An arbitration subpoena is a written order, signed by the arbitrator or a majority of the panel, that compels a person to appear as a witness and, in the right case, bring documents the arbitrator considers material to the dispute. The authority comes from statute, not from any inherent judicial power: Section 7 of the Federal Arbitration Act (9 U.S.C. § 7) is the federal source, and the Revised Uniform Arbitration Act (RUAA) Section 17 governs when state law applies.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 9 USC 7 – Witnesses Before Arbitrators; Fees; Compelling Attendance These statutes give arbitrators real power, but the reach is narrower than most people expect, especially against someone who never signed the arbitration agreement.
What an Arbitrator Can Actually Compel
Under Section 7, the arbitrator may summon “any person to attend before them or any of them as a witness and in a proper case to bring with him or them any book, record, document, or paper which may be deemed material as evidence in the case.”1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 9 USC 7 – Witnesses Before Arbitrators; Fees; Compelling Attendance The summons must be in writing, in the name of the arbitrator, and signed by the arbitrator or a majority of the panel. Without that signature, the document has no legal force. A subpoena sent out by counsel alone is not a subpoena.
The RUAA gives arbitrators a wider toolkit. Beyond compelling attendance at a hearing, it lets arbitrators permit depositions of witnesses who cannot attend, authorize additional discovery when appropriate, issue protective orders, and sanction parties who refuse to comply “to the extent a court could if the controversy were the subject of a civil action.” States that have adopted the RUAA have varied in the exact provisions they enacted.
Parties Versus Non-Parties
How much an arbitrator can force out of someone turns almost entirely on whether that person signed the arbitration agreement. Parties are bound by the arbitrator’s procedural orders as part of their contractual commitment: the arbitrator can set discovery schedules, order document production, and impose sanctions directly. Non-parties get significantly more protection, and the line matters most when the evidence you need is sitting in a third party’s files.
The Circuit Split on Pre-Hearing Document Subpoenas
Federal courts disagree on whether Section 7 allows an arbitrator to compel a non-party to produce documents before the hearing. The Second and Third Circuits say no. In Life Receivables Trust v. Syndicate 102 at Lloyd’s of London, the Second Circuit held that Section 7 “does not enable arbitrators to issue pre-hearing document subpoenas to entities not party to the arbitration proceedings.”2Justia. Life Receivables Trust v Syndicate 102 at Lloyds of London The reasoning tracks the statute’s plain language, which ties document production to the witness appearing before the arbitrator.
The Eighth Circuit reads Section 7 to implicitly authorize pre-hearing document subpoenas to non-parties. The Fourth Circuit in COMSAT Corp. v. National Science Foundation took a middle position, suggesting pre-hearing non-party discovery may be allowed on a showing of special need.3Arbitration Law Review. Uncompelled: Circuits Split Over the Pre-Hearing Discovery Powers of Arbitrators Under the majority view, if your key evidence sits in a non-party’s filing cabinets, you will usually have to summon that person as a hearing witness and request the documents at the same time rather than trying to obtain them in advance.
What a Valid Subpoena Must Include
A sloppy subpoena is an invitation to challenge. It needs the full legal name and current address of the person or entity being summoned. When you want documents, describe them with enough precision that the recipient knows exactly what to look for. Identifying records by date ranges, account numbers, or transaction types works. Broadly asking for “all relevant records” tends to get quashed.
The subpoena must also specify the exact date, time, and location of the hearing. Major providers like JAMS and the American Arbitration Association publish standardized subpoena templates that cover the required formatting.4JAMS. Forms and Resources The templates are a starting point; the drafter still has to tailor the document descriptions and logistics, and the arbitrator still has to sign.
Serving the Subpoena
Section 7 directs that an arbitration subpoena “shall be served in the same manner as subpoenas to appear and testify before the court,” which points to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45. Under Rule 45, any person at least 18 years old who is not a party to the case may serve the subpoena by delivering a copy to the named person.5Legal Information Institute. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45 – Subpoena
Witness fees must be tendered at the time of service. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1821, the attendance fee is $40 per day, including travel days.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1821 – Per Diem and Mileage Generally; Subsistence Witnesses who drive receive a mileage allowance at the GSA rate, which is $0.725 per mile as of January 2026. Witnesses using public transportation are reimbursed for actual travel costs. Skipping the fee tender gives the recipient a straightforward ground to challenge the subpoena.
The 100-Mile Geographic Limit
An arbitration subpoena is not a nationwide summons. Rule 45 limits its geographic reach to 100 miles from where the witness resides, works, or regularly conducts business in person.5Legal Information Institute. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45 – Subpoena If the hearing is in New York and the witness lives and works in Los Angeles, the subpoena is almost certainly unenforceable against that witness.
