Florida Statute 92.251 - Full Text and Legal Analysis

The 2025 Florida Statutes

Title VII
EVIDENCE

Chapter 92
WITNESSES, RECORDS, AND DOCUMENTS

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92.251 Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act.—

(1) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the “Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act.”

(2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:

(a) “Foreign jurisdiction” means a state other than this state.

(b) “Foreign subpoena” means a subpoena issued under authority of a court of record of a foreign jurisdiction.

(c) “Person” means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, public corporation, government, or governmental subdivision, agency or instrumentality, or any other legal or commercial entity.

(d) “State” means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, a federally recognized Indian tribe, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.

(e) “Subpoena” means a document, however denominated, issued under authority of a court of record requiring a person to:

1. Attend and give testimony at a deposition;

2. Produce and permit inspection and copying of designated books, documents, records, electronically stored information, or tangible things in the possession, custody, or control of the person; or

3. Permit inspection of premises under the control of the person.

(3) ISSUANCE OF SUBPOENA.—

(a) To request issuance of a subpoena under this section, a party from a foreign jurisdiction must submit a foreign subpoena to a clerk of court in the county in this state in which discovery is sought. A request for the issuance of a subpoena under this act does not constitute an appearance in the courts of this state.

(b) When a party submits a foreign subpoena to a clerk of court in this state, the clerk, in accordance with that court’s procedure, shall promptly issue a subpoena for service upon the person to which the foreign subpoena is directed.

1. Incorporate the terms used in the foreign subpoena; and

2. Contain or be 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.

(4) SERVICE OF SUBPOENA.—A subpoena issued by a clerk of court under subsection (3) must be served in compliance with the laws of this state and the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure.

(5) DEPOSITION, PRODUCTION, AND INSPECTION.—The laws and rules of this state govern and apply to all subpoenas issued under subsection (3).

(6) APPLICATION TO COURT.—An application to the court for a protective order or to enforce, quash, or modify a subpoena issued by a clerk of court under subsection (3) must comply with the statutes and rules of this state and be submitted to the court in the county in which discovery is to be conducted.

(7) UNIFORMITY OF APPLICATION AND CONSTRUCTION.—In applying and construing this uniform act, consideration must be given to the need to promote uniformity of the law with respect to its subject matter among states that enact it.

(8) INAPPLICABILITY TO CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS.—This act does not apply to criminal proceedings.

History.—ss. 1, 2, 3, ch. 59-250; s. 3, ch. 76-237; s. 1, ch. 77-77; s. 22, ch. 78-361; s. 1, ch. 78-379; s. 1, ch. 2019-13.

Note.—Former s. 90.25.

F.S. 92.251 on Google Scholar

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Amendments to 92.251

Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Cases Citing Statute 92.251

Total Results: 12 | Sort by: Relevance | Newest First

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Travelers Indem. Co. v. Hill, 388 So. 2d 648 (Fla. 5th DCA 1980).

Cited 29 times | Published | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal | 1980 Fla. App. LEXIS 17304

...appointing a commissioner to take the testimony of Shelva Hill in Ohio, and to allow petitioner a reasonable time to take this testimony prior to the time of trial. Writ GRANTED; order QUASHED. COBB and FRANK D. UPCHURCH, Jr., JJ., concur. NOTES [1] § 92.251, Florida Statutes (Uniform Foreign Deposition Act): Whenever any mandate, writ of commission is issued out of any court of record in any other state, territory, district or foreign jurisdiction, or whenever upon notice or agreement it is re...

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Freedom Newspapers, Inc. v. Egly, 507 So. 2d 1180 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987).

Cited 7 times | Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal

...d from exploring by the prior objections and assertions of privilege," and to produce the items listed in the subpoena duces tecum. The proceedings in circuit court were brought under the Uniform Foreign Depositions Law, which Florida has enacted at section 92.251 Florida Statutes (1985)....

