Serving Out-of-State Defendants & UIDDA Foreign Subpoenas in Washington

How to Domesticate an Out-of-State Subpoena in Washington Under UIDDA (RCW 5.51)

Suppose you are an attorney litigating a civil or family case in California, Oregon, Texas, New York, or Florida, and you need to subpoena employment records, cloud data, medical charts, or deposition testimony from a witness or corporation located in Washington State (such as Amazon.com, Inc., Microsoft Corporation, T-Mobile US, Expedia, Boeing, a Seattle witness, or a Spokane registered agent). Because an out-of-state state court subpoena has no direct compulsory force across state lines, you must domesticate the subpoena under Washington's Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act (UIDDA), Chapter 5.51 RCW.

Fortunately, RCW 5.51.020 states that requesting the issuance of a Washington UIDDA subpoena does NOT constitute an appearance in the courts of Washington State, meaning out-of-state counsel does not need to file a motion for pro hac vice admission unless they later need to file a contested motion to compel or quash.

Step-by-Step UIDDA Clerk Issuance in King, Thurston, Pierce & Spokane Counties

Under RCW 5.51.020, domesticating a foreign subpoena in Washington involves a streamlined four-step procedure:

Step 1 — Determine the Correct Washington County: Under RCW 5.51.020(1), the foreign subpoena must be submitted to the Clerk of the Superior Court in the county in which discovery is to be conducted. For example, if you are serving Amazon.com or Microsoft via their statutory registered agent (Corporation Service Company at 300 Deschutes Way SW, Suite 208, Tumwater, WA 98501), the county is Thurston County Superior Court. If you are serving a witness residing in Seattle or Bellevue, the county is King County Superior Court. If you are serving Northwest Registered Agent in Spokane, the county is Spokane County Superior Court.

Step 2 — Prepare the Washington Subpoena: Prepare a Washington Superior Court Subpoena form that (a) incorporates the exact terms used in the foreign subpoena, and (b) contains or is accompanied by the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of all counsel of record in the proceeding to which the subpoena relates and of any party not represented by counsel (RCW 5.51.020(3)).

Step 3 — Clerk Issuance & Filing Fee: Submit the foreign subpoena, the proposed Washington subpoena, and the county clerk's statutory foreign subpoena issuance fee (typically $20.00 under RCW 36.18.016(26), plus any county case-indexing fee depending on local clerk rules) to the Superior Court Clerk. Our court runners handle clerk walk-in and e-issuance submissions daily across King, Thurston, Pierce, Snohomish, and Spokane counties.

Step 4 — Service Under CR 45: Once the Superior Court Clerk stamps and issues the Washington subpoena, our registered process server serves it upon the target witness or registered agent in accordance with CR 45 (and RCW 2.40.010 if witness fees apply) and returns a Washington GR 13 Declaration of Service.

Serving Out-of-State Defendants in a Washington Lawsuit (RCW 4.28.180 & RCW 4.28.185)

What about the reverse scenario—where your lawsuit is filed in a Washington Superior or District Court, and the defendant lives or is headquartered in another state? That process is governed by Washington's Long-Arm Statute (RCW 4.28.185) and the Out-of-State Personal Service Statute (RCW 4.28.180).

Under RCW 4.28.185(1), a person who transacts any business within Washington, commits a tortious act within Washington, owns/uses real estate in Washington, or contracts to insure any person or property in Washington submits themselves to the personal jurisdiction of Washington courts. Under RCW 4.28.185(2), service of process upon any such person may be made by personally serving the defendant outside the state, with the exact same force and effect as though personally served within the state.

The 60-Day Out-of-State Summons Rule & Statutory Affidavit Requirement

When serving a Washington Superior Court Summons on a defendant outside the State of Washington, two strict statutory rules under RCW 4.28.180 and RCW 4.28.185(4) apply:

First, the Summons must grant the out-of-state defendant 60 DAYS (not the standard 20 days used for in-state service!) after the date of personal service outside the state to appear and answer the complaint (see exact statutory form in RCW 4.28.180).

Second, under RCW 4.28.185(4), personal service outside the state is valid ONLY when an affidavit is made and filed to the effect that the defendant cannot be served within the State of Washington. Failing to file this mandatory RCW 4.28.185(4) affidavit before taking a default judgment is a classic jurisdictional trap that can void a default judgment years later.