Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts

Rule 45.04: Subpoena for Taking Depositions — Place of Deposition.

(1) A subpoena for taking depositions may be issued by the clerk of the court in which the action is pending. If the subpoena commands the person to whom it is directed to produce designated books, papers, documents, electronically stored information, or tangible things which constitute or contain evidence relating to any of the matters within the scope of the examination permitted by Rule 26.02, the subpoena will be subject to the provisions of Rules 30.02, 37.02 and 45.02. A subpoena for taking depositions may be served at any place within the state.

(2) A resident of the state may be required to give a deposition only in the county wherein the person resides or is employed or transacts his or her business in person, or at such other convenient place as is fixed by an order of the court. [As amended by order entered January 26, 1999, effective July 1, 1999.]

Advisory Commission Comments [2009].

The amendment to Rule 45.04(1) restates settled law. A deposition subpoena, like a trial subpoena, may be served anywhere in Tennessee.

Advisory Commission Comments [2012].

Tennessee has adopted the Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act, Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 24-9-201, et seq. The Act aids only the lawyer who wants to take a deposition or obtain discovery in Tennessee for use elsewhere. Tennessee lawyers seeking to take a deposition or obtain discovery in a foreign jurisdiction must look to that jurisdiction's law for similar assistance.