(1) Form and Contents.
(A) Requirements—In General. Every subpoena must:
(i) state the court from which it is issued;
(ii) state the title and case number of the action and the name and address of the party or attorney responsible for issuing the subpoena;
(iii) command each person to whom it is directed to do the following at a specified time and place: attend and testify; produce designated documents, electronically stored information, or tangible things in that person’s possession, custody, or control; or permit the inspection of premises; and
(iv) set out the text of Rule 45(c) and (d).
(B) Command to Attend a Deposition—Notice of the Recording Method. A subpoena commanding attendance at a deposition must state the method for recording the testimony.
(C) Combining or Separating a Command to Produce or to Permit Inspection; Specifying the Form for Electronically Stored Information. A command to produce documents, electronically stored information, or tangible things or to permit the inspection of premises may be included in a subpoena commanding attendance at a deposition, hearing, or trial, or may be set out in a separate subpoena. A subpoena may specify the form or forms in which electronically stored information is to be produced.
(D) Command to Produce; Included Obligations. A command in a subpoena to produce documents, electronically stored information, or tangible things requires the responding person to permit inspection, copying, testing, or sampling of the materials.
(2) Issuing Court. A subpoena must issue from the court where the action is pending.
(3) Issued by Whom. The clerk must issue a subpoena, signed but otherwise in blank, to a party who requests it. That party must complete it before service. An attorney also may issue and sign a subpoena if the attorney is authorized to practice in the issuing court.
(4) Prior Notice to Parties; Party Objections.
(A) Notice to Other Parties Before Service. If the subpoena commands the production of documents, electronically stored information, or tangible things, or the inspection of premises before trial, then at least 7 days before it is served on the person to whom it is directed, a notice and a copy of the subpoena must be served on each party to permit a party to object to and seek issuance of a protective order against the subpoena during that time.
(B) Party Objections.
(i) A party who receives notice under Rule 45(a)(4)(A) that another party intends to serve a subpoena duces tecum on a third party that will require disclosure of privileged, confidential or other protected matter, to which no exception or waiver applies, may object to the subpoena by filing and serving written objections to the subpoena and a motion for a protective order.
(ii) To invoke the protections of this rule, the objecting party must file and serve written objections to the subpoena and a motion for a protective order under Rule 26(c) within 7 days after being served with notice and a copy of the subpoena under Rule 45(a)(4)(A);
(iii) In the objections and the motion, the party must specifically state the party’s objections to each command to produce documents, electronically stored information, or tangible things, or to permit the inspection of premises and demonstrate a basis for asserting that the command will require disclosure of privileged, confidential, or other protected matter and establish that no exception or waiver applies and that the objecting party is entitled to assert the claim of privilege or other protection against disclosure.
(iv) If the party objects based upon privilege, confidentiality, or other protection and timely files and serves objections and a motion for a protective order, the subpoena may not be served, unless revised to eliminate the objected-to commands, until the court that issued the subpoena has ruled on the objections and motion.
(v) The objections and motion practice are subject to the provisions of Rules 26(c) and (g) and 37(a)(5).
(1) By Whom and How; Tendering Fees. Any person who is at least 18 years old and not a party may serve a subpoena, as appropriate under Rule 4.2 or 4.3. If the subpoena requires that person’s attendance, the serving party must tender the fee for 1 day’s attendance and the mileage allowed by law. Fees and mileage need not be tendered when the subpoena issues on behalf of the State or any of its officers or agencies.
(2) Service in Nevada. Subject to the provisions of Rule 45(c)(3)(A)(ii), a subpoena may be served at any place within the state.
(3) Service in Another State or Territory. A subpoena may be served in another state or territory of the United States as provided by the law of that state or territory.
(4) Service in a Foreign Country. A subpoena may be served in a foreign country as provided by the law of that country.
(5) Service of a Subpoena From Another State or Territory in Nevada. A subpoena issued by a court in another state or territory of the United States that is directed to a person in Nevada must be presented to the clerk of the district court in the county in which discovery is sought to be conducted. A subpoena issued under NRS Chapter 53 may be served under this rule.
