(a) Restrictions on oral testimony Evidence received at a law and motion hearing must be by declaration or request for judicial notice without testimony or cross-examination, unless the court orders otherwise for good cause shown. (Subd (a) amended effective January 1, 2007; previously amended effective January 1, 2003.)
Rule 3.1306.Evidence at hearing
Division 11. Law and Motion · Chapter 5. Noticed Motions · Last amended 2017 · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceRule 3.1306 keeps ordinary law and motion hearings paper-based, admitting evidence through declarations and requests for judicial notice rather than live testimony, while giving a party who wants an oral-testimony exception a short deadline to flag it and spelling out what a request for judicial notice must include.
Full Text of Rule 3.1306
(b) Request to present oral testimony A party seeking permission to introduce oral evidence, except for oral evidence in rebuttal to oral evidence presented by the other party, must file, no later than three court days before the hearing, a written statement stating the nature and extent of the evidence proposed to be introduced and a reasonable time estimate for the hearing. When the statement is filed less than five court days before the hearing, the filing party must serve a copy on the other parties in a manner to assure delivery to the other parties no later than two days before the hearing. (Subd (b) amended and relettered effective January 1, 2003; adopted as part of subd (a).)
(c) Judicial notice A party requesting judicial notice of material under Evidence Code sections 452 or 453 must provide the court and each party with a copy of the material. If the material is part of a file in the court in which the matter is being heard, the party must:
(1) Specify in writing the part of the court file sought to be judicially noticed; and
(2) Either make arrangements with the clerk to have the file in the courtroom at the time of the hearing or confirm with the clerk that the file is electronically accessible to the court. (Subd (c) amended effective January 1, 2017; adopted as subd (b); previously amended and relettered effective January 1, 2003; previously amended effective January 1, 2007.)
Plain-English Summary
A law and motion calendar often runs through many matters in a single session, and full evidentiary hearings for each one would overwhelm it. Rule 3.1306(a) reflects that reality: evidence at a law and motion hearing must come in through declarations and requests for judicial notice, not live testimony or cross-examination, unless the court orders otherwise for good cause shown.
A party who wants live testimony has to ask ahead of time. Rule 3.1306(b) requires a written statement, filed no later than three court days before the hearing, describing the nature and extent of the proposed evidence and giving a time estimate for the hearing. If that statement is filed less than five court days before the hearing, the filing party must serve it on the other parties in a way calculated to reach them no later than two days before the hearing. Oral evidence offered purely to rebut the other side's oral evidence does not need this advance notice, since it is a direct response to testimony the other party chose to introduce.
Rule 3.1306(c) covers judicial notice under Evidence Code sections 452 and 453: the requesting party must provide the court and each other party with a copy of the material. If the material is already part of the court's own file in that case, the party must specify in writing which part is at issue and either arrange with the clerk to have the physical file in the courtroom or confirm that the file is electronically accessible to the court.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can witnesses testify live at a California law and motion hearing?
Not as a matter of course. Rule 3.1306(a) requires evidence to come in through declarations and requests for judicial notice, with live testimony allowed only if the court orders otherwise for good cause.
How do you ask a California court for permission to present oral testimony at a motion hearing?
By filing a written statement no later than three court days before the hearing describing the nature and extent of the proposed testimony and a time estimate, under rule 3.1306(b).
What do you have to do to ask a court to take judicial notice of something?
Provide the court and every other party a copy of the material, and, if it is already part of the court's file in that case, specify in writing which part and arrange for the file to be available at the hearing, under rule 3.1306(c).
Amendment History
Rule 3.1306 amended effective January 1, 2017; adopted as rule 323 effective January 1, 1984; previously amended effective January 1, 2003; previously amended and renumbered as rule 3.1306 effective January 1, 2007.
Source & verification. Rule text is reproduced verbatim from
the Judicial Council of California. Adopted by the Judicial Council of California.
Last verified July 29, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: oral testimony at motion hearing Californiadeclaration versus live testimony law and motionrequest for judicial notice procedure California superior court