Served 123 LLC domesticates and serves out-of-state and tribal-court subpoenas across all 46 South Carolina counties under the Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act, S.C. Code §§ 15-47-100 through 15-47-160, in force since March 30, 2010. South Carolina runs on machinery most guides skip: the elected county clerk is the only issuance channel, a statutory fee schedule fixes the price on a uniform basis in every county, the official SCCA 254 form makes the issuer certify a 10-day notice to every party, a non-party deposition subpoena must issue from and be served in the witness's home county — and the contempt rule itself excuses a witness who never actually received the paper. We file on the right form in the right county, front the exact statutory fee, run the notice machine, and serve in hand.
A national guide published in January of this year prices South Carolina UIDDA issuance at “$50.00 statewide.” That is the add-on, not the fee. The statutory schedule — § 8-21-310, which orders fees “collected on a uniform basis in each county” — sets a first filing at $100 “in addition to the fee imposed by Section 14-1-204(B)(1)” — the $50 that guide mistook for the whole price. Where the clerk dockets your foreign subpoena as a special proceeding, the real number is $150, the same in all 46 counties — and the same statute promises no further fee for any other paper in that proceeding except motions. The same guide also tells readers a South Carolina attorney “may issue a subpoena on their own signature” — but § 15-47-120 gives a foreign subpoena one channel: the clerk. We confirm each county’s intake practice and front the exact statutory amount — budgeted from the code, not a quick-answer box.
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South Carolina adopted the Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act as S.C. Code §§ 15-47-100 through 15-47-160 — 2010 Act No. 132, effective March 30, 2010 upon approval by the Governor, and applicable to cases then pending by the act’s own terms. Under § 15-47-120, a party submits the foreign subpoena to the clerk of court of the county in which discovery is sought — the elected county clerk — who “promptly shall issue”; the request is not an appearance, and there is no attorney channel. The fee is statutory and uniform: $100 plus the $50 under § 14-1-204(B)(1) — $150 in every county — and the issued subpoena rides the official SCCA 254 form, whose certification block enforces Rule 45’s 10-day notice to every party on records subpoenas.
South Carolina was an early adopter: S.C. Code §§ 15-47-100 through 15-47-160, added by 2010 Act No. 132 and — by the act’s own § 2 — effective upon approval by the Governor on March 30, 2010, applying to requests for discovery in cases then pending. The same act swept away the old chapter’s commission-based Uniform Foreign Depositions framework. The definitions carry the state’s fingerprints. The “clerk of court” is not generic: it is the clerk “duly elected for that county” under § 14-17-10, ex officio clerk of the court of general sessions, the family court, and every court of record in the county — one elected officer per county, forty-six in all. “State” includes federally recognized Indian tribes, so a subpoena from the Catawba Nation’s court travels the same channel as one from California. And § 15-47-120 holds the procedural spine: the foreign subpoena goes to the clerk of the discovery county, the request “does not constitute an appearance,” and the clerk — in the statute’s inverted cadence — “promptly shall issue.” The issued subpoena mirrors the foreign terms with the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of all counsel and unrepresented parties. There is no attorney channel in the statute, no email requirement in the contact block, and no judge anywhere in the process.
What makes South Carolina genuinely technical is Rule 45 of the South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure — the machinery §§ 15-47-130 and -140 weld onto every domesticated subpoena. Three pieces matter most. First, the home-county lock: a subpoena to a non-party commanding a deposition, production, or inspection “shall issue from the court for the county in which the non-party resides or is employed or regularly transacts business in person” — and be served in that county. The witness’s county is both the filing venue and the service venue, and a mandatory-quash 50-mile travel shield backs it up. Second, the 10-day notice: before a pretrial records or inspection subpoena may be served on the witness, a copy must be served on each party at least ten days before the compliance date — and the official form makes the issuer certify it. Third, process-grade service: a South Carolina subpoena is served “in the same manner prescribed for service of a summons and complaint in Rule 4,” with the witness fee — $25.00 for each day’s attendance plus mileage at the State-employee rate — tendered upon the witness’s arrival, and a 14-day written-objection window on every records command.
Then the rule does something almost no state’s does: it writes the service failure into the contempt clause. Rule 45(e) makes disobedience punishable as contempt — and then lists adequate causes to disobey, including where “service is made upon an individual under Rule 4(d)(1) and the individual did not receive or acknowledge the subpoena.” Substituted service that never reached the witness is, by the rule’s own text, an excuse — which is why we serve in hand, every time, and certify the proof with the clerk. The economics, at least, are simple: § 8-21-310 commands that clerk fees be “collected on a uniform basis in each county” — a first filing is $100 plus the $50 imposed by § 14-1-204(B)(1), the same $150 from Greenville to Beaufort, with no further fee for any other paper in the proceeding except motions. One statute, one number, one form, one channel. We run all of it.
