Book II. Ordinary Proceedings · Title III. Production of Evidence · Chapter 1. Subpoenas · Last amended 2009 · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 1354 governs the subpoena duces tecum, a subpoena that commands a person to appear and produce books, papers, documents, tangible things, or electronically stored information, and sets out the objection procedure, production standards, and accessibility limits that come with it.
Full Text of Art. 1354
Text size
A. A subpoena may order a person to appear and produce at the trial, deposition, or hearing, books, papers, documents, any other tangible things, or electronically stored information, in his possession or under his control, if a reasonably accurate description thereof is given. A subpoena may specify the form or forms in which electronically stored information is to be produced. A party or an attorney requesting the issuance and service of a subpoena shall take reasonable steps to avoid imposing undue burden or cost on a person subject to that subpoena. The court in which the action is pending in its discretion may vacate or modify the subpoena if it is unreasonable or oppressive. Except when otherwise required by order of the court, certified copies, extracts, or copies of books, papers, and documents may be produced in obedience to the subpoena duces tecum instead of the originals thereof. If the party or attorney requesting the subpoena does not specify that the named person shall be ordered to appear, the person may designate another person having knowledge of the contents of the books, papers, documents, other things, or electronically stored information, to appear as his representative. B. A person commanded to respond to a subpoena duces tecum may within fifteen days after service of the subpoena or before the time specified for compliance, if such time is less than fifteen days after service, send to the party or attorney designated in the subpoena written objections, with supporting reasons, to any or all of the requests, including objection to the production of electronically stored information in the form or forms requested. If objection is so made, the party serving the subpoena may file a motion to compel compliance with the subpoena and may move for sanctions for failure to reasonably comply.
C. A person responding to a subpoena to produce books, papers, or documents shall produce them as they are kept in the usual course of business or may organize and label them to correspond with the categories in the demand.
D. If a subpoena does not specify the form or forms for producing electronically stored information, a person responding to a subpoena may produce the information in a form or forms in which the person ordinarily maintains it or in a form or forms that are reasonably useable.
E. A person responding to a subpoena need not produce the same electronically stored information in more than one form.
F. A person responding to a subpoena need not produce books, papers, documents, or electronically stored information from sources that the person identifies as not reasonably accessible because of undue burden or cost. On motion to compel production or to quash, the person from whom production is sought shall show that the information sought is not reasonably accessible because of undue burden or cost. If that showing is made, the court may nonetheless order production from such sources if the requesting party shows good cause. The court may specify conditions, including an allocation of the costs, for the production.
G. When the person subpoenaed is an adverse party, the party requesting the subpoena duces tecum may accompany his request with a written request under oath as to what facts he believes the books, papers, documents, electronically stored information, or tangible things will prove, and a copy of such statement shall be attached to the subpoena. If the party subpoenaed fails to comply with the subpoena, the facts set forth in the written statement shall be taken as confessed, and in addition the party subpoenaed shall be subject to the penalties set forth in Article 1357.
H. Subpoenas duces tecum shall reproduce in full the provisions of this Article.
Duces tecum is Latin for bring with you, and a subpoena duces tecum is exactly that: a subpoena that orders someone to appear at a trial, deposition, or hearing and bring specific books, papers, documents, tangible things, or electronically stored information along with them. It differs from an ordinary subpoena, which only compels testimony, by reaching into a person's files and records as well as their presence. Article 1354 is the chapter's most detailed article because it has to answer a long list of practical questions this kind of subpoena raises.
Paragraph A requires that whatever's being demanded be reasonably described, lets a subpoena specify the form electronic information should take, and requires the requesting party to take reasonable steps to avoid piling undue burden or cost on the person subpoenaed. A court can vacate or modify a subpoena it finds unreasonable or oppressive, and certified copies or extracts can usually stand in for originals. If the request doesn't insist that the named person personally appear, someone else who knows the contents of the materials can show up as a representative instead.
Paragraph B gives the person subpoenaed a chance to push back: within fifteen days of service, or sooner if the deadline for compliance falls before that, that person can send written objections with reasons to the requesting party or attorney. An objection doesn't end the matter — it shifts the burden to the requesting party, who can then move to compel compliance and ask for sanctions. Paragraphs C through F round out the production mechanics: documents get produced as they're normally kept in business or organized to match the categories demanded, electronically stored information can be produced in whatever form the person ordinarily keeps it in if the subpoena doesn't specify one, the same information never has to be produced twice in different forms, and information from sources that aren't reasonably accessible because of undue burden or cost can be withheld unless the requesting party shows good cause and the court orders it produced anyway, potentially with the costs allocated between the parties.
Paragraph G adds a sharper consequence when the person subpoenaed is an adverse party: the requesting party can attach a sworn written statement of what facts the documents are expected to prove, and if the subpoenaed party doesn't comply, those facts are taken as confessed, on top of the contempt penalties Article 1357 makes available. And Paragraph H requires every subpoena duces tecum to reproduce this entire article in full — which is why the article's own text often appears printed on the face of the form itself.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does subpoena duces tecum mean?
Duces tecum is Latin for bring with you. A subpoena duces tecum orders the person subpoenaed to appear and bring specified books, papers, documents, tangible things, or electronically stored information, rather than compelling testimony alone.
Can I object to a subpoena duces tecum instead of complying with it?
Yes. Paragraph B lets the person subpoenaed send written objections, with reasons, to the requesting party within fifteen days of service or before the compliance deadline if that comes sooner. The requesting party can then move to compel compliance.
What happens if the requested records aren't easily accessible?
The person responding can decline to produce information from sources that aren't reasonably accessible because of undue burden or cost, though the court can still order production for good cause shown, and may allocate the costs of doing so.
What happens if an adverse party ignores a subpoena duces tecum?
If the requesting party attached a sworn statement of the facts the documents were expected to prove, those facts are taken as confessed when the subpoenaed party fails to comply, and the party may also face the contempt consequences described in Article 1357.
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
Also known as:subpoena duces tecum louisianaarticle 1354 louisianasubpoena for documents louisianaobjecting to a subpoena louisianaelectronically stored information subpoena louisiana