(a) Within the United States. Within the United States or within a territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, depositions shall be taken before an officer authorized to administer oaths by the laws of this State or of the United States or of the place where the examination is held, or before a person appointed by the court in which the action is pending. A person so appointed has power to administer oaths and take testimony. The term officer as used in Rules 30, 31 and 32 includes a person appointed by the court or designated by the parties under Rule 29.
Rule 28.Persons Before Whom Depositions May Be Taken.
Last amended July 1, 2004 · Last verified July 3, 2026
In one sentenceRule 28 says who may administer oaths and take depositions, both within the United States and abroad, and disqualifies anyone too closely tied to the case.
Full Text of Rule 28
(b) In Foreign Countries. Depositions may be taken in a foreign country (1) pursuant to any applicable treaty or convention, or (2) pursuant to a letter of request (whether or not captioned a letter rogatory), or (3) on notice before a person authorized to administer oaths in the place in which the examination is held, either by the law thereof or by the law of the United States, or (4) before a person commissioned by the court, and a person so commissioned shall have the power by virtue of the commission to administer any necessary oath and take testimony. A commission or a letter of request shall be issued on application and notice and on terms that are just and appropriate. It is not requisite to the issuance of a commission or a letter of request that the taking of the deposition in any other manner is impracticable or inconvenient; and both a commission and a letter of request may be issued in proper cases. A notice or commission may designate the person before whom the deposition is to be taken either by name or descriptive title. A letter of request may be addressed "To the Appropriate Authority in [here name the country]." When a letter of request or any other device is used pursuant to any applicable treaty or convention, it shall be captioned in the form prescribed by that treaty or convention. Evidence obtained in response to a letter of request need not be excluded merely because it is not a verbatim transcript, because the testimony was not taken under oath, or because of any similar departure from the requirements for depositions taken within the United States under these rules.
(c) Disqualification for Interest. No deposition shall be taken before a person who is a relative or employee or attorney or counsel of any of the parties, or is a relative or employee of such attorney or counsel, or is financially interested in the action.
Amendment History
Amended May 7, 2004, effective July 1, 2004
Plain-English Summary
Within the United States or a U.S. territory, a deposition must be taken before an officer authorized to administer oaths under the law of Hawai'i, the United States, or the place where the examination happens, or before a person the court appoints for that purpose; that person has the power to swear in the witness and take testimony. Abroad, the rule offers several routes: under an applicable treaty or convention, through a letter of request (commonly called a letter rogatory), on notice before a person locally authorized to administer oaths, or before a person the court commissions. A commission or letter of request issues on application and notice without needing to show that taking the deposition another way would be impractical, and testimony gathered this way isn't excluded merely because it wasn't taken verbatim, under oath, or otherwise in the exact form these rules describe.
Rule 28(c) disqualifies anyone too closely connected to the case from serving as the deposition officer: a relative, employee, attorney, or counsel of any party, a relative or employee of that attorney or counsel, or anyone financially interested in the action's outcome.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is authorized to administer an oath and take a deposition in Hawaii?
An officer authorized to administer oaths under Hawai'i or federal law, or under the law of the place where the deposition happens, or a person the court appoints for that purpose.
How are depositions taken in a foreign country?
Rule 28(b) allows several methods: pursuant to a treaty or convention, through a letter of request, on notice before a person locally authorized to administer oaths, or before a person the court commissions.
Can a party's relative or employee serve as the deposition officer?
No. Rule 28(c) disqualifies anyone who is a relative, employee, attorney, or counsel of a party, or who is financially interested in the case, from taking the deposition.
Source & verification. The rule text and History are reproduced verbatim from the
official Hawaii Rules of Civil Procedure (Haw. R. Civ. P. 28). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of Hawaii (Haw. Rev. Stat. § 602-11; Haw. Const. art. VI, § 7). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 3, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: who can take a depositiondeposition officerforeign depositionsletter rogatory