§ 2020.510.Contents of subpoena; affidavit or declaration showing
Title 4. Civil Discovery Act · Chapter 6. Nonparty Discovery · Article 5. Subpoena Commanding Both Production of Business Records and Attendance and Testimony of · Last amended 2012 · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 2020.510 sets the required contents of a combined deposition subpoena commanding both attendance and testimony and production of business records or things, requires no good-cause affidavit, and mandates consumer or employee notice documentation when personal or employment records are sought.
(a)A deposition subpoena that commands the attendance and the testimony of the deponent, as well as the production of business records, documents, electronically stored information, and tangible things, shall:
(1)Comply with the requirements of Section 2020.310.
(2)Designate the business records, documents, electronically stored information, and tangible things to be produced either by specifically describing each individual item or by reasonably particularizing each category of item.
(3)Specify any testing or sampling that is being sought.
(4)Specify the form in which any electronically stored information is to be produced, if a particular form is desired.
(b)A deposition subpoena under subdivision (a) need not be accompanied by an affidavit or declaration showing good cause for the production of the documents and things designated.
(c)If, as described in Section 1985.3, the person to whom the deposition subpoena is directed is a witness, and the business records described in the deposition subpoena are personal records pertaining to a consumer, the service of the deposition subpoena shall be accompanied either by a copy of the proof of service of the notice to the consumer described in subdivision (e) of Section 1985.3, or by the consumer's written authorization to release personal records described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 1985.3.
(d)If, as described in Section 1985.6, the person to whom the deposition subpoena is directed is a witness and the business records described in the deposition subpoena are employment records pertaining to an employee, the service of the deposition subpoena shall be accompanied either by a copy of the proof of service of the notice to the employee described in subdivision
(e)of Section 1985.6, or by the employee's written authorization to release personal records described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 1985.6.
Plain-English Summary
A combined subpoena, one that demands both the deponent's presence and a stack of documents, has to satisfy the same contents requirements as an attendance-only subpoena under Section 2020.310, plus more. It has to designate the business records, documents, electronically stored information, and tangible things being sought, either by specifically describing each item or by reasonably particularizing each category. It has to specify any testing or sampling requested, and, if the party wants electronic information produced in a particular form, the subpoena has to say so.
Like the records-only subpoena, this combined version doesn't need any affidavit or declaration showing good cause for the documents and things it designates. But the consumer and employee privacy safeguards carry over just as they do for records-only subpoenas: if the target is a witness whose records are a consumer's personal records, service has to come with proof the consumer was notified or the consumer's written authorization to release them, and the same pairing applies when the records are an employee's employment records, tracking the notice and authorization scheme built into Sections 1985.3 and 1985.6.
Frequently Asked Questions
What must a combined attendance-and-records deposition subpoena include?
Everything Section 2020.310 requires for attendance-only subpoenas, plus a designation of the records, documents, and things sought, any testing or sampling requested, and the desired form for electronic information.
Does a combined subpoena need a good-cause affidavit for the documents it seeks?
No. Section 2020.510 specifically says no affidavit or declaration showing good cause is required.
What happens when a combined subpoena seeks a consumer's or employee's personal records?
Service must be accompanied by proof of the required consumer or employee notice, or by that person's written authorization to release the records.
Amendment History
(Added by Stats.2004, c. 182 (A.B.3081), § 23, operative July 1, 2005. Amended by Stats.2007, c. 113 (A.B.1126), § 4; Stats.2012, c. 72 (S.B.1574), § 18.)
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:combined deposition subpoena testimony and recordsemployment records subpoena california