If a party to whom a demand for inspection, copying, testing, or sampling is directed fails to serve a timely response to it, the following rules shall apply:
§ 2031.300.Failure to serve timely response; waiver of objections; motion for relief
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 2031.300 provides that a party who fails to serve a timely response to an inspection demand waives all objections, subject to relief for a substantially compliant later response caused by mistake or excusable neglect, and exposes the party to a motion to compel with mandatory sanctions.
Full Text of § 2031.300
(a) The party to whom the demand for inspection, copying, testing, or sampling is directed waives any objection to the demand, including one based on privilege or on the protection for work product under Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 2018.010). The court, on motion, may relieve that party from this waiver on its determination that both of the following conditions are satisfied:
(1) The party has subsequently served a response that is in substantial compliance with Sections 2031.210, 2031.220, 2031.230, 2031.240, and 2031.280.
(2) The party's failure to serve a timely response was the result of mistake, inadvertence, or excusable neglect.
(b) The party making the demand may move for an order compelling response to the demand.
(c) Except as provided in subdivision (d), 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 to compel a response to a demand for inspection, copying, testing, or sampling, 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. If a party then fails to obey the order compelling a response, the court may make those orders that are just, including the imposition of an issue sanction, an evidence sanction, or a terminating sanction under Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 2023.010). In lieu of or in addition to this sanction, the court may impose a monetary sanction under Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 2023.010).
(d) (1) Notwithstanding subdivision (c), absent exceptional circumstances, the court shall not impose sanctions on a party or any attorney of a party for failure to provide electronically stored information that has been lost, damaged, altered, or overwritten as a result of the routine, good faith operation of an electronic information system.
WESTLAW © 2026 Thomson Reuters. No claim to original U.S. Government Works. 1 § 2031.300. Failure to serve timely response; waiver of objections; motion for relief from waiver;..., CA CIV PRO § 2031.300 (2) This subdivision shall not be construed to alter any obligation to preserve discoverable information.
Plain-English Summary
Missing the response deadline in this chapter carries real teeth, and this section spells out exactly what a late response costs. A party who fails to serve a timely response waives any objection to the demand, including an objection grounded in privilege or work-product protection, ordinarily among the strongest defenses discovery offers.
That waiver is not necessarily permanent. The court may relieve the party of it if two conditions are both met: the party has since served a response that substantially complies with the sections governing statements of compliance, inability-to-comply representations, and objections, and the failure to respond on time resulted from mistake, inadvertence, or excusable neglect rather than strategy or neglectful delay.
Beyond the waiver, the demanding party gains an enforcement tool: it may move for an order compelling a response. Losing that motion, whether by making it unsuccessfully or opposing it unsuccessfully, triggers a mandatory monetary sanction absent substantial justification or some other circumstance making a sanction unjust, and if the party still disobeys an order compelling response, the court may reach for an issue sanction, an evidence sanction, or a terminating sanction, in addition to or instead of a further monetary sanction. As with the rest of this chapter, a narrow safe harbor protects against sanctions for electronically stored information lost through the routine, good-faith operation of an electronic system, without excusing any separate preservation duty.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if a party misses the response deadline entirely?
That party waives any objection to the demand, including privilege and work-product objections.
Can that waiver be undone?
Yes, if the party later serves a substantially compliant response and shows the late response resulted from mistake, inadvertence, or excusable neglect.
What can the demanding party do about a missing response?
Move for an order compelling a response, which carries a mandatory sanction against the losing side absent substantial justification.
What happens if the party still doesn't comply after being ordered to respond?
The court may impose an issue, evidence, or terminating sanction, in addition to or instead of a further monetary sanction.
Amendment History
(Added by Stats.2004, c. 182 (A.B.3081), § 23, operative July 1, 2005. Amended by Stats.2005, c. 22 (S.B.1108), § 23; Stats.2009, c. 5 (A.B.5), § 20, 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: waiver of objections late response california discoverymotion to compel response to inspection demand