Title 4. Civil Discovery Act · Chapter 16. Requests for Admission · Article 2. Response to Requests for Admission · Last amended 2020 · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 2033.210 requires a party responding to requests for admission to answer under oath, addressing the substance of each request or stating an objection, separately and in matching numbered sequence, and sets a process for exchanging both the requests and the responses in electronic format on request, with the responding party including the request text when that format is used.
(a)The party to whom requests for admission have been directed shall respond in writing under oath separately to each request.
(b)Each response shall answer the substance of the requested admission, or set forth an objection to the particular request.
(c)In the first paragraph of the response immediately below the title of the case, there shall appear the identity of the responding party, the set number, and the identity of the requesting party.
(d)Each answer or objection in the response shall bear the same identifying number or letter and be in the same sequence as the corresponding request. The text of that request need not be repeated, except as provided in paragraph (6) of subdivision (e).
(1)Except as provided in paragraph (5), upon request by the responding party, the propounding party shall provide the requests for admission in an electronic format to the responding party within three court days of the request.
(2)Except as provided in paragraph (5), upon request by the propounding party after receipt of the responses to the requests for admission, the responding party shall provide the responses in an electronic format to the propounding party within three court days of the request.
(3)A party may provide the requests for admission or responses to the requests for admission requested pursuant to paragraphs
(1)and (2) in any format agreed upon by the parties. If the parties are unable to agree on a format, the requests for admission or responses to the requests for admission shall be provided in plain text format.
(4)A party may transmit the requests for admission or responses to the requests for admission requested pursuant to paragraphs
(1)and (2) by any method agreed upon by the parties. If the parties are unable to agree on a method of transmission, the requests for admission or responses to the requests for admission shall be transmitted by electronic mail to an email address provided by the requesting party.
(5)If the requests for admission or responses to the requests for admission were not created in an electronic format, a party is not required to create the requests for admission or responses in an electronic format for the purpose of transmission to the requesting party.
(6)A responding party who has requested and received requests for admission in an electronic format pursuant to paragraph
(1)shall include the text of the request immediately preceding the response.
Plain-English Summary
This section supplies the basic architecture every response to a request for admission has to follow. Each request gets its own separate response, given in writing and under oath, and that response has to either answer the substance of the requested admission or state an objection to that particular request. The response's caption has to identify the responding and requesting parties and the set number, and each answer or objection must carry the same number or letter as its corresponding request, in the same order, though the request's own text does not have to be repeated unless the electronic-exchange rule applies.
This section modernizes the exchange process for parties who want it. On request, the requesting party must supply the admissions requests themselves in electronic format within three court days, and the responding party must reciprocate with the responses in electronic format within three court days of a request made after the responses are served. The parties can agree on whatever file format and transmission method they like; absent agreement, the fallback is plain text sent by email to an address the requesting party supplies. A party need not create an electronic version of something that never existed in that format. And a responding party who receives the requests electronically has to include the actual request text immediately before its answer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Must a response to a request for admission be made under oath?
Yes. Section 2033.210 requires that the responding party respond in writing under oath separately to each request.
What two things can a response to a single request for admission consist of?
An answer addressing the substance of the requested admission, or an objection to that particular request.
Can a party request the admissions or responses in electronic format?
Yes. On request, the requesting party must provide the requests electronically within three court days, and the responding party must provide its responses electronically within three court days of a post-response request.
What format applies if the parties cannot agree on one for electronic exchange?
Plain text format, transmitted by email to an address the requesting party provides, if the parties cannot agree on a method.
Does a party have to create an electronic version of requests or responses that were never in that format?
No. A party is not required to create an electronic format for something not originally created that way.
Amendment History
(Added by Stats.2004, c. 182 (A.B.3081), § 23, operative July 1, 2005. Amended by Stats.2019, c. 190 (A.B.1349), § 2, eff. Jan. 1, 2020.)
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:ccp 2033.210 form of response to requests for admissionelectronic format requests for admission exchangeanswer or objection request for admission format