Our HOA was served with a subpoena. What should the board do?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised September 28, 2026

How an HOA board handles a subpoena for records: who to call first, TX, FL and CO objection deadlines, owner privacy, copy costs, and the custodian affidavit.

Part of the HOA board handbook: residents and communication.

What to do the day it arrives

A subpoena usually reaches the association through its registered agent, the management company, or whichever director answers the door. Whoever receives it should write the date and time of service on the first page and get it to the president that day. Do not ignore it because the association is not a party to the lawsuit. Failing to obey a subpoena without an adequate excuse can be treated as contempt of court under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 176.8(a) and federal Rule 45(g). Do not rush to comply either. The rules give the person served a window to object, narrow the request, ask for costs, and protect private information. So the first day has four jobs. Send a copy to the association's attorney. Send a copy to the insurance agent if the case could involve the association. Tell the board to keep every record the subpoena might cover. And tell anyone who calls from the requesting law firm that counsel will be in touch. Rules differ by state, by court and by your governing documents, and this guide is general education, not legal advice.

Read it and sort out what kind it is

Pull five facts off the paper: the court and case number, the names of the parties, who issued it, what it demands, and the date and place for compliance. Most HOA subpoenas fall into one of four groups. The most common is a civil subpoena for documents in a case between other people, such as a divorce or a fight between neighbors. The second asks for testimony. When a subpoena names the association and lists deposition topics, Texas Rule 176.6(b) requires the organization to designate one or more people to testify about matters known or reasonably available to it, so someone has to prepare. The third is a trial subpoena. The fourth comes from law enforcement or a prosecutor. If the association itself is a defendant, the paper is part of your own lawsuit, and defense counsel, usually appointed through the insurer, runs the response. Florida gives one more clue. A Florida subpoena for documents under Rule of Civil Procedure 1.351 must state that the recipient has the right to object and will not be required to surrender the originals.

Deadlines and objection rights in Texas, Florida and Colorado

Texas. A person commanded to produce documents may serve written objections on the party that requested the subpoena before the time set for compliance, and need not produce the objected part unless a court orders it, under Rule 176.6(d). The association, or anyone affected by the subpoena, may also ask the court for a protective order under Rule 176.6(e). A party seeking documents from a nonparty must serve notice on everyone at least 10 days before serving the subpoena under Rule 205.2, and Rule 205.3(f) says the requesting party must reimburse the nonparty's reasonable costs of production. Florida. Under Rule 1.351, the parties get notice at least 10 days before a nonparty document subpoena issues. The recipient may require advance payment of the reasonable cost of copies, and if the recipient objects at any time before production, the documents are not produced under that rule and the requesting party has to take a deposition under Rule 1.310 instead. Florida Statutes 720.303(5)(i) sets a harder line for law enforcement: an HOA that receives a subpoena for records from a law enforcement agency must make them available within 5 business days. Colorado. Under C.R.C.P. 45(c)(2)(C), the person subpoenaed may submit a written objection before the earlier of the compliance date or 14 days after service. Rule 45(d)(1)(A) says production cannot happen until at least 14 days after service unless the parties, any privilege holder and the person subpoenaed agree in writing.

Pull the records without handing over the whole file

Name one records custodian, usually the secretary or the manager, and have that person run the search. Records live in more places than the filing cabinet: the management portal, the accounting software, the association email account, directors' personal email accounts used for association business, text threads, the camera system, and gate or fob logs. Search only for what the subpoena describes, for the dates it names. Texas Rule 176.6(c), Colorado Rule 45(d)(1)(B) and federal Rule 45(e)(1)(A) all let you produce documents as they are kept in the usual course of business or organized by the categories in the request. Emails with the association's attorney are normally privileged. Counsel decides what to withhold, and the rules require the withholding party to say so and describe what was held back. Stamp each page with a number, keep an exact copy of what went out, and log the date and method of delivery. If the camera system or email account deletes old material automatically, suspend that for the dates in question as soon as the subpoena arrives. Footage that overwrites itself two weeks after service looks like destroyed evidence, whatever the intent.

