Domesticate your out-of-state subpoena in Utah. We file it and serve it.

What does it mean to domesticate a subpoena?

It means asking a Utah court to issue its own subpoena with the same terms as yours. Utah adopted the Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act (UIDDA) in 2008. Under it, you submit the foreign subpoena to the clerk in the Utah district where discovery will take place, and the clerk issues a Utah subpoena. Submitting it isn’t an appearance in a Utah court, and no Utah judge has to sign it.

Does your state use the UIDDA?

Almost certainly. As of October 2026, every state has adopted it or a close equivalent except Massachusetts, Missouri and New Hampshire, and New Hampshire’s version takes effect January 1, 2027. Texas joined on August 31, 2025. Utah offers the UIDDA route only to states that return the favor (§78B-17-103).

If your case is in Massachusetts or Missouri, or in New Hampshire before 2027, the route is different. You file a Notice of Deposition and Request for Subpoena in Case Pending Out of State under Utah Rule of Civil Procedure 30, with the same $35 fee, and attach your court’s commission or other proof that you’re authorized to take the deposition. We file those too.

Which Utah court do I file in?

The district court for the judicial district where the deposition, production or inspection will happen (§78B-17-201). In the counties we serve:

• First District: Box Elder and Cache counties
• Second District: Davis, Morgan and Weber counties
• Third District: Salt Lake, Summit and Tooele counties
• Fourth District: Utah and Wasatch counties

Where can the witness be required to appear?

Under Utah Rule of Civil Procedure 45(c), a Utah resident can be required to sit for a deposition or produce records only in the county where they live, work or do business in person. Someone who lives out of state but is served here can be required to appear only in the county where they were served. Anywhere else takes a court order, and a subpoena that ignores the rule invites an objection. Set the location before you send it to us.

Do the other parties get the subpoena first?

For records, documents or an inspection, yes. Rule 45(b)(3) requires you to serve every party with the subpoena before it’s served on the witness, and the witness gets at least 14 days to comply (Rule 45(e)(2)). A deposition-only subpoena doesn’t carry that advance-service rule. You’ll still notice the deposition under your own court’s rules.

Does it work for trial testimony or a criminal case?

No. Utah’s act covers depositions, documents and inspection of premises (§78B-17-102), so it can’t compel a Utah witness to travel to your trial. In criminal cases, out-of-state witnesses are summoned under a separate law, Utah Code Title 77, Chapter 21, which runs through a Utah judge.

What if the witness objects or ignores it?

An objection has to be in writing, served on the party who issued the subpoena, and made before the compliance date (Rule 45(e)(4)). Once it’s served, the witness doesn’t have to comply on the objected points until a court orders it. Motions to compel, quash or modify go to the Utah court in the district where discovery is taking place (§78B-17-204) and follow Utah’s rules, so you’ll want Utah counsel or pro hac vice admission for that stage.

Utah’s subpoena forms

If we’re filing for you, skip this part. To file it yourself, these are the Utah Courts’ own forms. We link to the court’s copies, not ours, so you always get the current version. Family-law cases use slightly different versions, listed on the Utah Courts subpoena page.