California Code of Civil Procedure section 1987 does two things: it sets out how a subpoena must be personally served on a witness, and it creates a shortcut for compelling parties (and their officers, directors, or managing agents) to appear through a written notice to their attorney instead of a formal subpoena. If you are trying to get a party to court, or you just received a notice telling you to show up, this is the statute that controls the timing, the paperwork, and the fees.
How Service Works Under Subdivision (a)
A subpoena is served by delivering a copy to the witness in person. At the moment of delivery, the server must offer the witness fees for travel to and from the place named in the subpoena, plus one day’s attendance, if the witness demands them. Service has to happen far enough ahead of the appearance date to give the witness a reasonable chance to prepare and travel. California does not require a professional process server; any person can serve a subpoena.1California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure CCP 1987
Service on a minor is more layered. The subpoena goes to the minor’s parent, guardian, conservator, or the person who has care or control of the child. If the minor is 12 or older, the minor is also served directly. When a minor is in the dependency or juvenile justice system and not living with a parent, service also goes to the designated agent at the county child welfare or probation department overseeing placement.1California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure CCP 1987
Notice in Lieu of Subpoena for Parties
Subdivision (b) is the practical shortcut. If the person you need is a party to the case, someone directly benefiting from the case, or an officer, director, or managing agent of such a party, you do not need to serve a subpoena at all. You serve a written notice on that person’s attorney requesting attendance at a specific date, time, and place.1California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure CCP 1987
The notice must go out at least 10 days before the required appearance, unless the court shortens that window. Once properly served, the notice has the same force as a subpoena, and the same sanctions apply if the person ignores it. The witness can still demand fees and mileage before being required to testify.1California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure CCP 1987
Requesting Documents Through a Party Notice
Subdivision (c) extends the same notice mechanism to documents, electronically stored information, and other tangible materials, but with a longer runway. The notice must be served at least 20 days before the appearance date, unless the court orders otherwise. It has to identify the exact materials sought and state that the person has them in their possession or control.1California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure CCP 1987
The person on the receiving end has five days to serve written objections explaining why part or all of the request is improper. That window is short. If objections come in, the requesting party’s next move is a motion to compel production; if no objections come in, the request stands.
Witness Fees at the Moment of Service
Under subdivision (a), the fees have to be offered when the subpoena is handed over, if the witness asks. Under subdivision (b), a party compelled by notice can demand fees and mileage before being required to testify. In either case, failing to tender the proper fees gives the witness a legitimate reason to refuse compliance. Courts have little patience with a party who skipped this step and then complained the witness did not show.1California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure CCP 1987
The fee amounts themselves come from Government Code section 68093: $35 per day of actual attendance, plus $0.20 per mile for round-trip travel to the designated location.2California Legislative Information. California Government Code 68093
Pushing Back on a Subpoena or 1987 Notice
If you receive a subpoena or a party notice that goes too far, CCP 1987.1 is the tool for challenging it. Parties, witnesses, consumers whose records are targeted, employees whose employment records are at issue, and people whose identifying information is sought in a free-speech case can all move to quash or modify. The court can quash the subpoena, narrow it, impose conditions, or issue a protective order against unreasonable or oppressive demands, including privacy violations.3California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 1987.1
The court can also act on its own after notifying counsel and holding a hearing. Moving to quash before the compliance date is almost always stronger than ignoring the subpoena and defending after the fact.
What Happens If You Ignore Proper Service
Two consequences run in parallel. CCP 1992 imposes an automatic $500 forfeiture payable to the party who issued the subpoena, plus any actual damages that party suffered because the witness did not appear.4California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure CCP 1992
Separately, the court can hold the witness in contempt under CCP 1218: a fine of up to $1,000, up to five days in jail, or both. Where the contempt involves an ongoing failure the person still has the power to cure, such as producing documents, the court can keep the person confined until they comply.5California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 1218
One Boundary Worth Knowing
Section 1987 governs service on the witness and notices to parties. When a subpoena instead targets personal records held by a third-party custodian, such as bank, medical, insurance, or employment files, a separate statute (CCP 1985.3) adds its own advance-notice requirements to the consumer whose records are sought. Section 1987’s 10-day and 20-day rules do not replace those consumer-notice deadlines.
Key Deadlines Under CCP 1987
- Standard subpoena service on a non-party witness: enough time for reasonable preparation and travel; no fixed statutory minimum.
- Party attendance notice under subdivision (b): at least 10 days before the appearance date, unless the court shortens it.
- Party document-production notice under subdivision (c): at least 20 days before the appearance date, unless the court shortens it.
- Written objections to a document-production notice: within 5 days of receiving the notice.
- Witness fees and mileage: offered at service on a subpoena if demanded; available on demand before testimony under a party notice.
Count the days from the start. Missing the 10-day or 20-day lead time is the most common way a section 1987 notice falls apart, and missing the 5-day objection window is the most common way a recipient loses ground they could have held.