§ 22.001.Witness Fees

The general witness fee, and the figure has not moved since 1994.

Except as provided by the state agency provision, a witness is entitled to 10 dollars for each day the witness attends court. This fee includes the entitlement for travel and the witness is not entitled to any reimbursement for mileage traveled.

The second sentence forecloses the natural argument. Ten dollars covers the day and the journey, and a witness who drives 100 miles receives the same as one who walks across the street.

Subsection (b) fixes when it is paid, and this is the operative requirement in practice. The party who summons the witness shall pay that witness's fee for one day at the time the subpoena is served. The money accompanies the subpoena; a subpoena served without it is incomplete.

Subsection (c): the fee must be taxed in the bill of costs as other costs, so the summoning party advances it and the losing party ultimately bears it.

The amount is nominal and has been for a long time. Its function is not compensation but formality — a served subpoena carries a tender, which marks the obligation as a legal one rather than a request.