(a) The examiner and examinee shall have the right to record a mental examination by audio technology.
§ 2032.530.Mental examination; recording by audio technology
Title 4. Civil Discovery Act · Chapter 15. Physical or Mental Examination · Article 5. Conduct of Examination · Last amended 2005 · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 2032.530 gives both the examiner and the examinee the right to audio-record a mental examination and clarifies that this does not change existing case law on whether an attorney or other person may be present during one.
Full Text of § 2032.530
(b) Nothing in this title shall be construed to alter, amend, or affect existing case law with respect to the presence of the attorney for the examinee or other persons during the examination by agreement or court order.
Plain-English Summary
Mental examinations get a recording right of their own, separate from the physical-examination observer rules. Both the examiner and the examinee have the right to record a mental examination by audio technology, giving each side its own account of exactly what was said.
The section is careful not to disturb a separate, more contested question. Nothing here alters, amends, or affects existing case law regarding whether an attorney for the examinee, or anyone else, may be present during the exam by agreement or court order. That question stays governed by whatever case law already addresses it, unaffected by this section's recording right.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a mental examination be audio recorded?
Yes. Section 2032.530 gives both the examiner and the examinee the right to record a mental examination by audio technology.
Does this section change the rules on who may attend a mental examination?
No. It expressly leaves existing case law on the presence of an attorney or other person during the exam untouched.
Does the observer-attendance rule for physical exams under Section 2032.510 apply the same way to mental exams?
Not automatically. This section preserves existing case law on attendance at mental exams rather than importing the physical-exam observer rules wholesale.
Amendment History
(Added by Stats.2004, c. 182 (A.B.3081), § 23, operative July 1, 2005. Amended by Stats.2005, c. 294 (A.B.333), § 11.)
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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