a subpoena is a type of legal request that requires the recipient to either appear before court and deliver oral testimony or produce documents or tangible evidence key to the case. to subpoena documents, it would require a subpoena tuces decum. whether they’re medical records, contracts, deeds, or accounting statements, documents are often the key pieces of evidence in a legal claim. unless the parties holding the documents are willing to hand them over, no questions asked, you’ll have to use a subpoena to gather the evidence you’re seeking.