Protect owners' private information

A subpoena aimed at one owner's dispute can sweep in other owners' phone numbers, payment histories, violation letters and gate entries. Florida's list of records owners may not inspect, in 720.303(5)(g), is a good map of what to flag for counsel, even outside Florida: attorney-client material, personnel records, medical records, Social Security and driver license numbers, phone numbers and email addresses, and passwords or other electronic security measures. A subpoena is not an owner records request, so the list does not decide what you must produce. It tells you where to slow down. Counsel can ask the requesting attorney to narrow the request, agree to redactions, sign a confidentiality agreement, or ask the court for a protective order. Whether to tell the owner whose records are being sought is a judgment call for counsel. In an ordinary civil case, a short notice to that owner is often fair. A law enforcement subpoena may come with a request not to disclose it, and the board should not tip anyone off without the attorney's say-so. Our guide on responding to an owner's records request covers the separate rules for requests from members.

Charge for the work and sign the affidavit carefully

Texas Rule 205.3(f) requires the requesting party to reimburse reasonable production costs. Florida Statutes 92.153 says a disinterested witness shall be paid the costs it reasonably incurs searching for, copying and transporting documents, sets out how the witness asks for payment, and caps charges to a state attorney or public defender at 15 cents a page and $10 an hour. Colorado Rule 45(c)(1) and federal Rule 45(d)(1) require the issuing party to avoid undue burden and expense. Keep a log of staff and manager hours and copy costs from day one, and send an invoice with the production. The requesting lawyer will often send a business records affidavit or certification with the subpoena. It is what lets the records be used in court without a live witness, under Texas Rule of Evidence 902(10) or Florida Statutes 90.902(11). The signer swears that the records were made at or near the time of the events, by someone with knowledge, and kept in the regular course of the association's business. The person who actually keeps the records should sign it. A director who took office last month and has never seen the ledger should not. In Florida, making that certification falsely carries a criminal penalty.

A sample timeline and wording to copy

Day 0: subpoena served, date noted, copies to the president, the attorney and the insurance agent. Day 1: preservation email to the board and manager. Days 2 to 5: counsel reviews and, if the request is too broad, calls the issuing attorney to narrow it. Days 5 to 10: the custodian gathers records and logs time. Before the objection deadline, which in Colorado is 14 days after service at the latest: counsel serves any objection. Compliance date: produce the numbered set with the affidavit and invoice, and keep a copy. Preservation email: 'The association was served with a subpoena on [date] in [case name]. Please do not delete, edit or discard any email, text, photo, video or paper record about [subject] from [start date] to today, including in personal accounts you use for association business. Send nothing to anyone outside the board. The attorney will handle all contact with the lawyers in the case.' Minutes line: 'The president reported service of a subpoena in [case name]. The board authorized counsel to respond and designated [name] as custodian of records for the response.'

Mistakes that make a routine subpoena expensive

A director calls the lawyer who sent the subpoena to explain what really happened between the neighbors. Anything said on that call can end up in a deposition. Let counsel do the talking. The board sends the entire owner file because it is faster than sorting it, and other residents' private information goes out with it. A director with a personal connection to one side handles the response. That director should step back. Nobody treats a deposition subpoena as serious until the week before, and the association's designated witness shows up unprepared to speak for the organization. Nobody keeps a copy of what was produced, so when the case comes back a year later, the board cannot say what it handed over. And the notice sits in a manager's inbox for ten days, which uses up most of Colorado's 14-day objection window before the board hears about it. If the association does not already have an attorney it can call on short notice, our guide on hiring an HOA attorney covers finding one before the next subpoena arrives.

Sources

These guides are general education for HOA boards and residents, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Rules vary by state and by your community's governing documents - check with a professional for your situation.

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