The clerk of the court wherein the action is pending, at the request of the court or a party, shall issue subpoenas for the attendance of witnesses at hearings or trials. A subpoena shall issue under the seal of the court. It shall state the name of the court and the title of the action and shall command the attendance of the witness at a time and place specified, until discharged.
Art. 1351.Issuance; Form
Book II. Ordinary Proceedings · Title III. Production of Evidence · Chapter 1. Subpoenas · Last amended 2025 · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 1351 requires the clerk or judge of the court where a case is pending to issue, on request of the court or a party, a sealed subpoena naming the court and the case and commanding a witness to appear at a specified time and place until discharged.
Full Text of Art. 1351
Amendment History
Amended by Acts 2025, No. 250, §3, eff. 8/1/2025.
Plain-English Summary
A subpoena is the tool that compels a witness to show up. Article 1351 opens this chapter by naming who issues one and what it has to contain: the clerk of the court where the action is pending, or the judge, issues a subpoena at the request of either the court itself or a party to the case, for a witness's attendance at a hearing or trial.
The article sets a short list of formal requirements. The subpoena has to issue under the court's seal, marking it as an authentic court document rather than a private letter. It has to state the name of the court and the title of the action, so anyone reading it knows exactly which case it belongs to. And it has to command the witness's attendance at a specified time and place, a command that stays in force until the witness is discharged — meaning the witness remains obligated to the subpoena, potentially across more than one court date, until the court or the party who called the witness releases them.
This article is the starting point for the rest of the chapter: the restrictions, fee-prepayment rules, and service requirements that follow all assume a subpoena has been properly issued the way Article 1351 describes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who issues a subpoena in a Louisiana civil case?
The clerk of the court where the case is pending, or the judge, issues the subpoena at the request of the court or of a party to the case.
What must a subpoena contain under Article 1351?
The court's seal, the name of the court, the title of the action, and a command for the witness to appear at a specified time and place.
What does it mean for a witness to be under subpoena "until discharged"?
It means the witness remains obligated to appear as the subpoena commands, even across more than one court date if the hearing or trial is continued, until the court or the party who called the witness releases them from that obligation.
Source & verification. Article text is reproduced verbatim from
the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure (legis.la.gov). Enacted by the Louisiana Legislature.
Last verified July 30, 2026.
· Official source
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