South Carolina does not leave the 10-day notice to good faith — the official SCCA 254 form puts a certification above the signature line, and signing it falsely is its own problem.
Immediately above the issuing signature, the form requires:
Unpack the two rule cites and the certification has teeth on both ends. Rule 45(c)(1) is the undue-burden duty — enforced by sanctions that expressly include lost earnings and a reasonable attorney's fee against the issuing party or attorney. Rule 45(a)(4) is the 10-day machine: a pretrial records or inspection subpoena may not be served on the witness until a copy has been served on every party, Rule 5(b)-style, at least ten days before the compliance date. We serve the notice, calendar the ten days, and only then put the subpoena in front of the witness — so the certification you sign is true.
Rule 45 forks every domesticated subpoena into one of two tracks — one locked to the witness's home county with the tender on arrival, the other gated by a 10-day notice the official form makes you certify.
A subpoena commanding a non-party's attendance at a deposition issues from the court for the county where the witness resides, is employed, or regularly transacts business in person — and is served in that county. Service runs in the manner of a summons under Rule 4; the $25.00 day's fee and State-rate mileage are tendered on the witness's arrival; and the 50-mile shield caps how far a non-party can be made to travel.
Home county · Rule 4 manner · $25 + mileage on arrival · 50-mile shieldA pretrial subpoena for documents, ESI, or inspection may not be served on the witness until a copy has been served on each party, at least ten days before the compliance date — and the SCCA 254 certification makes the issuer swear it happened. The witness then holds a 14-day written-objection window, and any party may demand copies of what is produced at its own copying cost.
Notice to all parties +10 days · Certified on the form · 14-day objectionBoth tracks end at the same contempt clause — and its escape hatch. Rule 45(e) excuses disobedience where service was made under Rule 4(d)(1) and the individual “did not receive or acknowledge the subpoena.” A subpoena left with someone else at the house may be technically served and practically unenforceable. We serve in hand and certify the proof with the clerk — the only service that closes the hatch.
From intake to certified proof — the witness's county locked first, the exact statutory fee fronted, the official form certified, and in-hand service that survives the contempt rule.
Upload the out-of-state or tribal-court subpoena with the South Carolina county where the witness sits. For non-parties, Rule 45 makes that county — where the person resides, is employed, or regularly transacts business in person — both the filing venue and the service venue, so we verify it before anything is drafted.
Forty-six elected clerks, one fee statute. We confirm the county’s intake practice — most dockets the submission as a special proceeding — and front the exact amount § 8-21-310 fixes on a uniform basis: $100 plus the $50 under § 14-1-204(B)(1), itemized on your invoice.
We prepare the official SCCA 254 form (Revised 04/2026) mirroring your foreign terms — the command sections completed, the Rule 30(b)(6) designation directive in place for organizational witnesses, and the § 15-47-120 contact block with the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of every counsel of record and unrepresented party — with your foreign subpoena attached for the clerk.
Our representative files with the elected clerk of court for the witness's county — the only channel § 15-47-120 provides. The request is not an appearance, no pro hac vice is needed, no judge reviews it, and the clerk promptly shall issue. We report the case number back the day it issues.
For pretrial records and inspection subpoenas, Rule 45(a)(4) runs first: a copy of the subpoena is served on each party at least ten days before the compliance date, Rule 5(b)-style, before the witness sees it — and the form’s certification is signed truthfully because the notice actually went out. The witness’s 14-day objection window and the parties’ copy rights are tracked from service.
Service by our South Carolina servers in the manner of a summons under Rule 4 — and in hand, because Rule 45(e) excuses a witness who never received or acknowledged a substituted-service subpoena. The $25.00 day’s fee and State-rate mileage are handled for tender on the witness’s arrival, proof of service is certified and filed with the issuing clerk as Rule 45(b)(3) requires, and you receive a filing-ready affidavit (PDF). Any motion to quash lands in the discovery county under § 15-47-150 — with the 50-mile shield and the undue-burden sanctions both in play.
Before March 30, 2010, an out-of-state subpoena had no force in South Carolina — chapter 47 was the old commission-based Uniform Foreign Depositions framework.
