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§ 2032.320.Standard of proof; exceptional circumstances;

Title 4. Civil Discovery Act · Chapter 15. Physical or Mental Examination · Article 3. Motion for Physical or Mental Examination · Enacted 2004 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 29, 2026

In one sentenceSection 2032.320 lets a court grant a motion for physical or mental examination only on a showing of good cause, requires exceptional circumstances to order a mental exam of a plaintiff who stipulates away extraordinary emotional-distress claims, and conditions a distant exam on good cause and advanced travel costs.

Full Text of § 2032.320

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

(a) The court shall grant a motion for a physical or mental examination under Section 2032.310 only for good cause shown.
(b) If a party stipulates as provided in subdivision (c), the court shall not order a mental examination of a person for whose personal injuries a recovery is being sought except on a showing of exceptional circumstances.
(c) A stipulation by a party under this subdivision shall include both of the following:
(1) A stipulation that no claim is being made for mental and emotional distress over and above that usually associated with the physical injuries claimed.
(2) A stipulation that no expert testimony regarding this usual mental and emotional distress will be presented at trial in support of the claim for damages.
(d) An order granting a physical or mental examination shall specify the person or persons who may perform the examination, as well as the time, place, manner, diagnostic tests and procedures, conditions, scope, and nature of the examination.
(e) If the place of the examination is more than 75 miles from the residence of the person to be examined, an order to submit to it shall be entered only if both of the following conditions are satisfied:
(1) The court determines that there is good cause for the travel involved.
(2) The order is conditioned on the advancement by the moving party of the reasonable expenses and costs to the examinee for travel to the place of examination.
WESTLAW © 2026 Thomson Reuters. No claim to original U.S. Government Works. 1 § 2032.320. Standard of proof; exceptional circumstances; stipulation of parties; form and content..., CA CIV PRO § 2032.320

Plain-English Summary

This section sets the standard a motion under the prior section has to clear, and it builds in extra protection for mental exams. As a baseline, the court grants a motion for a physical or mental examination only on a showing of good cause. But where a party stipulates that it is not claiming mental or emotional distress beyond what is usually associated with the physical injuries at issue, and that no expert testimony about that ordinary distress will be offered at trial, the court can order a mental examination of that person only on a showing of exceptional circumstances, a considerably higher bar than good cause alone.

Once the court does grant an exam, its order has to spell out who will perform it and the time, place, manner, diagnostic tests and procedures, conditions, scope, and nature of the exam, giving the examinee the same clarity a demand under Article 2 would provide. And if the exam location sits more than 75 miles from the examinee's residence, the order can only require attendance there if the court finds good cause for the travel and conditions the order on the moving party advancing the examinee's reasonable travel expenses and costs.

Frequently Asked Questions

What must a party show to get a court-ordered physical or mental examination?

Good cause, as the baseline standard under Section 2032.320.

Does stipulating away an emotional-distress claim block a mental examination entirely?

No, but it raises the bar. Once a party stipulates that it isn't claiming distress beyond what's usual for the physical injuries and won't offer expert testimony on it, the court can order a mental exam only on a showing of exceptional circumstances.

What must a court's order granting an examination specify?

The person or persons who may perform it, and the time, place, manner, diagnostic tests and procedures, conditions, scope, and nature of the exam.

What happens if the ordered exam location is far from the examinee's home?

If it's more than 75 miles away, the order requires good cause for the travel and must condition the exam on the moving party advancing the examinee's reasonable travel expenses.

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: good cause mental examination californiaexceptional circumstances stipulation emotional distress