How to Fill Out and Serve a JAMS Arbitration Subpoena Form

The JAMS arbitration subpoena form is a fill-in-the-blank template you download from the JAMS Forms and Resources page, complete with the case and witness details, and submit to the JAMS Case Manager so the arbitrator can sign it.¹ Once signed, you arrange personal service on the witness along with the statutory attendance fee. JAMS publishes two versions of the template, and using the right one for your arbitration is the first decision you need to make.

Which JAMS Subpoena Template to Use

Both templates sit under the “Subpoenas” heading on the Forms and Resources page as downloadable Word documents.¹

The Federal Arbitration Act version applies when the arbitration is governed by the FAA (9 U.S.C. § 7), which covers most commercial and employment arbitrations involving interstate commerce. It is the default for arbitrations seated outside California.

The California version applies when the arbitration is seated in California and governed by the California Arbitration Act. California has its own statutory scheme under Code of Civil Procedure § 1282.6, and the state form follows that procedure.²

If your arbitration agreement names the governing law, follow it. Outside California, the FAA form is the safer starting point.

Completing the Form

Each template is a simple fill-in document. Accuracy is what keeps the subpoena from being challenged, so treat every field as a place a recipient’s lawyer will look for a defect.

The core fields are:

Case caption and JAMS reference number. Use the full legal names of the parties exactly as they appear in the arbitration demand, along with the JAMS reference number assigned when the case was filed.
Witness name and address. Use the legal name and current physical address. A subpoena delivered to the wrong person or an outdated address is unenforceable.
Date, time, and location. Coordinate with the JAMS Case Manager and the arbitrator’s calendar before you finalize these fields. A date that conflicts with the hearing schedule has to be reissued.
Documents or testimony requested. If you are asking for documents, describe them with enough specificity that the witness knows exactly what to look for.

Document descriptions are where most subpoenas get into trouble. JAMS Comprehensive Arbitration Rule 21 gives the arbitrator authority to weigh objections by balancing the burden on the witness against the requesting party’s need for the evidence.³ An overbroad request tips that balance the wrong way. “All financial records” will draw an objection. “Monthly bank statements for Account No. XXXX from January 2024 through December 2025” will not. Name parties, date ranges, account numbers, and document types wherever you can.

Getting the Arbitrator to Sign

A completed form is not yet a subpoena. It becomes one when the arbitrator signs it. Under JAMS Comprehensive Rule 21, the arbitrator may issue subpoenas for witness attendance or document production before or during the hearing.³ The parallel provision in JAMS Streamlined Rule 16 gives the arbitrator the same authority in streamlined cases.⁴

Submit your completed form to the JAMS Case Manager. The Case Manager forwards it to the arbitrator, who reviews the request for relevance and proportionality before signing. Once signed, the subpoena carries the authority of a legal order backed by the applicable arbitration statute.

The California route works a little differently. Under CCP § 1282.6, subpoenas are issued “signed but otherwise in blank” by the neutral organization or the arbitrator, and the requesting party fills them in before service.² That speeds things up, but it puts the burden on you to describe the requested materials accurately before the document is served.

Serving the Subpoena and Paying Witness Fees

A signed subpoena means nothing until the witness actually receives it through proper service. JAMS Rule 21 states that subpoenas “shall be issued in accordance with the applicable law,” so your service method must satisfy the rules of the jurisdiction where the witness is located.³

Personal service — physically handing the document to the witness — is the standard method in most jurisdictions. Hiring a professional process server is the simplest way to handle it. Fees typically run between $20 and $300 depending on location and how hard the witness is to find.

Under Section 7 of the Federal Arbitration Act, witness attendance fees are the same as those for witnesses in federal court.⁵ Federal law sets that fee at $40 per day of attendance, plus mileage reimbursement at the rate the General Services Administration prescribes for federal employee travel.⁶ The witness is also entitled to the $40 fee for each day of reasonable travel to and from the hearing.

Tender these fees at the time of service. Skipping the payment gives the witness a ready-made argument that service was defective, which delays everything. Have your process server deliver the fee with the subpoena, and keep the receipt.

After delivery, the process server completes an affidavit of service recording who was served, when, where, and how. File the affidavit with the JAMS Case Manager so it becomes part of the arbitration record. You will need this proof if the witness ignores the subpoena and you have to seek court enforcement.

