In one sentenceRule 36 lets a party serve written requests asking another party to formally admit specific facts, the application of law to facts, or the genuineness of documents, so that anything admitted is treated as settled for the rest of the case and doesn’t need to be proved at trial.
(a)Request for admission. A party may serve upon any other party a written request for the admission, for purposes of the pending action only, of the truth of any matters within the scope of Rule 26(b) set forth in the request that relate to statements or opinions of fact or of the application of law to fact, including the genuineness of any documents described in the request. Copies of documents shall be served with the request unless they have been or are otherwise furnished or made available for inspection and copying. The request may, without leave of court, be served upon the plaintiff after commencement of the action and upon any other party with or after service of the summons and complaint upon that party.
Each matter of which an admission is requested shall be separately set forth. The matter is admitted unless, within thirty (30) days after service of the request, or within such shorter or longer time as the court may allow, the party to whom the request is directed serves upon the party requesting the admission a written answer or objection addressed to the matter, signed by the party or by the party’s attorney, but, unless the court shortens the time, a defendant shall not be required to serve answers or objections before the expiration of forty-five (45) days after service of the summons and complaint upon that defendant. If objection is made, the reasons therefor shall be stated. The answer shall specifically deny the matter or set forth in detail the reasons why the answering party cannot truthfully admit or deny the matter. A denial shall fairly meet the substance of the requested admission, and when good faith requires that a party qualify an answer or deny only a part of the matter of which an admission is requested, the party shall specify so much of it as is true and qualify or deny the remainder. An answering party may not give lack of information or knowledge as a reason for failure to admit or deny unless the party states that the party has made reasonable inquiry and that the information known or readily obtainable by the party is insufficient to enable the party to admit or deny. A party who considers that a matter of which an admission has been requested presents a genuine issue for trial may not, on that ground alone, object to the request; the party may, subject to the provisions of Rule 37(c), deny the matter or set forth reasons why the party cannot admit or deny it. The party who has requested the admissions may move to determine the sufficiency of the answers or objections. Unless the court determines that an objection is justified, it shall order that an answer be served. If the court determines that an answer does not comply with the requirements of this rule, it may order either that the matter is admitted or that an amended answer be served. The court may, in lieu of these orders, determine that final disposition of the request be made at a pretrial conference or at a designated time prior to trial. The provisions of Rule 37(a)(4) apply to the award of expenses incurred in relation to the motion.
(b)Effect of admission. Any matter admitted under this rule is conclusively established unless the court on motion permits withdrawal or amendment of the admission. Subject to the provisions of Rule 16 governing amendment of a pretrial order, the court may permit withdrawal or amendment when the presentation of the merits of the action will be subserved thereby and the party who obtained the admission fails to satisfy the court that withdrawal or amendment will prejudice that party in maintaining the action or defense on the merits. Any admission made by a party under this rule is for the purpose of the pending action only and is not an admission for any other purpose nor may it be used against the party in any other proceeding.
(dc)District court rule. Rule 36 applies in the district courts in those instances where a request for admissions is permitted by Rule 26(dc).
Amendment History
[Amended eff. 10-1-95.]
Committee Comments
Committee Comments on 1973 Adoption
There is no provision corresponding to Rule 36 in Tit. 7, § 474(1)-(18), Code of Ala.
The purpose of this rule is to expedite the trial and to relieve the parties of the cost of proving facts which will not be disputed at the trial and the truth of which can be ascertained by reasonable inquiry. The rule is self-sufficient, and clearly defines its purpose and limits its effect, and it should be liberally construed. See Wright & Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure, Civil, § 2252 (1970).
As in Rule 33, Interrogatories, and Rule 34, Request for Production, 30 days in which to admit is allowed unless the Request is served at or shortly after the commencement of the action. Unless otherwise ordered, a defendant is not required to admit any sooner Rule 36 provides that admissions may reach opinions of the application of law to facts. This is analogous to a companion provision found in Rule 33(b).
Objections must be accompanied by grounds. Inability to admit or deny requires accompanying reasons therefor. When good faith requires qualification, that which can be admitted shall be stated and that which is denied shall be specified.
