Summons vs. Subpoena

Main Difference

The main difference between Summons and Subpoena is that the Summons is a legal document issued by a court or by an administrative agency of government for various purposes and Subpoena is a writ issued by a government agency, most often a court, to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure.

• Summons

  A summons (also known in England and Wales as a claim form and in the Australian state of New South Wales as a Court Attendance Notice (CAN)) is a legal document issued by a court (a judicial summons) or by an administrative agency of government (an administrative summons) for various purposes.

• Subpoena

  A subpoena (; also subpœna) or witness summons is a writ issued by a government agency, most often a court, to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of subpoena:

  subpoena ad testificandum orders a person to testify before the ordering authority or face punishment. The subpoena can also request the testimony to be given by phone or in person.

  subpoena duces tecum orders a person or organization to bring physical evidence before the ordering authority or face punishment. This is often used for requests to mail copies of documents to requesting party or directly to court.