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Reinhardt v. Northside Motors, Inc., 479 So. 2d 240 (Fla. 4th DCA 1985).

Cited 4 times | Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal | 10 Fla. L. Weekly 2685

...d at the Rancho Ensino Hospital in Encino, California. Without requesting production of the medical records pursuant to Rule 1.350, Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, or implementing the procedures provided for by the Uniform Foreign Depositions Law, Section 92.251, Florida Statutes (1983) and its counterpart, Section 2023, Code of Civil Procedure of California, respondents' attorney mailed petitioner a medical authorization form for the California records and requested that she sign and return it to him....

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Greenlight Fin. Servs. v. Union Am. Mortg., 971 So. 2d 983 (Fla. 3d DCA 2008).

Cited 2 times | Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal | 2008 WL 62447

...We, however, treat this as an appeal from a final order [1] and reverse for the following reasons. The proceedings below arose out of a pending California lawsuit between GFS and Union America Mortgage, Inc. ("Union"), and was brought pursuant to the Uniform Foreign Depositions Law ("UFDL"), which Florida has enacted at section 92.251, Florida Statutes (1985)....

...The trial court granted the motion and directed GFS and the two Florida witnesses to the California court that issued the commission for a resolution of their discovery issues. GFS now seeks our review of this order of dismissal. Under UFDL, as adopted by Florida in section 92.251, whenever a litigant desires to depose a witness residing in another state, that litigant must first secure the appointment of a commissioner from the court where the litigation originates....

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Quest Diagnostics Inc. v. Swaters, 94 So. 3d 635 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012).

Cited 1 times | Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal | 2012 WL 2913275, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 11702

Foreign Depositions Law (UFDL) is codified in section 92.251, Florida Statutes. Georgia has adopted the

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Proampac Holdings, Inc. Vs Rcba Nutraceuticals, LLC d/b/a Ronnie Coleman Signature Series, W. Packaging, Inc. & Polyfirst Packaging, Inc. (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2022).

Published | District Court of Appeal of Florida

jurisdiction. Foreign subpoenas are covered by section 92.251, Florida Statutes, while long-arm jurisdiction

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Luv N Care, Ltd. v. Nouri Ed Hakim (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2024).

Published | District Court of Appeal of Florida

Depositions and Discovery Act (“UIDDA”), codified in section 92.251, Florida Statutes (2022), which governs foreign

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Stark v. Regency Highland Condo. Ass'n, 418 So. 2d 1058 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1982).

Published | District Court of Appeal of Florida | 1982 Fla. App. LEXIS 21481

provisions of the Uniform Foreign Depositions Act, Section 92.251, Florida Statutes (1981). During the deposition

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Giselle Lugones v. Physician's Indem. Risk Retention Grp., Inc. (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2020).

Published | District Court of Appeal of Florida

petition for writ of certiorari is denied. See § 92.251(2)(b), Fla. Stat. (2019) (defining “foreign subpoena”

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Ferrandino v. Riley, 236 So. 3d 493 (Fla. 1st DCA 2018).

Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal

non-party witness who resides in Florida. See § 92.251(2), Fla. Stat. Florida law governs the enforcement

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Reedy v. Safeco Ins. Co. of Am., 721 So. 2d 803 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1998).

Published | District Court of Appeal of Florida | 1998 Fla. App. LEXIS 15622, 1998 WL 852822

underlying commission. There is no requirement in section 92.251, Florida Statutes, or in Rule 1.410 that a

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Breanden Beneschott v. Toptal, LLC, Taso Duval & Denis Grosz (Fla. 6th DCA 2025).

Published | Florida 6th District Court of Appeal

Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act (“UIDDA”), § 92.251, Fla. Stat. (2020), is a final order for purposes

This Florida statute resource is curated by Graham W. Syfert, Esq., a Jacksonville, Florida personal injury and workers' compensation attorney. For legal consultation, call 904-383-7448.