Lack of knowledge is adequate only when reasonable inquiry could not lead to sufficient information. The duty to make reasonable inquiry does not oblige the responding party to seek discovery from third parties available to the requesting party.
Objections or insufficient answers may be pursued under Rule 37(a) by the party seeking discovery.
Final disposition of certain requests may be postponed until pre-trial or thereafter.
Amendment or withdrawal of admissions is permitted under the conditions set forth in Rule 36(b).
The admission is for the purpose of the pending action only and is not an admission for any other purpose or proceeding.
The same admonition as to the use of canned interrogatories contained in the commentary to Rule 33 is equally applicable to the service and filing of canned requests for admissions. In the commentary dealing with Rule 33, the method of objections to canned discovery devices is discussed.
Committee Comments to October 1, 1995, Amendment to Rule 36
The amendment is technical. No substantive change is intended.
Plain-English Summary
Not every fact in a lawsuit is worth fighting over. A defendant might not seriously dispute that a document is authentic, or that a delivery happened on a certain date, even while contesting the bigger question of who’s at fault. Rule 36 gives parties a way to lock down those uncontested points ahead of time instead of spending trial time proving them. One party serves a written request asking the other to admit the truth of a specific statement, and the responding party has thirty days (again, longer for a defendant tied to service of the complaint) to admit it, deny it, or explain in detail why it can’t truthfully do either.
The rule sets real guardrails around how a party can respond. A denial has to address the substance of what was asked, not dodge it with technicalities. If a party can truthfully admit part of a request and not the rest, it has to say which part is true and only deny or qualify the remainder. Claiming a lack of knowledge is not a free pass either — a party can only say it doesn’t know or can’t find out unless it has made a reasonable effort to check and still come up empty. And a party can’t refuse to respond just because the request touches a truly disputed issue; the fact that something is contested doesn’t make it improper to ask about it. If a party ignores a request altogether, or lets the deadline pass without a proper response, the matter is treated as admitted automatically, without any need for a court order.
Once something is admitted under Rule 36, it is treated as conclusively established for that lawsuit — not just as evidence to be weighed, but as a settled fact the parties no longer need to argue about. That admission only binds the parties in this case, though; it can’t be used against the admitting party in some other proceeding down the road. A court can allow a party to withdraw or amend an admission later if doing so would help resolve the case on its merits and wouldn’t unfairly hurt the other side, who relied on the admission being final. Because of how much a well-crafted set of admissions can narrow what still needs to be tried, many lawyers treat Rule 36 as one of the most underused tools for cutting a case down to size before trial.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if I don’t respond to a request for admission at all?
The matter is automatically deemed admitted. You don’t get a warning or a second chance by default — missing the deadline without a proper response has the same effect as admitting the request outright.
Can I refuse to admit something just because it’s a contested issue in the case?
No. The fact that a proposition is truly disputed is not, by itself, a valid reason to object. You still have to admit it, deny it, or explain in detail why you can’t do either.
Can I say "I don’t know" to get out of admitting or denying something?
Only if it’s true in a meaningful sense. You have to state that you made a reasonable inquiry and that the information you could reasonably obtain still isn’t enough to let you admit or deny the request.
If I admit something under Rule 36, can it be used against me in a different lawsuit?
No. An admission made under Rule 36 is effective only for the pending action. It isn’t an admission for any other purpose and can’t be used against you in a separate proceeding.
Can an admission be taken back later in the case?
Yes, but only with the court’s permission. The court can allow withdrawal or amendment when it would help resolve the case on the merits and the other side can’t show it would be unfairly prejudiced by losing the benefit of the admission.
Source & verification. The rule text, amendment history, and Committee Comments are reproduced verbatim from the
official Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure (Ala. R. Civ. P. 36). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of Alabama (Ala. Const. amend. 328, § 6.11). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 6, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as:request for admissionRFA discoverydeemed admittedadmit or deny requestsgenuineness of documents admissionAla. R. Civ. P. 36