§ 2025.330.330

Title 4. Civil Discovery Act · Chapter 9. Oral Deposition Inside California · Article 3. Conduct of Deposition · Last amended 2005 · Last verified July 29, 2026

In one sentenceSection 2025.330 requires the deposition officer to swear the deponent, mandates a certified stenographic record unless the parties or court agree otherwise, allows audio or video recording with proper notice, applies trial-style examination rules, and lets parties submit written questions in a sealed envelope instead of appearing.

Full Text of § 2025.330

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

(a) The deposition officer shall put the deponent under oath or affirmation.

(b) Unless the parties agree or the court orders otherwise, the testimony, as well as any stated objections, shall be taken stenographically. If taken stenographically, it shall be by a person certified pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 8020) of Chapter 13 of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code.

(c) The party noticing the deposition may also record the testimony by audio or video technology if the notice of deposition stated an intention also to record the testimony by either of those methods, or if all the parties agree that the testimony may also be recorded by either of those methods. Any other party, at that party's expense, may make an audio or video record of the deposition, provided that the other party promptly, and in no event less than three calendar days before the date for which the deposition is scheduled, serves a written notice of this intention to make an audio or video record of the deposition testimony on the party or attorney who noticed the deposition, on all other parties or attorneys on whom the deposition notice was served under Section 2025.240, and on any deponent whose attendance is being compelled by a deposition subpoena under Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 2020.010). If this notice is given three calendar days before the deposition date, it shall be made by personal service under Section 1011.

(d) Examination and cross-examination of the deponent shall proceed as permitted at trial under the provisions of the Evidence Code.

(e) In lieu of participating in the oral examination, parties may transmit written questions in a sealed envelope to the party taking the deposition for delivery to the deposition officer, who shall unseal the envelope and propound them to the deponent after the oral examination has been completed.

Plain-English Summary

This section lays out the mechanics of the deposition itself once everyone shows up. The officer places the deponent under oath or affirmation, and unless the parties agree otherwise or the court orders otherwise, the testimony and any objections get taken down stenographically by a certified shorthand reporter.

Stenographic recording is not the only option. The noticing party can also record by audio or video technology if the notice said so or all parties agree, and any other party can make an audio or video recording at that party's own expense, so long as that party serves written notice of the intention at least three calendar days before the scheduled date, personally served if given right at that three-day mark. Whatever the recording method, examination and cross-examination of the deponent proceed the same way they would at trial, governed by the Evidence Code.

The section also preserves an older, less common practice: instead of asking questions out loud, a party can seal written questions in an envelope and hand them to the party taking the deposition, who passes them to the deposition officer to open and read to the deponent once the oral examination is finished.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a stenographic transcript required?

Yes, unless the parties agree otherwise or the court orders otherwise.

Can a party who did not notice the deposition record it on their own?

Yes, by audio or video technology at that party's own expense, with written notice served at least three calendar days beforehand.

What rules govern how the deponent is questioned?

The same examination and cross-examination rules that apply at trial under the Evidence Code.

What is the sealed-envelope procedure?

A party may submit written questions in a sealed envelope for the deposition officer to read to the deponent after the oral examination ends.

Amendment History

(Added by Stats.2004, c. 182 (A.B.3081), § 23, operative July 1, 2005. Amended by Stats.2005, c. 294 (A.B.333), § 8.)

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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