Group V: Disclosures and Discovery · Last amended 2017 · Last verified July 14, 2026
(1) In General. At a hearing or trial, all or part of a deposition may be used against a party on these conditions:
(A) the party was present or represented at the taking of the deposition or had reasonable notice of it;
(B) it is used to the extent it would be admissible under the law of evidence if the deponent were present and testifying; and
(C) the use is allowed by Rule 32(a)(2) through (9).
(2) Impeachment and Other Uses. Any party may use a deposition to contradict or impeach the testimony given by the deponent as a witness, or for any other purpose allowed by the law of evidence.
(3) Deposition of Party, Agent, or Designee. An adverse party may use for any purpose the deposition of a party or anyone who, when deposed, was the party’s officer, director, managing agent, or designee under Rule 30(b)(6) or 31(a)(4).
(4) Unavailable Witness. A party may use for any purpose the deposition of a witness, whether or not a party, if the court finds:
(A) that the witness is dead;
(B) that the witness is more than 25 miles from the place of hearing or trial or is outside the United States, unless it appears that the witness’s absence was procured by the party offering the deposition;
(C) that the witness cannot attend or testify because of age, illness, infirmity, or imprisonment;
(D) that the party offering the deposition could not procure the witness’s attendance by subpoena; or
(E) on motion and notice, that exceptional circumstances make it desirable—in the interest of justice and with due regard to the importance of live testimony in open court—to permit the deposition to be used.
(5) Limitations on Use.
(A) Deposition Taken on Short Notice. A deposition must not be used against a party who, having received less than 14 days’ notice of the deposition, promptly moved for a protective order under Rule 26(c)(1)(B) requesting that it not be taken or be taken at a different time or place—and this motion was still pending when the deposition was taken.
(B) Unavailable Deponent; Party Could Not Obtain an Attorney. A deposition taken without leave of court under the unavailability provision of Rule 30(a)(2)(C)(ii) must not be used against a party who shows that, when served with the notice, it could not, despite diligent efforts, obtain an attorney to represent it at the deposition.
(6) Using Part of a Deposition. If a party offers in evidence only part of a deposition, an adverse party may require the offeror to introduce other parts that in fairness should be considered with the part introduced, and any party may itself introduce any other parts.
(7) Substituting a Party. Substituting a party under Rule 25 does not affect the right to use a deposition previously taken.
(8) Deposition Taken in an Earlier Action. A deposition lawfully taken and, if required, filed in this court or any federal- or state-court action may be used in a later action involving the same subject matter between the same parties, or their representatives or successors in interest, to the same extent as if taken in the later action. A deposition previously taken may also be used as allowed by the law of evidence.
(9) Videotape Deposition of Physicians or Experts. A videotape deposition of a treating or consulting physician or of any expert witness may be used for any purpose, unless otherwise ordered by the court for good cause, even though the witness is available to testify, if the notice of that deposition specified that it was to be taken for use at trial.
(b) OBJECTIONS TO ADMISSIBILITY. Subject to Rules 28(b) and 32(d)(3), an objection may be made at a hearing or trial to the admission of any deposition testimony that would be inadmissible if the witness were present and testifying.
(c) EFFECT OF TAKING OR USING DEPOSITIONS. A party does not make a person the party's own witness for any purpose by taking the person's deposition. The introduction in evidence of the deposition or any part of it for any purpose other than that of contradicting or impeaching the deponent makes the deponent the witness of the party introducing the deposition, but this does not apply to the use by an adverse party of a deposition under Rule 32(a)(3). At the hearing or trial, any party may rebut any relevant evidence contained in a deposition whether introduced by that party or by any other party.
(d) WAIVER OF OBJECTIONS.
(1) To the Notice. An objection to an error or irregularity in a deposition notice is waived unless promptly served in writing on the party giving the notice.
(2) To the Officer’s Qualification. An objection based on disqualification of the officer before whom a deposition is to be taken is waived if not made:
(A) before the deposition begins; or
(B) promptly after the basis for disqualification becomes known or, with reasonable diligence, could have been known.
