If a deposition is being recorded by means of audio or video technology by, or at the direction of, any party, the following procedure shall be observed:
§ 2025.340.Recordation by audio or video technology; requirements; notice
Title 4. Civil Discovery Act · Chapter 9. Oral Deposition Inside California · Article 3. Conduct of Deposition · Enacted 2004 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 2025.340 sets detailed technical and procedural requirements for audio or video recorded depositions, covering the recording setup, operator qualifications, anti-kickback and privacy rules for the deposition officer, on-camera announcements at the start and end, and the notice-and-objection procedure for using the recording at trial.
Full Text of § 2025.340
(a) The area used for recording the deponent's oral testimony shall be suitably large, adequately lighted, and reasonably quiet.
(b) The operator of the recording equipment shall be competent to set up, operate, and monitor the equipment in the manner prescribed in this section. Except as provided in subdivision (c), the operator may be an employee of the attorney taking the deposition unless the operator is also the deposition officer.
(c) If a video recording of deposition testimony is to be used under subdivision (d) of Section 2025.620, the operator of the recording equipment shall be a person who is authorized to administer an oath, and shall not be financially interested in the action or be a relative or employee of any attorney of any of the parties, unless all parties attending the deposition agree on the record to waive these qualifications and restrictions.
(d) Services and products offered or provided by the deposition officer or the entity providing the services of the deposition officer to any party or to any party's attorney or third party who is financing all or part of the action shall be offered or provided to all parties or their attorneys attending the deposition. No service or product may be offered or provided by the deposition officer or by the entity providing the services of the deposition officer to any party or any party's attorney or third party who is financing all or part of the action unless the service or product is offered or provided to all parties or their attorneys attending the deposition. All services and products offered or provided shall be made available at the same time to all parties or their attorneys.
(e) The deposition officer or the entity providing the services of the deposition officer shall not provide to any party or any other person or entity any service or product consisting of the deposition officer's notations or comments regarding the demeanor of any witness, attorney, or party present at the deposition. The deposition officer or the entity providing the services of the deposition officer shall not collect any personal identifying information about the witness as a service or product to be provided to any party or third party who is financing all or part of the action.
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(f) Upon the request of any party or any party's attorney attending a deposition, any party or any party's attorney attending the deposition shall enter in the record of the deposition all services and products made available to that party or party's attorney or third party who is financing all or part of the action by the deposition officer or by the entity providing the services of the deposition officer. A party in the action who is not represented by an attorney shall be informed by the noticing party that the unrepresented party may request this statement.
(g) The operator shall not distort the appearance or the demeanor of participants in the deposition by the use of camera or sound recording techniques.
(h) The deposition shall begin with an oral or written statement on camera or on the audio recording that includes the operator's name and business address, the name and business address of the operator's employer, the date, time, and place of the deposition, the caption of the case, the name of the deponent, a specification of the party on whose behalf the deposition is being taken, and any stipulations by the parties.
(i) Counsel for the parties shall identify themselves on camera or on the audio recording.
(j) The oath shall be administered to the deponent on camera or on the audio recording.
(k) If the length of a deposition requires the use of more than one unit of tape or electronic storage, the end of each unit and the beginning of each succeeding unit shall be announced on camera or on the audio recording.
(l) At the conclusion of a deposition, a statement shall be made on camera or on the audio recording that the deposition is ended and shall set forth any stipulations made by counsel concerning the custody of the audio or video recording and the exhibits, or concerning other pertinent matters.
(m) A party intending to offer an audio or video recording of a deposition in evidence under Section 2025.620 shall notify the court and all parties in writing of that intent and of the parts of the deposition to be offered. That notice shall be given within sufficient time for objections to be made and ruled on by the judge to whom the case is assigned for trial or hearing, and for any editing of the recording. Objections to all or part of the deposition shall be made in writing. The court may permit further designations of testimony and objections as justice may require. With respect to those portions of an audio or video record of deposition testimony that are not designated by any party or that are ruled to be objectionable, the court may order that the party offering the recording of the deposition at the trial or hearing suppress those portions, or that an edited version of the deposition recording be prepared for use at the trial or hearing. The original audio or video record of the deposition shall be preserved unaltered. If no stenographic record of the deposition testimony has previously been made, the party offering an audio or video recording of that testimony under Section 2025.620 shall accompany that offer with a stenographic transcript prepared from that recording.
Plain-English Summary
Once a party decides to record a deposition on audio or video, this section supplies the rulebook for doing it properly. The room has to be suitably large, well lit, and reasonably quiet, and the person running the equipment has to be competent to set it up, operate it, and monitor it. That operator can normally be an employee of the attorney taking the deposition, unless the recording is meant to preserve a physician's or expert's testimony for trial use under Section 2025.620, in which case the operator has to be someone authorized to administer an oath with no financial stake in the case and no family or employment tie to any party's attorney, unless everyone waives those requirements on the record.
Several provisions echo the anti-kickback and privacy rules found in Section 2025.320: services and products the deposition officer offers have to go to every party at the same time, and the officer cannot sell demeanor commentary or collect personal identifying information about the witness. The operator also cannot distort how a participant looks or sounds through camera or sound tricks.
The rest of the section choreographs the recording itself: an opening statement identifying the operator, the case, the date, time, and place, and the deponent; counsel identifying themselves on camera; the oath administered on camera; announcements when a tape or storage unit changes over; and a closing statement noting any stipulations about custody of the recording. Finally, a party who wants to use the recording at trial under Section 2025.620 has to give written notice of that intent and which parts will be offered, in time for objections to be briefed and ruled on before trial, with the court able to order suppression of undesignated or objectionable portions or require an edited version, all while the original recording stays unaltered.
Frequently Asked Questions
What technical requirements apply to the recording setup?
A suitably large, well lit, reasonably quiet area with a competent operator.
Who can operate the recording equipment?
Generally an employee of the noticing attorney, but if the recording is meant for trial use of a physician's or expert's testimony, the operator must have no financial stake in the case and no family or employment tie to any party's attorney, absent a waiver.
What has to be said or shown on camera?
An opening statement with identifying details, counsel's identification, the oath, storage-unit changeovers, and a closing statement noting any stipulations.
How does a party use the recording at trial?
By giving written noticeof the intent and the parts to be offered, in time for objections and any editing before trial.
Amendment History
(Added by Stats.2004, c. 182 (A.B.3081), § 23, operative July 1, 2005.) WESTLAW © 2026 Thomson Reuters. No claim to original U.S. Government Works. 2 § 2025.340. Recordation by audio or video technology; requirements; notice of intent to offer..., CA CIV PRO § 2025.340
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: video deposition requirements californiausing video deposition at trial california