A.
Art. 1434.Person Before Whom Deposition Taken
Book II. Ordinary Proceedings · Title III. Production of Evidence · Chapter 3. Discovery · Last amended 1995 · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 1434 requires a deposition to be taken before a neutral officer authorized to administer oaths who isn't an employee, attorney, or otherwise interested party, defines that officer as a certified court reporter under Louisiana's licensing statutes, and lets a video deposition's oath be given by anyone authorized to swear witnesses.
Full Text of Art. 1434
(1) A deposition shall be taken before an officer authorized to administer oaths, who is not an employee or attorney of any of the parties or otherwise interested in the outcome of the case.
(2) For purposes of this Article, an employee includes a person who has a contractual relationship with a party litigant to provide shorthand reporting or other court reporting services and also includes a person employed part or full time under contract or otherwise by a person who has a contractual relationship with a party litigant to provide shorthand reporting or other court reporting services. A party litigant does not include federal, state, or local governments, and the subdivisions thereof, or parties in proper person.
B. "Officer" as used in this Article means a certified shorthand or general reporter currently holding a valid certificate issued by the Board of Examiners of Certified Shorthand Reporters pursuant to the provisions of R.S.37:2551 et seq., and an official court reporter, and a deputy official court reporter, as defined in R.S.37:2555(B)(1) and (2).
C. In a video deposition, the deponent can be sworn by anyone authorized to take oaths. The oath shall be recorded on tape.
Amendment History
Acts 1976, No. 574, §1; Acts 1990, No. 295, §1; Acts 1990, No. 842, §1, eff. 7/24/1990; Acts 1995, No. 1145, §1.
Plain-English Summary
A deposition has to be taken before a neutral officer authorized to administer oaths -- someone who isn't an employee or attorney of any party, and isn't otherwise interested in how the case comes out. That neutrality is what gives the resulting transcript its credibility.
"Employee" reaches further than it might sound. It also covers a court reporter who has a contractual relationship with a party litigant to provide reporting services, closing off an arrangement where a reporting company is effectively on retainer to one side of the case. That restriction doesn't apply when the party litigant is a federal, state, or local government, or a party appearing without a lawyer.
"Officer" is defined precisely: a certified shorthand or general reporter currently holding a valid certificate under Louisiana's Board of Examiners of Certified Shorthand Reporters (R.S. 37:2551 et seq.), or an official or deputy official court reporter as those terms are defined by statute.
Video depositions get one added flexibility: the oath doesn't have to come from the certified officer personally. Anyone authorized to administer oaths can swear in the deponent, so long as the oath itself is recorded on tape.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is allowed to preside over and record a deposition in Louisiana?
A neutral officer authorized to administer oaths -- generally a certified shorthand or general reporter, or an official court reporter -- who isn't an employee, attorney, or otherwise interested party.
Can a court reporting company that's under contract with one side take the deposition?
No. A reporter with a contractual relationship to a party litigant counts as that party's employee and is disqualified, though this restriction doesn't apply to government parties or self-represented litigants.
Does the government have to use an independent, non-contracted court reporter?
No. The contractual-relationship disqualification in Article 1434 doesn't apply when the party litigant is a federal, state, or local government.
Who swears in a witness for a video deposition?
Anyone authorized to administer oaths, not necessarily the certified officer, and the oath must be recorded on tape.
Source & verification. Article text is reproduced verbatim from
the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure (legis.la.gov). Enacted by the Louisiana Legislature.
Last verified July 30, 2026.
· Official source
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