Rule 33.Interrogatories to parties

Ch. V: Depositions and Discovery · Last amended 1996 · Current through June 1, 2026 · Last verified September 9, 2026

In one sentenceRule 33 governs interrogatories: restate each one, answer separately and fully under oath within 30 days, and state every ground of objection with specificity or waive it.

Full Text of Rule 33

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

(a) Availability; procedures for use. When discovery is permitted by the Court, any party may serve upon any other party written interrogatories to be answered by the party served or, if the party served is a public or private corporation or a partnership or association or governmental agency, by any officer or agent, who shall furnish such information as is available to the party.

(b) Answers and Objections.

(1) Each interrogatory shall be restated as numbered and shall be answered separately and fully in writing under oath, unless it is objected to, in which even [event] the objecting party shall state the reasons for objection and shall answer to the extent the interrogatory is not objectionable.

(2) The answers are to be signed by the person making them, and the objections signed by the attorney making them.

(3) The party upon whom the interrogatories have been served shall serve a copy of the answers, and objections if any, within 30 days after the service of the interrogatories, except that a respondent may serve answers or objections within 45 days after service of the summons and complaint upon that respondent. The Court may allow a shorter or longer time. The party submitting the interrogatories may move for an order under Rule 37(a) with respect to any objection to or other failure to answer an interrogatory.

(4) All grounds for an objection to an interrogatory shall be stated with specificity. Any ground not stated in a timely objection is waived unless the party's failure to object is excused by the Court for good cause shown.

(5) The party submitting the interrogatories may move for an order under Rule 37(a) with respect to any objection to or other failure to answer an interrogatory.

(c) Scope; Use at Trial. Interrogatories may relate to any matters which can be inquired into under Rule 26(g), and the answers may be used to the extent permitted by the rules of evidence. An interrogatory otherwise proper is not necessarily objectionable merely because an answer to the interrogatory involves an opinion or contention that relates to the fact or the application of law to fact, but the Court may order that such an interrogatory need not be answered until after designated discovery has been completed or until a pretrial conference or other later time.

(d) Option to Produce Business Records. Where the answer to an interrogatory may be derived or ascertained from the business records of the party upon whom the interrogatory has been served or from an examination, audit or inspection of such business records, or from a compilation, abstract or summary thereof, and the burden of deriving or ascertaining the answer is substantially the same for the party serving the interrogatory as for the party served, it is a sufficient answer to such interrogatory to specify the records from which the answer may be derived or ascertained and to afford to the party serving the interrogatory reasonable opportunity to examine, audit or inspect such records and to make copies, compilations, abstracts or summaries. A specification shall be in sufficient detail to permit the interrogating party to locate and to identify, as readily as can the party served, the records from which the answer may be ascertained.

End

Amendment History

Delaware prints each rule’s amendment history as a single “Credits” line naming every order that adopted or amended it. It is reproduced verbatim below.

[Amended effective September 3, 1996.]

Plain-English Summary

Serving them. Where discovery is permitted, any party may serve written interrogatories on any other party, to be answered by the party served.

Answering. Each interrogatory is restated as numbered and answered separately and fully in writing under oath, unless objected to — in which case the reasons for the objection are stated instead. The answers are signed by the person making them; the objections are signed by the attorney making them. That split signature is deliberate: the facts are the party's, the objections are the lawyer's.

The clock. Answers and any objections are served within 30 days after service of the interrogatories.

Objecting. All grounds must be stated with specificity, and any ground not stated in a timely objection is waived unless the party's failure is excused by the court for good cause. A blanket objection preserves nothing.

If they do not answer. The party who submitted the interrogatories may move for an order under Rule 37(a) as to any objection or other failure to answer.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do I have to answer interrogatories in Delaware?

30 days after service of the interrogatories.

Who signs the answers?

The person making the answers signs them; the attorney making any objections signs the objections.

What happens if I object without giving reasons?

All grounds must be stated with specificity, and any ground not stated in a timely objection is waived unless the failure is excused by the court for good cause.

What if the other side simply does not answer?

The party who submitted the interrogatories may move for an order under Rule 37(a).

Source & verification. The rule text and amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the Delaware Family Court Rules of Civil Procedure (Fam. Ct. Civ. R. 33), and every rule has been checked word for word against the Delaware Family Court’s own published edition of these rules. Current through June 1, 2026. The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified September 9, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: interrogatories Delaware Family Court30 days to answer interrogatoriesFam. Ct. Civ. R. 33