(a) Scope. Any party may serve on any other party a request (1) to produce and permit the party making the request, or someone acting on the requestor’s behalf, to inspect and copy, any designated documents (including writings, drawings, graphs, charts, photographs, phono-records, and other data compilations from which information can be obtained, translated, if necessary, by the respondent through detection devices into reasonably usable form), or to inspect and copy, test, or sample any tangible things which constitute or contain matters within the scope of Rule 26(b) and which are in the possession, custody or control of the party upon whom the request is served; or (2) to permit entry upon designated land or other property in the possession or control of the party upon whom the request is served for the purposes of inspection and measuring, surveying, photographing, testing, or sampling the property or any designated object or operation thereon, within the scope of Rule 26(b).
Rule 34.Production of documents and things and entry upon land for inspection and other purposes
Part V: Depositions and Discovery · Last amended August 1, 2019 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceRule 34 lets a party request another party's documents, electronically stored information, or tangible things for inspection and copying, or entry onto land for inspection and testing, and requires a written response within 30 days, or 45 for a newly served defendant, that either permits the inspection or states specific objections.
Full Text of Rule 34
(b) Procedure. The request may, without leave of court, be served upon the plaintiff after commencement of the action and upon any other party with or after service of the summons and complaint upon that party. The request shall set forth the items to be inspected either by individual item or by category, and describe each item and category with reasonable particularity. The request shall specify a reasonable time, place, and manner of making the inspection and performing the related acts. The party upon whom the request is served shall serve a written response within 30 days after the service of the request, except that a defendant may serve a response within 45 days after service of the summons and complaint upon that defendant. The Court may allow a shorter or longer time. The response shall state, with respect to each item or category, that inspection and related activities will be permitted as requested, unless the request is objected to, in which event the reasons for objection shall be stated with specificity. An objection must state whether the responding party is withholding or intends to withhold any responsive materials on the basis of that objection, and the responding party is under a duty to supplement its response to the extent it subsequently determines that it will withhold any responsive material on the basis of an objection. If objection is made to part of an item or category, the part shall be specified and inspection permitted of the remaining parts. The party submitting the request may move for an order under Rule 37(a) with respect to any objection to or other failure to respond to the request or any part thereof, or any failure to permit inspection as requested. A party who produces documents for inspection shall produce them as they are kept in the usual course of business or shall organize and label them to correspond with the categories in the request. Unless the document request expressly requires that the documents must be produced for inspection, the responding party may state that it will produce copies of documents or of electronically stored information instead of permitting inspection, in which case the production must then be completed no later than the time for inspection specified in the request, another reasonable time specified in the response, or as otherwise agreed between the requesting and responding parties.
(d) Request for production of documents or electronically stored information. Unless otherwise stipulated or ordered by the court, these procedures apply to producing documents or electronically stored information: A party may state in its request the form for producing documents or electronically stored information. If a party so states, the responding party must produce electronically stored information in the form requested. If a request does not specify a form for producing documents or electronically stored information, or if the form specified is unreasonable, a party must produce it in a form or forms in which it is ordinarily maintained or in which it is reasonably usable. Absent a showing of good cause, a party need not produce the same documents or electronically stored information in more than one form.
Amendment History
Amended, effective July 1, 1970; June 1, 1981; Jan. 1, 1991; Dec. 1, 1993; Oct. 21, 1994, effective Jan. 1, 1995; June 27, 2019, effective Aug. 1, 2019.
Plain-English Summary
Rule 34(a) covers two kinds of requests: to inspect and copy documents, electronically stored information, or tangible things within the scope of Rule 26(b) that the other party possesses or controls, or to enter that party's land or property to inspect, measure, survey, photograph, test, or sample it. "Documents" is defined broadly, covering writings, drawings, graphs, charts, photographs, data compilations, and similar material that can be translated into usable form.
Rule 34(b) sets the procedure. The request can be served on the plaintiff without leave of court once the case begins, and on any other party with or after the summons and complaint, and it has to identify the items by category or individually with reasonable particularity and specify a reasonable time, place, and manner for the inspection. The responding party has 30 days to serve a written response, or 45 days if it's a defendant just served with the summons and complaint, and the court can adjust that window. The response has to say inspection will be permitted as requested or state the objection's reasons with specificity, including whether the party is withholding any material on that basis, with a duty to supplement if it later decides to withhold something. A party producing documents has to produce them as they're kept in the ordinary course of business or organize and label them to match the request's categories, and can substitute copies for inspection unless the request expressly demands the originals.
Rule 34(c) lets a non-party be compelled to produce documents or submit to an inspection under Rule 45. Rule 34(d) covers the format for producing electronically stored information: the requesting party can specify a form, and if it does, the responding party has to produce it that way; absent a specified form, or if the one specified is unreasonable, the responding party produces it in the form it's ordinarily kept in or another reasonably usable form, and generally doesn't have to produce the same information in more than one form.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does the other side have to respond to my document request?
Rule 34(b) gives 30 days after service of the request, or 45 days if the responding party is a defendant who was just served with the summons and complaint.
Can I request electronically stored information, not just paper documents?
Yes. Rule 34(a) expressly covers electronically stored information along with documents and tangible things, within the scope of discovery set by Rule 26(b).
Can the other side just object without explaining why?
No. Rule 34(b) requires objections to be stated with specificity, and requires the responding party to say whether it's withholding responsive material on the basis of that objection.
Do documents produced in response to my request have to be organized any particular way?
Yes. Rule 34(b) requires the producing party to produce documents as they're kept in the ordinary course of business, or to organize and label them to correspond with the categories in the request.
Can I specify the file format I want electronic documents produced in?
Yes. Rule 34(d) lets the requesting party specify a form, and the responding party must produce it in that form unless no form was specified or the one specified was unreasonable.
Source & verification. Rule text is reproduced verbatim from the
Delaware Rules of Civil Procedure for the Superior Court, adopted by the
Superior Court of the State of Delaware. Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
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