§ 2025.420.Motion for protective order; types of protective orders; requirements for seeking
Title 4. Civil Discovery Act · Chapter 9. Oral Deposition Inside California · Article 4. Objections, Sanctions, Protective Orders, Motions to Compel, and Suspension of Depositions · Last amended 2012 · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 2025.420 lets a party, deponent, or other affected person move for a protective order before, during, or after a deposition, empowers a court to issue any of sixteen listed orders for good cause, sets burden-shifting and proportionality rules for electronically stored information, and mandates sanctions against whichever side loses the motion.
(a)Before, during, or after a deposition, any party, any deponent, or any other affected natural person or organization may promptly move for a protective order. The motion shall be accompanied by a meet and confer declaration under Section 2016.040.
(b)The court, for good cause shown, may make any order that justice requires to protect any party, deponent, or other natural person or organization from unwarranted annoyance, embarrassment, or oppression, or undue burden and expense. This protective order may include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following directions:
(1)That the deposition not be taken at all.
(2)That the deposition be taken at a different time.
(3)That a video recording of the deposition testimony of a treating or consulting physician or of any expert witness, intended for possible use at trial under subdivision (d) of Section 2025.620, be postponed until the moving party has had an adequate opportunity to prepare, by discovery deposition of the deponent, or other means, for cross-examination.
(4)That the deposition be taken at a place other than that specified in the deposition notice, if it is within a distance permitted by Sections 2025.250 and 2025.260.
(5)That the deposition be taken only on certain specified terms and conditions.
(6)That the deponent's testimony be taken by written, instead of oral, examination.
(7)That the method of discovery be interrogatories to a party instead of an oral deposition.
(8)That the testimony be recorded in a manner different from that specified in the deposition notice.
(9)That certain matters not be inquired into.
(10)That the scope of the examination be limited to certain matters.
(11)That all or certain of the writings or tangible things designated in the deposition notice not be produced, inspected, copied, tested, or sampled, or that conditions be set for the production of electronically stored information designated in the deposition notice.
(12)That designated persons, other than the parties to the action and their officers and counsel, be excluded from attending the deposition.
(13)That a trade secret or other confidential research, development, or commercial information not be disclosed or be disclosed only to specified persons or only in a specified way.
(14)That the parties simultaneously file specified documents enclosed in sealed envelopes to be opened as directed by the court.
(15)That the deposition be sealed and thereafter opened only on order of the court.
(16)That examination of the deponent be terminated. If an order terminates the examination, the deposition shall not thereafter be resumed, except on order of the court.
(c)The party, deponent, or any other affected natural person or organization that seeks a protective order regarding the production, inspection, copying, testing, or sampling of electronically stored information on the basis that the information is from a source that is not reasonably accessible because of undue burden or expense shall bear the burden of demonstrating that the information is from a source that is not reasonably accessible because of undue burden or expense.
(d)If the party or affected person from whom discovery of electronically stored information is sought establishes that the information is from a source that is not reasonably accessible because of undue burden or expense, the court may nonetheless order discovery if the demanding party shows good cause, subject to any limitations imposed under subdivision (f).
(e)If the court finds good cause for the production of electronically stored information from a source that is not reasonably accessible, the court may set conditions for the discovery of the electronically stored information, including allocation of the expense of discovery.
(f)The court shall limit the frequency or extent of discovery of electronically stored information, even from a source that is reasonably accessible, if the court determines that any of the following conditions exist:
(1)It is possible to obtain the information from some other source that is more convenient, less burdensome, or less expensive.
(2)The discovery sought is unreasonably cumulative or duplicative.
(3)The party seeking discovery has had ample opportunity by discovery in the action to obtain the information sought.
(4)The likely burden or expense of the proposed discovery outweighs the likely benefit, taking into account the amount in controversy, the resources of the parties, the importance of the issues in the litigation, and the importance of the requested discovery in resolving the issues.
(g)If the motion for a protective order is denied in whole or in part, the court may order that the deponent provide or permit the discovery against which protection was sought on those terms and conditions that are just.
(h)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 for a protective order, 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.
(i)(1) Notwithstanding subdivision (h), absent exceptional circumstances, the court shall not impose sanctions on any party, deponent, or other affected natural person or organization or any of their attorneys for failure to provide electronically stored information that has been lost, damaged, altered, or overwritten as the result of the routine, good faith operation of an electronic information system.
(2) This subdivision shall not be construed to alter any obligation to preserve discoverable information.
Plain-English Summary
Depositions can turn abusive or impractical, and this section gives anyone affected, not only the parties, a tool to rein them in. A party, a deponent, or any other affected natural person or organization may move for a protective order at any point relative to the deposition, before it, during it, or after it, backed by a meet and confer declaration.
Given good cause, the court can order almost anything justice requires to shield someone from unwarranted annoyance, embarrassment, or oppression, or undue burden and expense, and the section lists sixteen examples: canceling the deposition outright, rescheduling it, moving its location, limiting its topics or scope, switching to written questions or interrogatories instead of an oral exam, changing the recording method, excluding non-party observers, protecting trade secrets, sealing the transcript, or cutting the examination short. That list is illustrative rather than exhaustive.
Electronically stored information gets its own layered framework within the same section: the person resisting production bears the burden of showing the information comes from a source that is not reasonably accessible because of undue burden or expense; if that showing succeeds, the court can still order discovery on a showing of good cause, subject to conditions like cost allocation; and even accessible information can be curtailed if it is obtainable more easily elsewhere, cumulative, already adequately explored, or disproportionate to the case's stakes. If the motion is denied, the court can still set terms for the discovery it allows, and either way, the losing side on the motion faces a mandatory monetary sanction absent substantial justification, with the same good-faith electronic-data safe harbor that recurs throughout this chapter.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who can move for a protective order under this section?
A party, a deponent, or any other affected natural person or organization.
What must accompany the motion?
A meet and confer declaration under Section 2016.040.
What kinds of protective orders can a court issue?
The section lists sixteen examples, from canceling or rescheduling the deposition to limiting its scope, changing its recording method, or sealing the transcript, and the list is not exclusive.
Who bears the burden on electronically stored information that isn't reasonably accessible?
The person resisting production, though the court can still order discovery on a showing of good cause.
Is a sanction automatic if the motion fails or is unsuccessfully opposed?
Yes, unless the losing side acted with substantial justification or a sanction would be unjust.
Amendment History
(Added by Stats.2004, c. 182 (A.B.3081), § 23, operative July 1, 2005. Amended by Stats.2012, c. 72 (S.B.1574), § 23.)
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 for protective order deposition californiastop a deposition california civil procedure