(a) Any party may obtain discovery within the scope delimited by Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 2017.010), and subject to the restrictions set forth in Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 2019.010), by inspecting, copying, testing, or sampling documents, tangible things, land or other property, and electronically stored information in the possession, custody, or control of any other party to the action.
§ 2031.010.Persons subject to demand; scope of demand; inspecting, copying, testing, or
Title 4. Civil Discovery Act · Chapter 14. Inspection, Copying, Testing, Sampling, and Production of Documents, Electronically Stored · Article 1. Inspection Demand · Last amended 2031 · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 2031.010 gives any party the right to demand inspection, copying, testing, or sampling of documents, tangible things, electronically stored information, or land in another party's possession, custody, or control, within the scope and restrictions the rest of the Civil Discovery Act sets.
Full Text of § 2031.010
(b) A party may demand that any other party produce and permit the party making the demand, or someone acting on the demanding party's behalf, to inspect and to copy a document that is in the possession, custody, or control of the party on whom the demand is made.
(c) A party may demand that any other party produce and permit the party making the demand, or someone acting on the demanding party's behalf, to inspect and to photograph, test, or sample any tangible things that are in the possession, custody, or control of the party on whom the demand is made.
(d) A party may demand that any other party allow the party making the demand, or someone acting on the demanding party's behalf, to enter on any land or other property that is in the possession, custody, or control of the party on whom the demand is made, and to inspect and to measure, survey, photograph, test, or sample the land or other property, or any designated object or operation on it.
(e) A party may demand that any other party produce and permit the party making the demand, or someone acting on the demanding party's behalf, to inspect, copy, test, or sample electronically stored information in the possession, custody, or control of the party on whom demand is made.
Plain-English Summary
This section opens the inspection-demand chapter by naming everything a party may reach through it. A party can demand to inspect and copy documents, to inspect and photograph, test, or sample tangible things, to enter onto land or other property to inspect, measure, survey, photograph, test, or sample it, and to inspect, copy, test, or sample electronically stored information, all so long as the material sits in the possession, custody, or control of the party on whom the demand is served.
None of that reach is unlimited. Every demand still has to fall within the scope of discovery set by the chapter that opens the Civil Discovery Act, and it still has to respect whatever restrictions the methods-and-sequence chapter imposes on how discovery tools may be used. Read this section as the doorway into the chapter: it tells a party what kinds of things can be demanded and against whom, while the rest of the chapter tells the party how to demand them and how the other side must respond.
Frequently Asked Questions
What can be demanded under this section?
Documents, tangible things, land or other property, and electronically stored information that are in the possession, custody, or control of another party.
Can a party demand entry onto land?
Yes, to inspect, measure, survey, photograph, test, or sample the land or other property, or any designated object or operation on it.
Does this section limit the scope of what can be demanded?
Yes, every demand still has to fall within the scope of discovery and the restrictions set elsewhere in the Civil Discovery Act.
Can a demand reach material held by a nonparty?
No, this section only reaches material in the possession, custody, or control of another party; nonparty material is pursued through the separate nonparty-discovery chapter.
Amendment History
(Added by Stats.2004, c. 182 (A.B.3081), § 23, operative July 1, 2005. Amended by Stats.2009, c. 5 (A.B.5), § 4, eff. June 29, 2009; Stats.2016, c. 86 (S.B.1171), § 42, eff. Jan. 1, 2017.) WESTLAW © 2026 Thomson Reuters. No claim to original U.S. Government Works. 1 § 2031.010. Persons subject to demand; scope of demand; inspecting, copying, testing, or..., CA CIV PRO § 2031.010
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: request for production of documents californiainspection demand scope california civil procedure