Subpoena Service in South Carolina for Trials, Depositions and Records

01Who may serve

A Non-Party Adult May Serve a South Carolina Subpoena

SCRCP 45(b)(1) says service of a subpoena may be made by any person who is not a party and is not less than 18 years of age, using the methods in Rule 4(d) or 4(j). That is a separate grant from the summons rule in Rule 4(c), which the second sentence of 4(c) expressly preserves by saying a subpoena may be served as provided in Rule 45. The statewide process serving page explains how that split shapes what private servers can and cannot take.

Magistrate court has its own subpoena rule. SCRMC 23(b) lets a subpoena be served by the sheriff of any county where the witness may be found, a deputy, a constable of the court, or any other person who is not a party and is at least 18. A 2013 South Carolina Attorney General opinion also notes that criminal subpoenas may be served by the sheriff, a deputy or any non-party adult under SCRCrimP 13(b). Our magistrate court summons page covers the civil side.

Because the rule turns on age and party status, there is no South Carolina license or registry to check before a server delivers a subpoena. Each server we send on a subpoena is an adult who has no stake in the case as a party. The same Attorney General opinion says a server acting within the scope of service likely does not commit trespass by entering posted property, but someone who exceeds that scope or fails to leave when asked can become a trespasser.

• Civil subpoenas: SCRCP 45(b)(1)
• Magistrate subpoenas: SCRMC 23(b)
• Criminal subpoenas: SCRCrimP 13(b), per the 2013 AG opinion
• Delivery methods borrowed from Rule 4(d) and 4(j)

02Before we serve

How a South Carolina Subpoena Is Issued

Under SCRCP 45(a)(3), the clerk issues a subpoena signed but otherwise in blank to a party, who fills it in before service. An attorney may also issue and sign a subpoena as an officer of the court in any court where the attorney is authorized to practice. Either way, we serve the completed document as issued and do not alter it. The attorney service page explains how firms send subpoenas in batches for a single case.

Before quoting, we read the subpoena for the date, time and place of attendance, any documents to be produced, and the name and address of the person commanded. If a deposition or production subpoena is directed to a non-party, we compare the county named on it with the county where the witness lives or works, because a mismatch can make the subpoena vulnerable. The Lexington County process server page and the Richland County page cover the two Columbia-area clerks.

When a court requires a subpoena to be served together with another paper, such as a notice of deposition, we serve the package as counsel assembles it and list each document in the proof of service. If anything looks incomplete, such as a blank attendance date, we call before the attempt rather than after it, so the serve does not have to be repeated.

03Non-party depositions

The County Rule for Non-Party Deposition and Production Subpoenas

SCRCP 45(b)(2) allows a subpoena to be served anywhere in the state, subject to the travel limits in Rule 45(c)(3)(A)(ii). But a subpoena directed to a non-party and commanding attendance at a deposition, or production or inspection, must be issued from, and served in, the county where the non-party resides, is employed, or regularly transacts business in person. The Greenville County process server page shows how that works in the state's most populous county.

In practice, that rule turns a single case into several counties. A Charleston County suit may need a deposition subpoena issued in Berkeley County for a witness who lives in Goose Creek, and another in Dorchester County for a witness employed in Summerville. North Charleston spans three counties, so we confirm which one the witness's address falls in before the subpoena is issued. The Goose Creek process server page covers Berkeley County addresses.

Trial and hearing subpoenas are not subject to that county limit in the same way, though the Rule 45(c)(3) protections against undue travel still apply. When counsel is unsure which county should issue a deposition subpoena, we flag the question rather than guess, because only the court can decide whether a subpoena should be quashed or modified. The Charleston County process server page covers the clerk at 100 Broad Street.

04Witness pay

Witness Fees Are Paid When the Witness Arrives, Not at Service

Under SCRCP 45, a witness is paid $25.00 a day plus mileage from the witness's residence to the place named in the subpoena, and that tender is made upon arrival in accordance with the subpoena rather than when the papers are served. No tender is required when the subpoena is issued for the State or a state agency. Magistrate court follows the same $25 figure under SCRMC 23(e). Our server does not carry or hand over witness money, which keeps the serve itself simple.

Our serving fee is separate from witness pay and from court costs. We charge the published Routine rate for the county where the witness is served, from $125 in Richland, Lexington, Greenville, Charleston and six other counties, and the South Carolina rate map lists the rest. If you use the sheriff instead, sheriffs post their own fees: the Richland County Sheriff's Department and the Dorchester County Sheriff each list $10 for a subpoena.

Several witnesses at one address, such as three employees at the same plant, are still priced and documented one person at a time, because each needs their own proof of service. When a hearing date is close, the Urgent, Rush and Same Day Rush tiers raise the price by 1.5, 2 or 3 times Routine. The Dorchester County process server page covers both the St. George courthouse and the Summerville judicial complex.

05Proof

Proving a South Carolina Subpoena Was Served

SCRCP 45(b)(3) says that, when necessary, proof of service is made by filing with the clerk of the issuing court a statement certified by the person who made the service, giving the date and manner of service and the names of the persons served. We prepare that statement for every subpoena, whether or not counsel expects to file it, so it is ready if a witness fails to appear and counsel asks the court to enforce the subpoena.

Our proof follows the same detail we use for a summons under Rule 4(g): the date, the time, the place, the name of the person served, and a description if the name could not be confirmed. Each attempt before the successful one appears in the attempt log. The guide to serving legal papers explains why those details matter when service is questioned.

