(a) The party to whom the demand for inspection, copying, testing, or sampling is directed shall sign the response under oath unless the response contains only objections.
§ 2031.250.Signatures; oath; officers or agents; responses with objections
Title 4. Civil Discovery Act · Chapter 14. Inspection, Copying, Testing, Sampling, and Production of Documents, Electronically Stored · Article 2. Response to Inspection Demand · Last amended 2009 · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 2031.250 requires the responding party to sign the response under oath unless it contains only objections, requires an officer or agent to sign on behalf of a corporation or other entity, and requires the responding attorney to sign any response containing an objection.
Full Text of § 2031.250
(b) If that party is a public or private corporation or a partnership or association or governmental agency, one of its officers or agents shall sign the response under oath on behalf of that party. If the officer or agent signing the response on behalf of that party is an attorney acting in that capacity for a party, that party waives any lawyer-client privilege and any protection for work product under Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 2018.010) during any subsequent discovery from that attorney concerning the identity of the sources of the information contained in the response.
(c) The attorney for the responding party shall sign any responses that contain an objection.
Plain-English Summary
A response to an inspection demand is a sworn representation, not just a courtesy letter, and this section spells out who has to sign it. The party to whom the demand is directed must sign the response under oath, unless the entire response consists only of objections, in which case the oath requirement drops away.
When the responding party is a corporation, partnership, association, or governmental agency, one of its officers or agents signs the response under oath on the entity's behalf. If that officer or agent happens to be an attorney acting in that capacity, the entity gives up any lawyer-client privilege and work-product protection during later discovery aimed at identifying the sources behind the information in the response. And whenever a response contains an objection, the attorney representing the responding party has to sign that portion, adding a professional signature to the legal positions the response takes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Must the response always be signed under oath?
Yes, unless the response consists only of objections.
Who signs on behalf of a corporation or similar entity?
One of its officers or agents, under oath.
What happens if the signing officer or agent is an attorney?
The entity waives lawyer-client privilege and work-product protection in later discovery about the sources of the information in the response.
Who signs a response that contains an objection?
The attorney for the responding party.
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), § 14, eff. June 29, 2009.)
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: signing response to request for production californiaverification requirement inspection demand response