The complete framework — the act, the clerk channel, Rule 45's four machines, and the fee statutes — each linked from the sections above.
| Authority | Subject | Key requirement |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 Act No. 132 | Adoption | Added §§ 15-47-100 through 15-47-160, replacing the old chapter; § 2 made it effective upon approval by the Governor — March 30, 2010 — and applicable to requests for discovery in cases pending on that date |
| § 15-47-110 | Definitions | The clerk of court is the clerk duly elected for that county under § 14-17-10, ex officio clerk of every court of record; “state” includes DC, Puerto Rico, the USVI, federally recognized Indian tribes, and the territories; a subpoena is a document however denominated |
| § 15-47-120 | Clerk Channel | Submit the foreign subpoena to the clerk of court of the county in which discovery is sought; the request does not constitute an appearance; the clerk, in accordance with the rules of court, promptly shall issue — incorporating the foreign terms with all counsel and party names, addresses, and telephone numbers |
| § 15-47-130 + -140 | Rules Welded On | Service must comply with South Carolina's rules and statutes on subpoena service, and depositions, production, and inspection must comply with the South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure |
| Rule 45(a)(2), SCRCP | Home-County Lock | A subpoena to a non-party commanding attendance at a deposition, production, or inspection shall issue from the court for the county where the non-party resides, is employed, or regularly transacts business in person — and be served in that county |
| Rule 45(a)(3) | Issuance Generally | The clerk issues a subpoena signed but otherwise in blank to a requesting party; an attorney as officer of the court may issue and sign on behalf of a court in which the attorney is authorized to practice — a rule for South Carolina practitioners, not a foreign-subpoena channel |
| Rule 45(a)(4) | 10-Day Notice | A pretrial subpoena for documents, ESI, or inspection may not be served on the witness until a copy has been served on each party in the manner of Rule 5(b) at least ten days before the time specified for compliance |
| Rule 45(b) | Service + Tender | Service by any nonparty 18 or older, in the same manner prescribed for a summons and complaint under Rule 4; the witness, upon arrival, is tendered $25.00 for each day's attendance plus mileage at the State-employee rate; proof of service is a certified statement filed with the issuing clerk |
| Rule 45(c) | Protections + Quash | An undue-burden duty enforced by sanctions including lost earnings and attorney's fees; a 14-day written-objection window on records commands; mandatory quash for inadequate time, the 50-mile non-party travel limit, privilege, or undue burden — with conditional protection for trade secrets and unretained experts |
| Rule 45(d) | Responding Duties | Production as kept in the usual course of business or organized to the demand; ESI in the form ordinarily maintained or a reasonably usable form; not-reasonably-accessible sources protected; privilege claims logged — with full clawback for privileged material produced |
| Rule 45(e) | Contempt + the Escape Hatch | Disobedience without adequate excuse is contempt of the issuing court — but adequate cause exists where the subpoena exceeds the travel limits, allows inadequate time, or was served under Rule 4(d)(1) and the individual did not receive or acknowledge it |
| § 8-21-310 + § 14-1-204(B)(1) | Filing Cost | Fees collected on a uniform basis in each county: $100 for filing a first complaint or petition plus the $50 statutory add-on — $150 statewide — with no further fee for any other paper in the same proceeding except motions, and no fee chargeable to a defendant or respondent |
South Carolina's circuit courts sit in sixteen judicial circuits, but UIDDA filing runs by county — forty-six elected clerks, one for each — and the fee figures above come from the statutory schedule itself, which fixes them uniformly statewide. E-filing fees, where the county's intake uses the Judicial Branch's electronic system, are set by the Chief Justice under the same statute; we confirm each county's current intake practice before filing.
A misquoted fee, a phantom attorney channel, a home-county lock, a certified notice, and a contempt rule with its own escape hatch — every failure below is live on a competitor page or built into the rule.
A national guide's quick-answer box prices South Carolina at “$50.00 statewide.” That is the § 14-1-204(B)(1) add-on — the statute charges $100 plus that $50 for a first filing, on a uniform basis in every county. We front the real $150, itemized from the code.
The same guide says a South Carolina attorney “may issue a subpoena on their own signature.” For a foreign subpoena, § 15-47-120 provides exactly one channel: the elected clerk of the discovery county. Rule 45's attorney issuance belongs to lawyers admitted in the issuing court — not to the UIDDA. We file with the clerk, the only door there is.
Rule 45's home-county lock makes the county where the non-party resides, is employed, or regularly transacts business in person both the issuing court and the service venue — backed by a 50-mile mandatory-quash shield. A subpoena issued from the wrong county is built to fail. We venue-check the witness first.