Records subpoenas to businesses go to the custodian or office named in the subpoena, and our statement names the person who accepted it and that person's stated role. If the business refuses or sends the server elsewhere, the log records it and we call counsel the same day. For hearings that are days away, the same-day and rush service page explains how the faster tiers keep the proof standard intact.

06Out-of-state and federal cases

Foreign Subpoenas Under the UIDDA and Federal Subpoenas

South Carolina adopted the Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act at S.C. Code 15-47-100 through 15-47-160, effective March 30, 2010. Under 15-47-120(A), a party must submit a foreign subpoena to the clerk of court of the county in which discovery is sought, and submitting it is not an appearance in South Carolina's courts. Under 15-47-120(B), the clerk promptly issues a South Carolina subpoena incorporating the foreign subpoena's terms and listing counsel's contact information. The act applies to discovery requests in cases pending on or after its effective date.

Section 15-47-130 then requires that subpoena to be served in compliance with the rules that apply to South Carolina subpoenas, which means SCRCP 45. Under 15-47-150, any fight over the subpoena, whether to quash, modify, enforce or limit it by protective order, is heard by the court in the county where the discovery takes place. The act does not say whether a South Carolina attorney must be involved, so out-of-state counsel should confirm that locally. Our out-of-state papers page explains how we coordinate the clerk step and the serve.

Federal subpoenas from the District of South Carolina, whose courthouses sit in Columbia, Charleston, Florence, Greenville, Spartanburg and Anderson, follow the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure rather than SCRCP 45. We serve them under the same documentation standard as state papers, and the proof names the division and case number shown on the subpoena so the clerk can match it. The Georgia process servers page and the Virginia service page cover discovery that continues in neighboring states.

07In the field

Reaching Witnesses at Work, at Home and on Sunday

Many witnesses are easiest to reach at work, but employers do not always cooperate. Large employers, such as the BMW plant in Greer or the port terminals in Charleston and North Charleston, often control who reaches the work floor. We plan attempts at shift changes or at home when a workplace serve is impractical. The Spartanburg process server page covers the county courthouse at 180 Magnolia Street.

S.C. Code 15-9-17 allows a process server to serve a summons, complaint or other judicial documents on Sunday, with one limit: no service on a person going to, attending or returning from a church or other religious service. That can help reach a witness who works long weekday hours. Military witnesses at Joint Base Lindsey Graham (formerly Joint Base Charleston) or Shaw Air Force Base are a separate question, since access depends on each installation's rules, and the North Charleston process server page discusses base-area addresses.

A witness who avoids a subpoena creates a different record than a defendant who avoids a summons, because the remedy is enforcement by the issuing court. Our attempt log shows each visit, what was said and any refusal, which is the evidence counsel needs for that motion. The Columbia process server page covers the Richland County Judicial Center and the federal courthouse on Richland Street.

Services

South Carolina Subpoenas We Serve

• Trial and hearing subpoenasSubpoenas commanding attendance at a common pleas, family court or magistrate hearing, served by a non-party adult with a certified statement of service.Learn more
• Non-party deposition subpoenasDeposition subpoenas checked against the Rule 45(b)(2) county rule before service, then delivered to the witness named in the papers.Learn more
• Records and production subpoenasSubpoenas for documents served on a business custodian or office, with the person who accepted and their stated role recorded.Learn more
• Magistrate court subpoenasWitness subpoenas under SCRMC 23(b) for magistrate hearings, including landlord-tenant and small claims trials, with witness pay noted under 23(e).Learn more
• Family court subpoenasWitness subpoenas for temporary hearings and final trials in divorce, custody and support cases, served with attention to the setting.Learn more
• Foreign subpoenasSubpoenas issued by a South Carolina clerk under S.C. Code 15-47-120 from an out-of-state case, then served under SCRCP 45.Learn more
• Witnesses who avoid serviceAttempts at varied days and times with refusals logged, giving counsel the record needed to ask the issuing court to enforce.Learn more
• Landlord hearing witnessesSubpoenas for property managers, neighbors or repair contractors needed at an ejectment or unpaid rent hearing in magistrate court, served by a non-party adult.Learn more
• Rush subpoenasUrgent, Rush and Same Day Rush tiers when the attendance date is close, with the price confirmed in writing before the first attempt.Learn more

How it works

How a South Carolina Subpoena Serve Works

1. 01

   Send the subpoena

   Upload the completed and signed subpoena with the witness's name, home and work addresses, the attendance date and any notice of deposition that must accompany it.

2. 02

   County check and quote

   We confirm the county of service against Rule 45(b)(2) for non-party depositions, then send you the tier, the total and the assigned server in writing.

3. 03

   Serve the witness

   The server delivers the subpoena by a Rule 4(d) method, logs every attempt and does not hand over witness pay, which is tendered on arrival.

4. 04

   Certified statement

   You receive a certified statement of the date and manner of service and the person served, ready to file with the clerk of the issuing court.

Compare

South Carolina Subpoena Rules at a Glance

Statewide coverage

South Carolina Cities Where Witnesses Are Served

Subpoena work follows the courthouses, so many requests start from the Charleston process server page, the Greenville service page or the Florence process server page, home to a federal courthouse on West Evans Street. Witnesses in the Charlotte suburbs are reached through the Rock Hill process server page. Each page lists the county's published starting rate and the clerk where the certified statement of service is filed, so counsel can match the witness to the right county before the subpoena issues.

• Charleston
• Columbia
• Greenville
• Spartanburg
• Florence
• North Charleston
• All of South Carolina

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Service areas

Process servers across South Carolina