Small claims court · preparing for trial
What it costs to make a witness show up.
Pick your state, how many days they'll testify, and how far they're traveling, and see what you owe a subpoenaed witness — cited to that state's own witness-fee statute.
Subpoenaing this witness in California for 1 day costs $39.00, paid to the witness up front, when the subpoena is served.
The fee and mileage must be tendered to the witness when the subpoena is served, or the witness isn't obligated to appear (Cal. Gov. Code §68097.2; Code Civ. Proc. §1985).
This is the fee for a personal-appearance subpoena. A records-only subpoena (business records, no live testimony) costs less — a flat $15 — under the same statute, but that's a different document and isn't covered here.
Sources: Cal. Gov. Code §68093
Covers the witness fee and mileage owed to a fact witness subpoenaed for trial — not an expert witness's own fee (experts can charge market rates for their time) and not attorney fees. Informational only, not legal advice; confirm current rates with your court clerk before issuing a subpoena.
How this is calculated
Last reviewed: September 2026
A flat daily fee, plus mileage both ways
Every state here pays a subpoenaed witness a fixed dollar amount per day of testimony, plus mileage for the round trip between their home and the courthouse. New Jersey is the one exception in form, not substance: instead of a per-mile rate, its statute pays a flat $2 for every 30 miles actually traveled, rounded up.
Two states waive mileage for a local witness
New York and North Carolina don't charge mileage at all when the witness is local — wholly within the same city for New York, or the same county for North Carolina. That's modeled directly in the calculator as a checkbox, since a local witness is the ordinary case in small claims court, not a rare exception.
Advance tender isn't universal
California, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey all require paying the witness fee and mileage when the subpoena is served — pay late or short, and the witness has no legal obligation to show up. North Carolina runs the opposite way: the witness testifies first, then applies to the clerk of court for payment afterward.
What this doesn't cover
- Expert witnesses. An expert retained to testify (an appraiser, a mechanic, a doctor) can charge their own market rate for their time — these statutory fees are for ordinary fact witnesses only.
- The cost of serving the subpoena itself. Delivering the subpoena to the witness is its own service-of-process cost, already covered by the Service of Process Cost Calculator.
- Washington and Michigan. Excluded for different reasons — see the FAQ below.
States currently covered
California, Florida, New York (New York City), Pennsylvania, North Carolina, New Jersey. More states are added on an ongoing basis.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to pay a witness who agrees to show up voluntarily?
No — the fee and mileage are only legally required when you compel someone to testify with a subpoena. A witness who shows up on their own, without being served, isn't owed anything under these statutes (though it's common courtesy to offer their mileage anyway).
What happens if I don't pay in advance?
In every state here except North Carolina, an unpaid or under-tendered subpoena isn't valid — the witness has no legal obligation to appear, and a court can quash it if challenged. North Carolina works the other way: the witness testifies first and applies to the clerk for payment afterward.
Why is New Jersey's fee only $2 a day?
That's the real, current statutory amount — N.J.S.A. 22A:1-4 hasn't been updated in decades. It isn't a typo or a stale placeholder; it's simply a very old flat rate that New Jersey's legislature hasn't revised.
Why aren't Washington and Michigan included?
Washington ties its witness fee to juror pay, which state law lets each county set anywhere in a $10–$25/day range — there's no single statewide number to cite. Michigan's $12/day fee is a clean statewide statute, but its mileage rate is set by administrative directive rather than statute, and no current, directly citable figure could be confirmed.
Related tools
See exactly what it costs to file a small claims case, by state — cited to your court's own fee schedule.
Open tool →Total Cost to Sue CalculatorThe full out-of-pocket cost to sue in small claims court — filing fee plus service of process, added together and cited to each court's own fee schedule.
Open tool →Small Claims Limit CheckerSee whether your claim qualifies for small claims court and what the dollar limit is, by state and by plaintiff type — individual or business.
Open tool →