(a) A party desiring to take the deposition of a natural person who is a party to the action or an officer, director, managing agent, or employee of a party may make a motion for an order that the deponent attend for deposition at a place that is more distant than that permitted under Section 2025.250. This motion shall be accompanied by a meet and confer declaration under Section 2016.040.
§ 2025.260.Location of deposition; exemption from mileage
Title 4. Civil Discovery Act · Chapter 9. Oral Deposition Inside California · Article 2. Deposition Notice · Enacted 2004 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 2025.260 lets a party move to require a natural-person party, officer, director, managing agent, or employee to appear for deposition beyond the ordinary mileage limits, has the court weigh listed fairness-related factors, allows the order to be conditioned on advanced travel expenses, and mandates sanctions against whichever side loses the motion.
Full Text of § 2025.260
(b) In exercising its discretion to grant or deny this motion, the court shall take into consideration any factor tending to show whether the interests of justice will be served by requiring the deponent's attendance at that more distant place, including, but not limited to, the following:
(1) Whether the moving party selected the forum.
(2) Whether the deponent will be present to testify at the trial of the action.
(3) The convenience of the deponent.
(4) The feasibility of conducting the deposition by written questions under Chapter 11 (commencing with Section 2028.010), or of using a discovery method other than a deposition.
(5) The number of depositions sought to be taken at a place more distant than that permitted under Section 2025.250.
(6) The expense to the parties of requiring the deposition to be taken within the distance permitted under Section 2025.250.
(7) The whereabouts of the deponent at the time for which the deposition is scheduled.
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(c) The order may be conditioned on the advancement by the moving party of the reasonable expenses and costs to the deponent for travel to the place of deposition.
(d) The court shall impose a monetary sanction under Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 2023.010) against any party, person, or attorney who unsuccessfully makes or opposes a motion to increase the travel limits for a party deponent, unless it finds that the one subject to the sanction acted with substantial justification or that other circumstances make the imposition of the sanction unjust.
Plain-English Summary
Section 2025.250 sets the ordinary mileage boundaries, and this section is the escape hatch for a party who needs a party-affiliated deponent to travel farther than those boundaries allow. The party seeking that order has to bring a motion, backed by a meet and confer declaration, asking the court to require the deponent's attendance at a more distant location.
The court does not decide that motion on instinct alone; the section lists specific factors bearing on whether the interests of justice favor the more distant location, including who chose the forum, whether the deponent will testify live at trial, the deponent's own convenience, whether written questions or another discovery method could substitute, how many depositions are being moved this way, the relative expense of the two options, and where the deponent will be when the deposition is scheduled. If the court grants the motion, it can condition the order on the moving party advancing the deponent's reasonable travel expenses.
As with most discovery motions in this title, the outcome carries a mandatory sanction: whoever loses the motion, whether by making it unsuccessfully or opposing it unsuccessfully, faces a monetary sanction unless the court finds substantial justification for that side's position or some other circumstance that would make a sanction unjust.
Frequently Asked Questions
What must accompany a motion under this section?
A meet and confer declaration under Section 2016.040.
What factors guide the court's decision?
Who chose the forum, whether the deponent will testify at trial, the deponent's convenience, whether another discovery method would work, the number of depositions being moved, relative expense, and the deponent's whereabouts at the scheduled time.
Can the order require the moving party to pay travel costs upfront?
Yes, the order may be conditioned on advancing the deponent's reasonable travel expenses.
Is a sanction automatic on this kind of motion?
Yes, against whoever loses, unless the court finds substantial justification or that a sanction would be unjust.
Amendment History
(Added by Stats.2004, c. 182 (A.B.3081), § 23, operative July 1, 2005.)
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the West's Annotated California Codes / Thomson Reuters. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 29, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: motion to increase deposition travel distance californiadeposition location outside mileage limit