If a witness is concealed in a building or vessel, so as to prevent the service of a subpoena upon him, any Court or Judge, or any officer issuing the subpoena, may, upon proof by affidavit of the concealment, and of the materiality of the witness, make an order that the Sheriff of the county serve the subpoena; and the Sheriff must serve it accordingly, and for that purpose may break into the building or vessel where the witness is concealed.
§ 1988.Subpoena; service; witness concealed
Title 3. Of the Production of Evidence · Chapter 2. Means of Production · Enacted 1872 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1988 lets a court, judge, or the officer who issued a subpoena authorize the sheriff to serve it on a witness who is hiding inside a building or vessel to dodge service, and allows the sheriff to break in to complete that service once an affidavit shows the concealment and the witness's materiality.
Full Text of § 1988
Plain-English Summary
Some witnesses avoid a subpoena by staying out of sight, and this section closes that door. If a witness holes up inside a building or vessel to keep from being served, the court, a judge, or the officer who issued the subpoena in the first place can step in once someone files an affidavit proving two things: that the witness is concealed, and that the witness's testimony is material.
The remedy is blunt but effective. The order directs the sheriff of the county to serve the subpoena, and the sheriff has to carry it out, breaking into the building or vessel where the witness is hiding if that's what it takes to complete service. The provision dates back to 1872 and still supplies the last-resort tool for a witness who tries to escape a subpoena by hiding rather than refusing to answer the door outright.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a sheriff break into a building to serve a subpoena?
Yes, if a court, judge, or the officer who issued the subpoena orders it after an affidavit shows the witness is concealed there to avoid service and that the witness's testimony matters to the case.
What must the affidavit show before this order can be made?
That the witness is concealed in a building or vessel to prevent service, and that the witness is material.
Who carries out the order to serve a concealed witness?
The sheriff of the county, who must serve the subpoena and may break into the building or vessel to do it.
Amendment History
(Enacted in 1872.)
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the West's Annotated California Codes / Thomson Reuters. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 29, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: concealed witness subpoena californiasheriff break in serve subpoena