(6) Proof of Service. Proving service, when necessary, requires filing with the issuing court a statement showing the date and manner of service and the names of the persons served. The statement must be certified by the server.
(c) Protection of Persons Subject to Subpoena.
(1) Avoiding Undue Burden or Expense; Sanctions. A party or attorney responsible for issuing and serving a subpoena must take reasonable steps to avoid imposing undue burden or expense on a person subject to the subpoena. The court that issued the subpoena must enforce this duty and may impose an appropriate sanction—which may include lost earnings and reasonable attorney fees—on a party or attorney who fails to comply.
(2) Command to Produce Materials or Permit Inspection.
(A) Appearance Not Required.
(i) A person commanded to produce documents, electronically stored information, or tangible things, or to permit the inspection of premises, need not appear in person at the place of production or inspection unless also commanded to appear for a deposition, hearing, or trial.
(ii) If documents, electronically stored information, or tangible things are produced to the party that issued the subpoena without an appearance at the place of production, that party must, unless otherwise stipulated by the parties or ordered by the court, promptly copy or electronically reproduce the documents or information, photograph any tangible items not subject to copying, and serve these items on every other party. The party that issued the subpoena may also serve a statement of the reasonable cost of copying, reproducing, or photographing, which a party receiving the copies, reproductions, or photographs must promptly pay. If a party disputes the cost, then the court, on motion, must determine the reasonable cost of copying the documents or information, or photographing the tangible items.
(B) Objections. A person commanded to produce documents, electronically stored information, or tangible things, or to permit the inspection of premises, or a person claiming a proprietary interest in the subpoenaed documents, information, tangible things, or premises to be inspected, may serve on the party or attorney designated in the subpoena a written objection to inspecting, copying, testing, or sampling any or all of the materials or to inspecting the premises—or to producing electronically stored information in the form or forms requested. The person making the objection must serve it before the earlier of the time specified for compliance or 14 days after the subpoena is served. If an objection is made:
(i) the party serving the subpoena is not entitled to inspect, copy, test, or sample the materials or tangible things or to inspect the premises except by order of the court that issued the subpoena;
(ii) on notice to the parties, the objecting person, and the person commanded to produce or permit inspection, the party serving the subpoena may move the court that issued the subpoena for an order compelling production or inspection; and
(iii) if the court enters an order compelling production or inspection, the order must protect the person commanded to produce or permit inspection from significant expense resulting from compliance.
(3) Quashing or Modifying a Subpoena.
(A) When Required. On timely motion, the court that issued a subpoena must quash or modify the subpoena if it:
(i) fails to allow reasonable time for compliance;
(ii) requires a person to travel to a place more than 100 miles from the place where that person resides, is employed, or regularly transacts business in person, unless the person is commanded to attend trial within Nevada;
(iii) requires disclosure of privileged or other protected matter and no exception or waiver applies; or
(iv) subjects a person to an undue burden.
(B) When Permitted. On timely motion, the court that issued a subpoena may quash or modify the subpoena if it requires disclosing:
(i) a trade secret or other confidential research, development, or commercial information; or
(ii) an unretained expert’s opinion or information that does not describe specific occurrences in dispute and results from the expert’s study that was not requested by a party.
(C) Specifying Conditions as an Alternative. In the circumstances described in Rule 45(c)(3)(B), the court may, instead of quashing or modifying a subpoena, order an appearance or production under specified conditions if the party serving the subpoena:
(i) shows a substantial need for the testimony or material that cannot be otherwise met without undue hardship; and
(ii) ensures that the subpoenaed person will be reasonably compensated.
(d) Duties in responding to subpoena.
(1) Producing Documents or Electronically Stored Information. These procedures apply to producing documents or electronically stored information:
(A) Documents. A person responding to a subpoena to produce documents must produce them as they are kept in the ordinary course of business or must organize and label them to correspond to the categories in the demand.