If the Witness Objects

A witness who receives a JAMS subpoena has options. JAMS Comprehensive Rule 21 lets either a party or the subpoenaed person file an objection with the arbitrator, who must “promptly rule on the objection, weighing both the burden on the producing Party and witness and the need of the proponent for the witness or other evidence.”³ The rules do not set a fixed deadline for objecting, but raising an objection quickly avoids waiver arguments.

Common grounds track the same principles courts apply under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45: undue burden, attorney-client privilege or work-product protection, trade secrets and confidential business information, and overbreadth.⁷

One limit matters here: the arbitrator has no inherent power to enforce a ruling against a non-party who simply refuses to comply.⁸ If the witness ignores both the subpoena and the arbitrator’s ruling, the requesting party has to turn to the courts.

A Boundary on Pre-Hearing Document Subpoenas

If you are hoping to use a JAMS subpoena to pull documents from a non-party weeks before the hearing, know the limit before you draft. Section 7 of the FAA authorizes arbitrators to “summon in writing any person to attend before them” as a witness and to bring relevant documents.⁵ Federal appeals courts are split on whether that language lets arbitrators order third parties to produce documents in advance without appearing in person. Some circuits read Section 7 as limited to compelling attendance at an actual hearing; others have allowed pre-hearing document production under the arbitrator’s broader case-management authority.

JAMS Rule 21 authorizes the arbitrator to issue subpoenas “either prior to or at the Hearing,” which gives institutional backing to pre-hearing subpoenas.³ Whether a court will actually enforce one depends on your circuit. If pre-hearing document production from a non-party is critical, structure the subpoena to require the witness to appear at a brief hearing and bring the documents. That approach is enforceable under even the narrowest reading of Section 7.

When the Witness Ignores the Subpoena

If a properly served witness does not comply, the requesting party files a petition in federal district court to compel compliance. Section 7 of the FAA directs the petition to the district court where the arbitrators are sitting, and the statute provides that a witness who refuses to obey a court order “may be punished for contempt.”⁵ Filing is not automatic; the petitioner has to establish the federal court’s subject-matter jurisdiction independently.

An arbitrator’s subpoena does not automatically reach across state lines. When the witness lives or works in a different state from where the arbitration is seated, you may need to domesticate the subpoena, meaning you ask a court in the witness’s home state to adopt and enforce the arbitrator’s order as its own. Filing fees for domestication vary widely, from roughly $2 to over $400. The process typically involves filing the arbitrator’s subpoena with a court of competent jurisdiction in the witness’s state along with a petition explaining the underlying arbitration and the need for the testimony or documents.

State arbitration statutes provide additional enforcement tools within their borders. California’s CCP § 1282.6 routes enforcement through the state’s general subpoena enforcement provisions under CCP §§ 1985–1997.² Confirm the witness’s location early and budget time for cross-border enforcement if it looks like you will need it.

Mistakes That Cost You Time

A few problems come up repeatedly:

Using the wrong form version. A California-format subpoena in a non-California arbitration, or vice versa, can be challenged as procedurally defective.
Vague document descriptions. “All communications relating to the project” invites an objection. Name the parties, date range, and document types.
Forgetting witness fees. The $40 daily attendance fee and mileage reimbursement should be tendered with service; omitting them gives the witness a technical defense.⁶
Serving too late. JAMS rules do not set a specific minimum notice period, but serving days before the hearing lets the witness argue they had insufficient time to comply or to object. Build in at least two to three weeks.
No proof of service. Without the process server’s affidavit, you cannot prove the witness was notified, and courts will not enforce a subpoena against someone who was never properly served.
Ignoring jurisdictional limits. Sending a subpoena to an out-of-state witness without planning for domestication wastes time. Check the witness’s location before you draft.

1
JAMS. Forms and Resources
2
California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 1282.6 – Subpoena for Arbitration
3
JAMS. Comprehensive Arbitration Rules and Procedures – Section: Rule 21
4
JAMS Mediation, Arbitration, ADR Services. JAMS Streamlined Arbitration Rules and Procedures – Section: Rule 16
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 9 USC 7 – Witnesses Before Arbitrators; Fees; Compelling Attendance
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1821 – Per Diem and Mileage Generally; Subsistence
7
Legal Information Institute. Rule 45 – Subpoena
8
JAMS. Do Arbitrators Have the Power to Order Third-Party Discovery in California Arbitrations?