Federal deposition limits: ten depositions, seven hours, one day

Two numbers govern federal deposition practice, and both are easy to state and easy to misapply. The cap is per side, not per party. The clock is seven hours in one day, not seven hours of transcript.

Ten depositions — Rule 30(a)(2)

A party must obtain leave of court, "and the court must grant leave to the extent consistent with Rule 26(b)(1) and (2)," if the parties haven't stipulated and:

(i) the deposition would result in more than 10 depositions being taken under this rule or Rule 31 by the plaintiffs, or by the defendants, or by the third-party defendants; (ii) the deponent has already been deposed in the case; or (iii) the party seeks to take the deposition before the time specified in Rule 26(d), unless the party certifies in the notice, with supporting facts, that the deponent is expected to leave the United States and be unavailable for examination in this country after that time.

Read the first one carefully. The ten are shared across all plaintiffs collectively, all defendants collectively, and all third-party defendants collectively. Five co-defendants do not get fifty depositions.

The count also spans Rule 30 and Rule 31 — depositions by written questions come out of the same allowance.

Ground (ii) is the one people trip over: deposing the same person twice requires leave, even if the side is nowhere near ten.

Ground (iii) connects back to the Rule 26(d) gate — no discovery before the Rule 26(f) conference — with a narrow certification exception for a deponent about to leave the country.

Note the framing of leave: the court "must grant leave to the extent consistent with Rule 26(b)(1) and (2)." It isn't a free-standing discretion; it is proportionality analysis.

One day of seven hours — Rule 30(d)(1)

Unless otherwise stipulated or ordered by the court, a deposition is limited to one day of 7 hours. The court must allow additional time consistent with Rule 26(b)(1) and (2) if needed to fairly examine the deponent or if the deponent, another person, or any other circumstance impedes or delays the examination.

Two halves. The default is a single day of seven hours — the day limit is as real as the hour limit, so seven hours spread over three afternoons is not the default either.

And the extension is mandatory in two situations: where more time is needed to examine the deponent fairly, and where someone or something impedes or delays the examination. That second clause is what makes obstruction self-defeating.

The seven hours is generally understood as time on the record, so breaks and lunch don't count — but the rule itself says "one day of 7 hours" without defining it further, and stipulating the point at the outset avoids the argument.

Sanctions for impeding — Rule 30(d)(2)

The court may impose an appropriate sanction — including the reasonable expenses and attorney's fees incurred by any party — on a person who impedes, delays, or frustrates the fair examination of the deponent.

Note "a person," not "a party." It reaches the deponent and defending counsel.

Objections and instructions not to answer — Rule 30(c)(2)

An objection at the time of the examination must be noted on the record, "but the examination still proceeds; the testimony is taken subject to any objection." An objection must be stated "concisely in a nonargumentative and nonsuggestive manner."

Then the narrow list:

A person may instruct a deponent not to answer only when necessary to preserve a privilege, to enforce a limitation ordered by the court, or to present a motion under Rule 30(d)(3).

Three grounds. "Form" is an objection, not an instruction not to answer.

Terminating or limiting — Rule 30(d)(3)

At any time during a deposition, the deponent or a party may move to terminate or limit it "on the ground that it is being conducted in bad faith or in a manner that unreasonably annoys, embarrasses, or oppresses the deponent or party." The deposition is suspended for the time necessary to obtain an order, and the motion may be filed in the court where the action is pending or where the deposition is being taken. Rule 37(a)(5) applies to the award of expenses.

Organizational depositions — Rule 30(b)(6)

A party may name a public or private corporation, partnership, association, governmental agency or other entity and "must describe with reasonable particularity the matters for examination." The named organization must designate one or more persons to testify about information known or reasonably available to it.

Two requirements added in recent amendments sit in the same subdivision: before or promptly after the notice or subpoena is served, the serving party and the organization must confer in good faith about the matters for examination; and a subpoena must advise a nonparty organization of its duty to confer and to designate.

Rule 30(b)(6) also states plainly that it "does not preclude a deposition by any other procedure allowed by these rules" — the organizational deposition doesn't consume the right to depose individuals.

For counting purposes, each designated person is generally treated as a separate deposition against the ten, which is worth confirming by stipulation before a multi-designee deposition.

Notice, recording, and remote depositions

Rule 30(b)(1): reasonable written notice to every other party, stating the time and place and — if known — the deponent's name and address; otherwise a general description sufficient to identify the person or the class or group they belong to.

Rule 30(b)(3): the noticing party states the method of recording, bears the recording cost, and any other party may, with prior notice, designate an additional method at its own cost.

Rule 30(b)(4): the parties may stipulate — or the court may order on motion — that a deposition be taken by telephone or other remote means, and for the rule's purposes the deposition takes place where the deponent answers the questions.

Rule 30(b)(5): unless the parties stipulate otherwise, the deposition must be conducted before an officer appointed or designated under Rule 28, who begins with an on-the-record statement of the required items and, at the end, states on the record that the deposition is complete and sets out any stipulations about custody of the transcript or exhibits.

Review and signature — Rule 30(e)

On request by the deponent or a party before the deposition is completed, the deponent has 30 days after being notified that the transcript or recording is available to review it and, if there are changes in form or substance, to sign a statement listing the changes and the reasons for them. The officer then notes in the certificate whether review was requested and appends any changes.

The request has to be made before the deposition ends. It is not available afterward.

What this looks like as a plan

1. Count by side, across Rule 30 and Rule 31. Ten total for all plaintiffs, ten for all defendants.
2. Stipulate early if the case obviously needs more than ten or more than seven hours — the rule invites it, and it avoids a motion.
3. Confer on Rule 30(b)(6) topics — that conferral is now a requirement, not a courtesy.
4. Don't re-depose without leave, even well under the cap.
5. Reserve the deponent's review right on the record before the deposition closes.

Where these rules live

• Rule 26 — Duty to Disclose; General Provisions Governing Discovery
• Rule 28 — Persons Before Whom Depositions May Be Taken
• Rule 30 — Depositions by Oral Examination
• Rule 31 — Depositions by Written Questions
• Rule 32 — Using Depositions in Court Proceedings
• Rule 37 — Failure to Make Disclosures or to Cooperate
• Rule 45 — Subpoena

District local rules and case-management orders frequently change both numbers. This page explains what the rules say. It isn't legal advice.