A pretrial records subpoena served before the 10-day notice to every party violates Rule 45(a)(4) at the moment of service — and the SCCA 254 certification above your signature says the notice already went out. We serve the notice, run the clock, and keep the certification true.
One national guide tells readers there is “no penalty for failing to tender” witness fees in South Carolina. The rule sets the tender — $25.00 a day plus State-rate mileage, on the witness's arrival — and a witness stiffed on fees is a quash motion waiting to happen. We handle the tender so the subpoena holds.
Rule 45(e)'s own text makes it adequate cause to disobey where service ran under Rule 4(d)(1) and the individual “did not receive or acknowledge the subpoena.” Leave it with a housemate and the witness may lawfully ignore it. We serve in hand and certify the proof with the clerk — contempt-proof service.
End-to-end handling of a one-channel, one-form, one-fee system with four machines inside it — run correctly, county by county.
The official statewide form (Revised 04/2026) prepared in full — the 30(b)(6) directive, the proof-of-service block, and a certification signed only after the notice actually went out.
$100 plus the $50 under § 14-1-204(B)(1) — the uniform $150 the schedule fixes for every county — confirmed against the clerk's intake practice and itemized on your invoice.
The witness's resides-employed-transacts county locked as both filing and service venue — forty-six elected clerks, one correct door per order.
Notice to every party served Rule 5(b)-style at least ten days before compliance, the 14-day objection window tracked, and party copy-rights handled after production.
Rule 4-manner service delivered personally — closing Rule 45(e)'s escape hatch — with the $25-per-day witness fee and State-rate mileage handled for tender on arrival.
Proof of service certified and filed with the issuing clerk under Rule 45(b)(3), status updates throughout, and a filing-ready affidavit of service (PDF) for your originating court.
Every discovery subpoena the act reaches — a document however denominated — issued by the right clerk and served in hand.
Records and ESI on the full 10-day machine — notice to every party, the certification kept true, the 14-day objection window and clawback duties tracked.
Testimony locked to the witness's home county — issued there, served there in hand, with the $25 tender handled on arrival.
Combined commands mirrored from your foreign subpoena onto SCCA 254 — one form, both commands, the contact block complete.
Hospital systems, insurers, banks, and employers — noticed, certified, and served with the organizational 30(b)(6) directive the form prints.
Out-of-state counsel and the teams behind them — anyone who needs a South Carolina witness without learning forty-six clerks and a rule with four machines.
Out-of-state litigators reaching South Carolina witnesses and custodians — the home county locked, the form certified, the fee fronted from the statute.
Records from the hospital systems and insurers concentrated from Charleston to the Upstate — the 10-day machine calendared, every time.
Discovery from the manufacturers, banks, and employers along the I-85 corridor and the coast — served in hand with the tender handled.
Subpoenas from federally recognized tribal courts — including the Catawba Nation — domesticated through the same clerk channel the statute provides.
One vendor for the chain — venue check, statutory fee, SCCA 254 package, filing, the machine, in-hand service, certified proof — with the case number reported back.
Agencies reselling South Carolina coverage — we run the clerk filings and Rule 45 service under your brand's timeline.
We file and serve in every South Carolina county — the Upstate, the Midlands, the Pee Dee, and the Lowcountry.
That’s all 46 — each with one elected clerk of court who is the statute’s only issuance channel. South Carolina’s circuit courts sit in sixteen judicial circuits, but UIDDA filing runs strictly by county — and for non-party witnesses, Rule 45 makes the county where the person resides, is employed, or regularly transacts business in person both the filing venue and the service venue. We map the witness to the right clerk before anything is drafted, and the statutory fee is the same $150 at every counter.
Straight answers on domesticating and serving an out-of-state or tribal-court subpoena in South Carolina under S.C. Code §§ 15-47-100 through 15-47-160.
Send the originating state or tribal court, the South Carolina county where the witness resides, is employed, or regularly transacts business in person, and your subpoena PDF. We prepare the SCCA 254 package, file with the county clerk at the exact $150 statutory fee, run the 10-day notice on records subpoenas, serve in hand with the witness fee handled, and return a filing-ready affidavit — all 46 counties.
Served 123 LLC is a process service and litigation-support company, not a law firm, and does not provide legal advice. Clerk of court filings and service are performed administratively at the direction of the client and its counsel. Fee figures are cited from S.C. Code § 8-21-310 and § 14-1-204(B)(1), which fix clerk fees on a uniform statewide basis, and are subject to legislative change; county intake practice and any e-filing fees set by the Chief Justice are confirmed with the clerk before every filing.
