A witness, including a witness specified in subdivision (b) of Section 1987, is not obliged to attend as a witness before any court, judge, justice or any other officer, unless the witness is a resident within the state at the time of service.
§ 1989.Residency requirements for attendance of witnesses
Title 3. Of the Production of Evidence · Chapter 2. Means of Production · Last amended 1981 · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1989 excuses a witness, including a party or officer covered by Section 1987's notice procedure, from any obligation to attend court, a judge, or another officer unless that witness was a resident of California at the time the subpoena or notice was served.
Full Text of § 1989
Plain-English Summary
California can compel a witness to attend proceedings, but only within limits, and residency is the line this section draws. A witness, whether served by subpoena in the ordinary way or reached through the notice procedure Section 1987 sets up for parties and their officers or agents, doesn't have to show up unless they were a resident of the state when service happened.
That residency requirement protects out-of-state witnesses from being dragged into California court by a subpoena that has no real hold on them. If the witness lived outside California at the moment of service, no court, judge, justice, or other officer can force attendance under this section, regardless of how material the testimony might be.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a witness have to attend court if they live outside California?
No. Section 1989 excuses a witness from attending unless they were a resident of the state when the subpoena or notice was served.
Does this residency requirement apply to the notice procedure used for parties and their officers?
Yes. It applies to a witness covered by subdivision (b) of Section 1987 the same way it applies to a witness served by ordinary subpoena.
What matters for residency purposes, where the witness lives now or lived at service?
Residency is measured at the time of service, not at some later date.
Amendment History
(Enacted in 1872. Amended by Stats.1915, c. 162, p. 330, § 1; Stats.1935, c. 257, p. 942, § 1; Stats.1957, c. 1560, p. 2918, § 1; Stats.1980, c. 591, p. 1603, § 1; Stats.1981, c. 184, p. 1106, § 3.)
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: out of state witness subpoena californiawitness residency requirement subpoena