(a) Citation of section. This section may be cited as the uniform interstate depositions and discovery act.
K.S.A. 60-228a.Uniform interstate depositions and discovery act
Last amended July 1, 2011 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceK.S.A. 60-228a, the uniform interstate depositions and discovery act, lets a party holding a subpoena issued by another state's court get a Kansas clerk to issue a matching Kansas subpoena so discovery can proceed here without a separate lawsuit or a special appearance.
Full Text of K.S.A. 60-228a
(b) Definitions. In this section:
(1) "Foreign jurisdiction" means a state other than this state or a foreign country.
(2) "Foreign subpoena" means a subpoena issued under authority of a court of record of a foreign jurisdiction.
(3) "Person" means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, public corporation, government or political subdivision, agency or instrumentality or any other legal or commercial entity.
(4) "State" means a state of the United States, the district of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin islands, a federally recognized Indian tribe or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.
(5) "Subpoena" means a document, however denominated, issued under authority of a court of record requiring a person to:
(A) Attend and give testimony at a deposition;
(B) produce and permit inspection and copying of designated books, documents, records, electronically stored information or tangible things in the possession, custody or control of the person; or
(C) permit inspection of premises under the control of the person.
(c) Issuance of subpoena.
(1) To request issuance of a subpoena under this section, a party must submit a foreign subpoena to a clerk of court in the county in which discovery is sought to be conducted in this state and pay the docket fee as required by K.S.A. 60-2001, and amendments thereto. A request for the issuance of a subpoena in this state under this act does not constitute an appearance in the courts of this state.
(2) When a party submits a foreign subpoena to a clerk of court in this state, the clerk, in accordance with that court's procedure, must:
(A) Promptly issue a subpoena for service on the person to which the foreign subpoena is directed; and
(B) assign the subpoena a case file number and enter it on the docket as a civil action pursuant to K.S.A. 60-2601, and amendments thereto.
(3) A subpoena under subsection (c)(2) must:
(A) Incorporate the terms used in the foreign subpoena; and
(B) contain or be accompanied by the names, addresses and telephone numbers of all counsel of record in the proceeding to which the subpoena relates and of any party not represented by counsel.
(d) Service of subpoena. A subpoena issued by a clerk of court under subsection (c) must be served in compliance with K.S.A. 60-303, and amendments thereto.
(e) Deposition, production and inspection. K.S.A. 60-245, and amendments thereto, applies to subpoenas issued under subsection (c).
(f) Application to court. An application to the court for a protective order or to enforce, quash or modify a subpoena issued by a clerk of court under subsection (c) must comply with the statutes of this state and be submitted to the court in the county in which discovery is to be conducted.
(g) Uniformity of application and construction. In applying and construing this uniform act, consideration must be given to the need to promote uniformity of the law with respect to its subject matter among states that enact it.
(h) Application to pending action. This section applies to requests for discovery in cases pending on the effective date of this section.
Amendment History
L. 2010, ch. 135, § 1; L. 2011, ch. 48, § 9; July 1.
Plain-English Summary
When a case is pending in another state but a witness or document is in Kansas, this section provides a streamlined path to compel discovery here instead of forcing the out-of-state litigant to file an independent Kansas proceeding. A party submits the foreign subpoena to the clerk of court in the Kansas county where discovery is sought and pays the required docket fee, and doing so doesn't count as making an appearance in Kansas courts. The clerk then must promptly issue a matching Kansas subpoena for service, incorporating the terms of the foreign subpoena, and assign it a case file number as a civil action on the docket.
The statute defines its key terms broadly. A 'foreign jurisdiction' is any state other than Kansas or a foreign country; 'state' reaches every U.S. state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, federally recognized Indian tribes, and other U.S. territories and possessions; and a 'subpoena' covers any document requiring someone to testify at a deposition, produce documents or electronically stored information, or allow inspection of premises. The Kansas subpoena issued under this section must be served under K.S.A. 60-303, and the underlying deposition, production, and inspection process follows K.S.A. 60-245, just as it would for a subpoena issued in a case pending in Kansas.
Any dispute over the subpoena — a motion for a protective order, or to enforce, quash, or modify it — has to comply with Kansas law and be filed in the county where discovery is happening, not in the court that issued the original foreign subpoena. The act applies to discovery requests in cases already pending on its effective date, and because it's a uniform act, courts are directed to consider the goal of promoting consistency with how other adopting states apply the same law.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I use an out-of-state subpoena to get discovery from someone in Kansas?
Submit the foreign subpoena to the clerk of court in the Kansas county where discovery is sought, along with the required docket fee. The clerk must then promptly issue a matching Kansas subpoena incorporating the foreign subpoena's terms and assign it a case file number.
Does submitting a foreign subpoena to a Kansas clerk count as appearing in a Kansas court?
No. Subsection (c)(1) states that a request for issuance of a subpoena under this section does not constitute an appearance in the courts of Kansas.
How do I challenge a subpoena issued under this act?
An application to the court for a protective order, or to enforce, quash, or modify the subpoena, must comply with Kansas law and be submitted to the court in the county where the discovery is to be conducted.
What counts as a 'state' for purposes of this act?
Subsection (b)(4) defines it broadly: any U.S. state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, a federally recognized Indian tribe, or any other U.S. territory or insular possession.
Which Kansas rules govern serving the subpoena and conducting the actual deposition or production?
Service follows K.S.A. 60-303, and the deposition, production, and inspection process follows K.S.A. 60-245, the same as any other subpoena issued in a Kansas case.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from the
Kansas Statutes Annotated, enacted by the Kansas Legislature. Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
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