(a) The party taking the deposition of an expert witness shall either accompany the service of the deposition notice with a tender of the expert's fee based on the anticipated length of the deposition, or tender that fee at the commencement of the deposition.
§ 2034.450.Tender of fees; deposition conducted beyond
Title 4. Civil Discovery Act · Chapter 18. Simultaneous Exchange of Expert Witness Information · Article 3. Deposition of Expert Witness · Enacted 2004 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 2034.450 requires the party taking an expert's deposition to tender the expert's fee, based on the deposition's anticipated length, either with the deposition notice or at its start, deliver that fee to the attorney for the designating party, and pay any balance within five days if the deposition runs longer than expected.
Full Text of § 2034.450
(b) The expert's fee shall be delivered to the attorney for the party designating the expert.
(c) If the deposition of the expert takes longer than anticipated, the party giving notice of the deposition shall pay the balance of the expert's fee within five days of receipt of an itemized statement from the expert.
Plain-English Summary
This section sets the mechanics for getting the expert paid before, and if necessary after, the deposition. The party taking the deposition has to tender the fee up front, calculated from how long the deposition is expected to run, either sending it along with the deposition notice or bringing it to hand over when the deposition begins. Waiting until after the deposition to pay is not an option under this section.
The fee does not go to the expert directly; it is delivered to the attorney representing the party who designated the expert, keeping the payment within the normal channel of communication between counsel. If the deposition ends up running longer than the deposing party anticipated when it calculated the tender, that party still owes the difference: it must pay the balance of the expert's fee within five days of receiving an itemized statement showing the additional time.
Frequently Asked Questions
When must the deposing party tender the expert's fee?
Either with service of the deposition notice or at the commencement of the deposition, based on the deposition's anticipated length.
Who receives the expert's fee?
The attorney for the party who designated the expert, not the expert directly.
What happens if the deposition takes longer than expected?
The deposing party must pay the balance of the expert's fee within five days of receiving an itemized statement from the expert.
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
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