(B) Form for Producing Electronically Stored Information Not Specified. If a subpoena does not specify a form for producing electronically stored information, the person responding must produce it in a form or forms in which it is ordinarily maintained or in a reasonably usable form or forms.
(C) Electronically Stored Information Produced in Only One Form. The person responding need not produce the same electronically stored information in more than one form.
(D) Inaccessible Electronically Stored Information. The person responding need not provide discovery of electronically stored information from sources that the person identifies as not reasonably accessible because of undue burden or cost. On motion to compel discovery or for a protective order, the person responding must show that the information is not reasonably accessible because of undue burden or cost. If that showing is made, the court may nonetheless order discovery from such sources if the requesting party shows good cause, considering the limitations of Rule 26(b)(2)(C). The court may specify conditions for the discovery.
(2) Claiming Privilege or Protection.
(A) Information Withheld. A person withholding subpoenaed information under a claim that it is privileged or subject to protection as trial-preparation material must:
(i) expressly make the claim; and
(ii) describe the nature of the withheld documents, communications, or tangible things in a manner that, without revealing information itself privileged or protected, will enable the parties to assess the claim.
(B) Information Produced. If information produced in response to a subpoena is subject to a claim of privilege or of protection as trial-preparation material, the person making the claim may notify any party that received the information of the claim and the basis for it. After being notified, a party must promptly return, sequester, or destroy the specified information and any copies it has; must not use or disclose the information until the claim is resolved; must take reasonable steps to retrieve the information if the party disclosed it before being notified; and may promptly present the information under seal to the court for a determination of the claim. The person who produced the information must preserve the information until the claim is resolved.
(e) Contempt; Costs. Failure by any person without adequate excuse to obey a subpoena served upon that person may be deemed a contempt of the court that issued the subpoena. In connection with a motion for a protective order brought under Rule 26(c), a motion to compel brought under Rule 45(c)(2)(B), or a motion to quash or modify the subpoena brought under Rule 45(c)(3), the court may consider the provisions of Rule 37(a)(5) in awarding the prevailing person reasonable expenses incurred in making or opposing the motion.
Rule 45 is the most mechanically detailed rule in this group because a subpoena reaches beyond the parties to compel action from people and entities who are not part of the lawsuit. Every subpoena must identify the issuing court, the case, and the party or attorney responsible for it, and it must spell out exactly what the recipient is commanded to do — testify, produce documents or electronically stored information, or allow an inspection — along with the text of the rule’s protective provisions. A subpoena must issue from the court where the case is pending, and while the clerk signs subpoenas in blank for a requesting party to fill in, an attorney authorized to practice before that court can also issue and sign one directly. When a subpoena demands documents or an inspection ahead of trial, Nevada requires advance notice to the other parties so they have a real opportunity to object or seek protection before it is served — a protection the federal rule does not spell out in the same way.
Once issued, a subpoena has to be served by someone who is not a party and is old enough to do so, with attendance fees and mileage tendered up front unless the subpoena runs on behalf of the government. Service can reach across state lines and international borders, following the law of wherever the recipient is located. The rule then turns to protecting the person on the receiving end: whoever issues and serves a subpoena has to take reasonable steps to avoid piling undue burden or expense onto that person, and a court can sanction a party or lawyer who does not. A recipient commanded only to produce material or allow an inspection does not have to show up in person unless also ordered to appear, and can object in writing to specific demands, which then requires the requesting party to get a court order before compliance is required.
Courts must quash or modify a subpoena that gives unreasonably little time to comply, forces someone to travel more than 100 miles from home, work, or where they regularly do business (with an exception for trial testimony within Nevada), demands privileged material with no applicable exception, or otherwise creates an undue burden — and courts may do the same, or set protective conditions instead, for trade secrets or an unretained expert’s opinions. The rule closes out with the mechanics of responding: how documents must be organized, what happens with electronically stored information, how to assert privilege without waiving it, and what to do if privileged material slips through. Ignoring a subpoena without a good excuse can be treated as contempt of the court that issued it, and the court may award the winning side its reasonable expenses on related motions.