Although serving papers on your own seems doable, it would be smarter to entrust this task to more knowledgeable and seasoned individuals.
Such is the purpose of Serve Index LLC. Our subpoena process service relieves you of the burden of studying the service process rules of New York, as well as researching locations the recipient reportedly frequents. Our New York-based process servers know the city very well and have experience in reaching people at the right place and time. We have a high rate of personal deliveries for out-of-state subpoenas, and you can bank on it the next time you need to issue one within NYC.
Delivering Subpoenas on Time
Subpoenas are written orders from a court or administrative agency that requires an individual to become a witness at a trial or provide crucial evidence for one. They are, therefore, time sensitive. Lawyers need to gather evidence and depositions as quickly as possible to assemble their case and make their desired court date.
Additionally, serving the subpoena to a witness incurs certain expenses. As the party that called for the witness’s presence, you must also arrange for his or her travel and cover all expenses at the city or state where the case will be tried.
If you need to subpoena documents or records for evidence, you must apply for a subpoena duces tecum or a subpoena ad testificandum at the NYC Clerk of Court. Though the clerk’s office allows you to file this application up to two days or 48 hours before the trial date, we wouldn’t recommend it. It’s not advisable to subpoena documents this close to a trial, but if the need arises, process servers can help you do the job within the time frame.
Given our experience in process servicing and handling out-of-state subpoenas for documents and records in New York, Serve Index LLC can deliver on these urgent service of process jobs. We treat these cases as top-priority — as they should be — and do our best to meet your deadlines.
Legal Support Services You Can Rely On
We are a licensed agency with the experience, means, and knowledge to carry out legal support services. Besides serving subpoenas, we also offer divorce, foreclosure, and process services (including same-day process serving), court filing, skip tracing, mobile notary services, and document retrieval.
Let our trained team execute the service of process, and reap the benefits of our swift and law-based methods. Contact us and claim your FREE quote. You can reach us at 1 888 994 6339 or info@serveindex.com.