(a) An oral deposition shall be scheduled for a date at least 10 days after service of the deposition notice.
§ 2025.270.Date of deposition
Title 4. Civil Discovery Act · Chapter 9. Oral Deposition Inside California · Article 2. Deposition Notice · Last amended 2007 · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 2025.270 requires at least 10 days' notice before an oral deposition, shortens that to 5 days (but no later than 5 days before trial) in unlawful detainer cases, extends it to 20 days when a subpoena seeks a consumer's or employee's records, and lets a court shorten, extend, or stay the date for good cause.
Full Text of § 2025.270
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), in an unlawful detainer action or other proceeding under Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 1159) of Title 3 of Part 3, an oral deposition shall be scheduled for a date at least five days after service of the deposition notice, but not later than five days before trial.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (b), if, as defined in Section 1985.3 or 1985.6, the party giving notice of the deposition is a subpoenaing party, and the deponent is a witness commanded by a deposition subpoena to produce personal records of a consumer or employment records of an employee, the deposition shall be scheduled for a date at least 20 days after issuance of that subpoena.
Plain-English Summary
How much lead time a deponent gets before showing up depends on what kind of case is on file and what the deposition is after. The default is 10 days after service of the deposition notice, giving most litigants a week and a half or more to prepare or object.
Unlawful detainer actions, and related proceedings for forcible entry or detainer, move on a faster clock, and this section shortens the notice period to five days, though never so short that the deposition falls within five days of trial. On the other end, when a subpoenaing party is after a consumer's personal records or an employee's employment records, the notice period stretches to 20 days from when the subpoena issues, giving the person whose records are at stake time to object before the records move.
None of these defaults are fixed in stone. On a motion or ex parte application by any party or the deponent, and for good cause, a court can shorten or lengthen the scheduling window, or stay the deposition entirely pending a ruling on a protective-order motion under Section 2025.420.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the default notice period for an oral deposition?
10 days after service of the deposition notice.
What is the notice period in an unlawful detainer case?
5 days, but never so short that the deposition falls within 5 days of trial.
What notice period applies when a subpoena seeks consumer or employee records?
20 days after the subpoena issues.
Can a court change these deadlines?
Yes, for good cause the court may shorten or extend the scheduling window, or stay the deposition pending a protective-order motion.
Amendment History
(Added by Stats.2004, c. 182 (A.B.3081), § 23, operative July 1, 2005. Amended by Stats.2007, c. 113 (A.B.1126), § 6.)
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
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