(3) To the Taking of the Deposition.
(A) Objection to Competence, Relevance, or Materiality. An objection to a deponent’s competence—or to the competence, relevance, or materiality of testimony— is not waived by failure to make the objection before or during the deposition, unless the ground for it might have been corrected at that time.
(B) Objection to an Error or Irregularity. An objection to an error or irregularity at an oral examination is waived if:
(i) it relates to the manner of taking the deposition, the form of a question or answer, the oath or affirmation, a party’s conduct, or other matters that might have been corrected at that time; and
(ii) it is not timely made during the deposition.
(C) Objection to a Written Question. An objection to the form of a written question under Rule 31 is waived if not served in writing on the party submitting the question within the time for serving responsive questions or, if the question is a recross-question, within 7 days after being served with it.
(4) To completing and Returning the Deposition. An objection to how the officer transcribed the testimony—or prepared, signed, certified, sealed, endorsed, sent, or otherwise dealt with the deposition—is waived unless a motion to suppress is made promptly after the error or irregularity becomes known or, with reasonable diligence, could have been known.
(e) FORM OF PRESENTATION. Unless the court orders otherwise, a party must provide a transcript of any deposition testimony the party offers, but may provide the court with the testimony in nontranscript form as well. On any party’s request, deposition testimony offered in a jury trial for any purpose other than impeachment must be presented in nontranscript form, if available, unless the court for good cause orders otherwise.
Rule 32(a) allows a deposition to be used against a party at a hearing or trial when that party was present, represented, or had reasonable notice of it, the testimony would be admissible under the law of evidence if the deponent testified live, and the use fits one of the categories the rule spells out. Impeaching or contradicting a witness with prior deposition testimony is always fair game. And an adverse party may use the deposition of a party — or of anyone who was that party's officer, director, managing agent, or Rule 30(b)(6) or 31(a)(4) designee when deposed — for any purpose at all, not just impeachment.
A deposition can also be used for any purpose, regardless of who gave it, when the court finds the witness is unavailable: dead; more than 25 miles from the hearing or trial location or outside the United States, unless the offering party procured that absence; unable to attend or testify because of age, illness, infirmity, or imprisonment; or someone the offering party could not compel to attend by subpoena. The court can also permit use on a motion showing exceptional circumstances that make it desirable in the interest of justice, weighed against the importance of live testimony. Two limitations cut the other way: a deposition taken on less than 14 days' notice cannot be used against a party who promptly moved for a protective order that was still pending when the deposition happened, and a deposition taken without leave under the early-deposition exception cannot be used against a party who, despite diligent efforts, could not get an attorney to attend.
Several mechanical rules round out how depositions get used. If a party offers only part of a deposition, the adverse party can require the offeror to introduce other parts that fairness calls for considering together, and any party may introduce further parts on its own. Substituting a party under Rule 25 does not affect the right to use a deposition taken before the substitution. A deposition lawfully taken in an earlier case — in this court or any federal or state court — involving the same subject matter and the same parties or their successors can be used in a later action to the same extent as if it had been taken there. And a videotaped deposition of a treating or consulting physician or any expert witness can be used for any purpose, even if the witness is available to testify live, so long as the notice specified it was being taken for use at trial.
Rule 32(d) sets out when objections to a deposition are waived rather than preserved. Objections about the notice itself or about the officer's qualifications must be raised promptly — before the deposition begins for qualification issues, or as soon as the basis becomes known. Objections to the manner of taking the deposition, the form of a question or answer, or similar defects that could have been fixed on the spot are waived if not made during the deposition, though objections to a witness's competence or to the relevance or materiality of testimony survive without a contemporaneous objection unless the problem could have been corrected right then. Written-question objections under Rule 31 must be served within the time allowed for the next round of questions. Finally, Rule 32(e) generally requires a party to provide a transcript of any deposition testimony it offers, but in a jury trial, any deposition testimony offered for a purpose other than impeachment must, on request, be presented to the jury in nontranscript form if available, unless the court orders otherwise for good cause.