Art. 1446.Certification By Officer; Custody of Deposition; Exhibits; Copies; Notice of Availability For Inspection Or Copying; Cost of Originals and Copies of Transcripts

Book II. Ordinary Proceedings · Title III. Production of Evidence · Chapter 3. Discovery · Last amended 2017 · Last verified July 30, 2026

In one sentenceArticle 1446 sets the officer's duties after a deposition ends — certifying the transcript, sealing and delivering it to become the custodian's record, handling exhibits and copies, allocating the reporter's charges among the attorneys and their clients, and confirming that taking a deposition counts as a step in prosecuting or defending the case even though it is not filed in the court record.

Full Text of Art. 1446

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(1)

(a) The officer as defined in Article 1434(B) shall certify on the deposition that the witness was duly sworn and that the deposition is a true record of the testimony given by the witness.

(b) The officer shall do either of the following:

(i) Securely seal the deposition in an envelope endorsed with the title of the action and marked "Deposition of (here insert name of witness)" and shall promptly and simultaneously send it by United States mail or by courier to the party at whose request the deposition was taken, who shall become the custodian of the deposition, and to all other parties to the action who have ordered a copy of the deposition transcript.

(ii) At the request of the parties, seal the deposition electronically by secure electronic means approved by rules promulgated by the Louisiana Board of Examiners of Certified Shorthand Reporters and shall promptly and simultaneously deliver the deposition electronically to the party at whose request the deposition was taken and to all other parties to the action who have ordered a copy of the deposition transcript. The party at whose request the deposition was taken shall then become the custodian of the deposition.

(c) The original of the deposition shall not be filed in the record, but shall be made available to all other parties in the matter for inspection or copying. The failure or lack of filing such original in the record shall not affect the use or admissibility of the original at trial or by the court if otherwise authorized or provided by law.

(2) Documents and things produced for inspection during the examination of the witness shall, upon the request of a party, be marked for identification and annexed to and returned with the deposition, and may be inspected and copied by any party, except that the person producing the materials may substitute copies to be marked for identification, if he affords to all parties fair opportunity to verify the copies by comparison with the originals, and if the person producing the materials requests their return, the officer shall mark them, give each party an opportunity to inspect and copy them, and return them to the person producing them, and the materials may then be used in the same manner as if annexed to and returned with the deposition. Any party may move for an order that the original be annexed to and returned with the deposition to the court, pending final disposition of the case.

(1) Upon payment of reasonable charges therefor, the officer as defined in Article 1434(B) shall furnish a copy of the deposition to any party or to the deponent.

(2) Except as provided by Subparagraph (4) of this Paragraph, an attorney who takes a deposition, the attorney's firm, and the client are liable in solido for a certified shorthand reporter's charges for the reporting of the deposition, transcribing the deposition, and each copy of the deposition transcript requested by the attorney.

(3) Except as provided by Subparagraph (4) of this Paragraph, an attorney who appears at a deposition, the attorney's firm, and the client are liable in solido for the certified shorthand reporter's charges for each copy of the deposition transcript provided by the certified shorthand reporter at the request of the attorney.

(4) Prior to the taking of any deposition, a determination of the person who will pay for the deposition costs shall be agreed upon by the parties in writing or be made on the record, if an attorney is unwilling to be bound by the provisions of Subparagraphs (2) or (3) of this Paragraph. If this determination is made in writing instead of on the record, the certified shorthand reporter shall give a copy of the written determination to all the parties.

(5) In this Paragraph "firm" means a partnership organized for the practice of law in which an attorney is a partner or with which an attorney is associated, or a professional corporation organized for the practice of law of which an attorney is a shareholder or employee. An attorney "takes" a deposition if the attorney obtains the deponent's appearance through an informal request of the deponent directly or through his attorney, or obtains the deponent's appearance through a formal means, including a notice of deposition or subpoena.

(6) Nothing contained in this Paragraph shall preclude the court from awarding the charges of the certified shorthand reporter as a court cost.

C. The party taking the deposition shall give prompt notice to all other parties of its availability for inspection or copying.

D. The taking of a deposition shall be considered a step in the prosecution or defense of an action for the purposes of Article 561, notwithstanding that the deposition is not filed in the record of the proceedings.

Amendment History

Amended by Acts 2017, No. 268, §1, eff. 8/1/2017. Acts 1989, No. 388, §1, eff. 6/30/1989; Acts 1992, No. 336, §1; Acts 1992, No. 1002, §1, eff. 9/1/1992.

Plain-English Summary

Once testimony is taken, Article 1446 tells the officer what to do with it. The officer certifies that the witness was sworn and that the transcript is a true record, then either mails a sealed original to the party who requested the deposition — who becomes its custodian — along with copies to any other party who ordered one, or delivers everything electronically under rules approved by the Louisiana Board of Examiners of Certified Shorthand Reporters. The original is not filed into the court record, but it has to remain available to every other party for inspection or copying, and leaving it unfiled does not affect its admissibility at trial.

Documents and exhibits produced during the deposition get marked and returned with the transcript on request. The person who produced them can substitute copies instead, as long as every party has a fair chance to verify the copies against the originals, and any party can ask the court to order that the true originals be annexed to the deposition and held pending the case's final disposition.

Paying for all of this falls on defined shoulders. The attorney who takes the deposition, that attorney's firm, and the client are liable together for the reporter's charges to report and transcribe the deposition and to produce copies that attorney requested; an attorney who merely attends is liable, along with the firm and client, only for copies that attorney requests. Parties can agree in writing or on the record to a different arrangement before the deposition is taken, and none of this stops a court from taxing the reporter's charges as costs.

The article closes with two housekeeping rules: the party who took the deposition must promptly notify the others once it is available for inspection or copying, and taking a deposition counts as a step in the prosecution or defense of the action for purposes of Article 561 — the abandonment rule — even though the deposition itself is never filed in the record.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who becomes the custodian of a deposition transcript in Louisiana?

The party at whose request the deposition was taken becomes the custodian once the officer seals and sends, or electronically delivers, the original.

Does a deposition transcript get filed with the court?

No. The original is not filed in the record, though it must be made available to the other parties for inspection or copying, and leaving it unfiled does not affect its admissibility.

Who pays for the court reporter's deposition transcript?

The attorney who takes the deposition, that attorney's firm, and the client are liable together for the reporting, transcription, and copy charges, unless the parties agree in writing or on the record to a different arrangement.

Does taking a deposition prevent a Louisiana case from being deemed abandoned?

Taking a deposition counts as a step in the prosecution or defense of the action for purposes of Article 561's abandonment rule, even though the deposition itself is not filed in the record.

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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