Video conferencing does not fix this. In In re Kirkland (9th Cir. 2023), the Ninth Circuit held that Rule 45’s geographic limit applies even when a witness would testify remotely. Measuring the 100 miles to a camera rather than to the hearing room would create nationwide subpoena power through the back door, and other federal courts have reached the same conclusion.
Parties who need testimony from a distant non-party have a few options. The hearing can sometimes be moved to a location within 100 miles of the witness. The RUAA specifically allows arbitrators to permit depositions of witnesses who cannot be subpoenaed for a hearing, which offers a path in states that have adopted it. And a willing witness can always testify voluntarily from anywhere.
Challenging a Subpoena
A subpoena recipient is not stuck with silent compliance. The timeline for pushing back is short, so the clock matters.
Written Objections
Borrowing from Rule 45, a recipient may serve written objections on the party who issued the subpoena. The deadline is the earlier of 14 days after service or the date the subpoena requires compliance.5Legal Information Institute. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45 – Subpoena Timely objections excuse compliance unless a court orders otherwise. Missing the window can waive the objections entirely.
Grounds for a Motion To Quash
A recipient can also move to quash or modify the subpoena. Recognized grounds include:
- Lack of authority under Section 7, such as a subpoena issued without a proper arbitrator signature, one seeking pre-hearing document production from a non-party in a circuit that prohibits it, or one issued by counsel rather than the arbitrator.
- Geographic overreach beyond the 100-mile limit.
- Attorney-client privilege, work product, or another recognized privilege.
- Undue burden, where the cost or disruption of compliance is unreasonable relative to the value of the evidence.
- Irrelevance to the dispute.
Objections about relevance, privilege, and confidentiality typically go to the arbitral tribunal in the first instance. Challenges to the enforceability of the subpoena under Section 7 itself, like geographic limits or absent arbitrator authority, can be raised directly in federal or state court.
Protective Orders
When a subpoena reaches trade secrets, proprietary business data, or other sensitive information, the recipient can ask the arbitrator, or in some circumstances a court, for a protective order limiting how the information is used or disclosed. The RUAA gives arbitrators explicit authority to issue these orders. The person seeking the order generally has to show that the harm from disclosure outweighs the benefit to the proceedings.
Enforcement When Someone Refuses
Arbitrators cannot arrest, fine, or jail anyone. The enforcement path depends on who is refusing.
Non-Parties
Section 7 supplies the remedy when a non-party ignores a subpoena: “upon petition the United States district court for the district in which such arbitrators, or a majority of them, are sitting may compel the attendance of such person or persons before said arbitrator or arbitrators, or punish said person or persons for contempt.”1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 9 USC 7 – Witnesses Before Arbitrators; Fees; Compelling Attendance The requesting party files a petition asking the district court to enforce the subpoena. If the court orders compliance and the witness still refuses, they face judicial contempt, which can include fines or incarceration.
Parties
Because parties agreed to be bound by the arbitration process, the arbitrator can impose procedural sanctions directly, without going to court. Common sanctions include drawing an adverse inference against the noncompliant party, excluding evidence or arguments they want to present, and shifting costs and attorney’s fees caused by the noncompliance. Under the RUAA, an arbitrator can act “to the extent a court could if the controversy were the subject of a civil action.” In serious cases involving deliberate, repeated defiance after warnings, some arbitration rules permit dismissal of a claim or defense with prejudice.
One limit worth noting: under AAA Commercial Rules, arbitrators generally may not enter a default award purely as a sanction. Even when one side refuses to participate, the other still has to submit enough evidence to support the award.
Cost Protection for Non-Parties
Producing documents costs real money. Gathering, reviewing, and copying records takes staff time, and electronic data can be especially expensive to collect and process. Rule 45 addresses this directly: any order compelling a non-party to produce documents “must protect a person who is neither a party nor a party’s officer from significant expense resulting from compliance.”5Legal Information Institute. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45 – Subpoena The issuing party also has an affirmative duty to avoid undue burden or expense, and courts can sanction attorneys who ignore that obligation.
For electronically stored information from sources that are not reasonably accessible due to cost or burden, the requesting party may need to show good cause before a court orders production, and the court can impose cost-shifting conditions requiring the requester to pay for retrieval. AAA guidelines echo the principle, recommending that arbitrators consider the cost and burden on a third party when evaluating subpoena requests and noting that the requesting party “may bear responsibility for cost to compile documents.”