(a) The certified transcript of a deposition shall not be filed with the court. Instead, the deposition officer shall securely seal that transcript in an envelope or package endorsed with the title of the action and marked: “Deposition of (here insert name of deponent),” and shall promptly transmit it to the attorney for the party who noticed the deposition. This attorney shall store it under conditions that will protect it against loss, destruction, or tampering.
§ 2025.550.Original certified transcript; transmission to attorney
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 2025.550 keeps a certified deposition transcript out of the court file, requiring the deposition officer to seal it and send it to the noticing attorney, who must safeguard it and, absent a court order for longer preservation, may destroy it six months after the case finally ends.
Full Text of § 2025.550
(b) The attorney to whom the transcript of a deposition is transmitted shall retain custody of it until six months after final disposition of the action. At that time, the transcript may be destroyed, unless the court, on motion of any party and for good cause shown, orders that the transcript be preserved for a longer period.
Plain-English Summary
A certified deposition transcript does not go into the court's own file the way a pleading or motion would; instead, this section routes it to safekeeping with an attorney. The deposition officer seals the transcript in an envelope or package labeled with the case title and the deponent's name, and sends it to the attorney for the party who noticed the deposition.
That attorney becomes the transcript's custodian, obligated to store it in a way that guards against loss, destruction, or tampering. The custody obligation is not permanent: once six months have passed since the action's final disposition, the attorney may destroy the transcript, unless a court, on a party's motion and for good cause, orders it kept longer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the certified transcript get filed with the court?
No, it is sealed and sent to the noticing attorney instead.
Who is responsible for storing the sealed transcript?
The attorney for the party who noticed the deposition, who must protect it against loss, destruction, or tampering.
How long must the transcript be kept?
Until six months after the action's final disposition, unless a court orders longer preservation for good cause.
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
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