(a) The deposition officer shall certify on the transcript of the deposition, or in a writing accompanying an audio or video record of deposition testimony, as described in Section 2025.530, that the deponent was duly sworn and that the transcript or recording is a true record of the testimony given.
§ 2025.540.Certification of deposition record; rough draft transcripts
Title 4. Civil Discovery Act · Chapter 9. Oral Deposition Inside California · Article 5. Transcript or Recording · Enacted 2004 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 2025.540 requires the deposition officer to certify that the deponent was sworn and the transcript or recording is a true record, and bars a rough draft transcript from being certified, cited as the official transcript, or used to contradict the certified version.
Full Text of § 2025.540
(b) When prepared as a rough draft transcript, the transcript of the deposition may not be certified and may not be used, cited, or transcribed as the certified transcript of the deposition proceedings. The rough draft transcript may not be cited or used in any way or at any time to rebut or contradict the certified transcript of deposition proceedings as provided by the deposition officer.
Plain-English Summary
Every deposition ends with a certification step that turns the officer's raw work product into something a court can rely on. The deposition officer has to certify, either on the transcript itself or in the writing that accompanies an audio or video record, that the deponent was properly sworn and that the record accurately reflects the testimony given.
Rough draft transcripts, the quick, uncorrected versions some reporters can produce right after a deposition, sit outside that certified world entirely. A rough draft cannot be certified, cannot be cited or treated as the official transcript, and cannot be used at any point to contradict or undercut what the certified transcript says, keeping a same-day convenience from being mistaken for, or used as a weapon against, the record the officer has verified.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the deposition officer have to certify?
That the deponent was duly sworn and that the transcript or recording is a true record of the testimony.
Can a rough draft transcript be used as the official record?
No, it cannot be certified or cited as the certified transcript.
Can a rough draft be used to challenge the certified transcript later?
No, the section specifically bars using it to rebut or contradict the certified version.
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: rough draft transcript deposition californiacertified deposition transcript requirement