35.01 Order of Examinations In an action in which the physical or mental condition or the blood relationship of a party, or of an agent of a party, or of a person under control of a party, is in controversy, the court in which the action is pending may order the party to submit to, or produce such agent or person for a physical, mental, or blood examination by a suitably licensed or certified examiner. The order may be made only on motion for good cause shown and upon notice to the party or person to be examined and to all other parties and shall specify the time, place, manner, conditions, and scope of the examination and the person or persons by whom it is made.
Rule 35.Physical, Mental, and Blood Examination of Persons
Last amended January 1, 2020 · Last verified July 1, 2026
In one sentenceRule 35 lets a court order a party (or someone under that party’s control) to undergo a physical, mental, or blood examination when that person’s condition is at issue in the case, and it sets rules for sharing the resulting medical reports.
Full Text of Rule 35
35.02 Report of Findings
a If requested by the party against whom an order is made pursuant to Rule 35.01 or by the person examined, the party causing the examination to be made shall deliver to the requesting party a copy of a detailed written report of the examination setting out the examiner’s findings and conclusions, together with like reports of all earlier examinations of the same condition. After such request and delivery, the party causing the examination to be made shall be entitled, upon request, to receive from the party or person examined a like report of any examination, previously or thereafter made, of the same physical, mental, or blood condition. If the party or person examined refuses to deliver such report, the court, on motion and notice, may make an order requiring delivery on such terms as are just, and, if an examiner fails or refuses to make such a report, the court may exclude the examiner’s testimony if offered at the trial.
b By requesting and obtaining a report of the examination so ordered or by taking the deposition of the examiner, the adverse party waives any privilege the party may have in that action or any other involving the same controversy, regarding the testimony of every other person who has examined or may thereafter examine the party or the person under the party’s control with respect to the same physical, mental, or blood condition.
35.03 Waiver of Medical Privilege If at any stage of an action a party voluntarily places in controversy the physical, mental, or blood condition of that party, a decedent, or a person under that party’s control, such party thereby waives any privilege that party may have in that action regarding the testimony of every person who has examined or may thereafter examine that party or the person under that party’s control with respect to the same physical, mental, or blood condition.
35.04 Medical Disclosures and Depositions of Medical Experts When a party has waived medical privilege pursuant to Rule 35.03, such party within 14 days of a written request by any other party,
a shall furnish to the requesting party copies of all medical reports previously or thereafter made by any treating or examining medical expert, and
b shall provide written authority signed by the party of whom request is made to permit the inspection of all hospital and other medical records, concerning the physical, mental, or blood condition of such party as to which privilege has been waived.
Disclosures pursuant to this rule shall include the conclusions of such treating or examining medical expert.
Depositions of treating or examining medical experts shall not be taken except upon order of the court for good cause shown upon motion and notice to the parties and upon such terms as the court may provide.
Advisory Committee Comments
Advisory Committee Comment—2020 Amendments
Rule 35.04 is amended as part of the extensive amendments made to the timing provisions of the rules. These amendments implement the adoption of a standard “day” for counting deadlines under the rules—counting all days regardless of the length of the period and standardizing the time periods, where practicable, to a 7-, 14-, 21- or 28-day schedule. The only change to this rule lengthens the 10-day period to respond to written requests to a 14-day period. This change affects only the time limits, and is not intended to have any other effect.
Amendment History
- (Amended effective March 1, 1994.)
- (Amended effective March 1, 1994.)
- (Amended effective January 1, 2020.)
Plain-English Summary
Sometimes a lawsuit turns on a person’s physical condition, mental condition, or blood relationship, for example an injury claim or a paternity dispute. Rule 35 lets a court order that person to be examined by a qualified professional. A judge will not grant this automatically. The party asking for the exam has to file a motion, show good cause, and give notice to everyone involved, and the resulting order has to spell out the time, place, scope, and who will conduct the exam.
Once an exam happens, the rules try to keep both sides on equal footing. If the examined person asks for it, the party who arranged the exam has to hand over a detailed written report of what the examiner found, along with reports from any earlier exams of the same condition. In return, the party who arranged the exam can then ask for copies of the examined person’s own medical reports on that same condition. If either side balks at handing over a report, the other side can ask the court to step in, and a court can even bar an examiner from testifying at trial if that examiner refuses to produce a report.
Asking for or receiving an exam report, or questioning the examiner under oath, has a consequence: it opens the door to testimony from every other person who examined the same condition, in this case or in any related case. The same type of opening happens whenever someone voluntarily puts their own physical, mental, or blood condition at issue in the lawsuit. Once that happens, the confidentiality that would normally protect those medical records no longer applies to that condition.
When a party has opened up their medical condition this way, they are on the clock. Within 14 days of a request from any other party, they have to turn over copies of the relevant medical reports and give written permission to inspect the hospital and medical records tied to that condition, including the medical expert’s conclusions. Taking the treating or examining doctor’s deposition, however, is not automatic. That requires a court order for good cause, filed as a motion with notice to the other parties.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the other side force me to get a medical exam because I am in a lawsuit?
Only if your physical or mental condition, or a blood relationship, is at issue in the case, and only after the other party files a motion, shows good cause, and gives notice. A judge has to approve it and spell out the details in an order.
If I get examined, do I get to see the report?
Yes, if you ask for it. Once you request the report, the party that arranged the exam must give you a detailed written report of the findings, along with reports from any earlier related exams.
If I ask for the exam report, do I have to give up anything in return?
Yes. Once you request or receive that report, or question the examiner, you lose the ability to keep other examiners of the same condition from testifying, both in this case and in related cases.
What if I bring up my own injury or medical condition as part of my claim?
Voluntarily putting your physical, mental, or blood condition at issue waives the privilege covering testimony from anyone who has examined, or may later examine, that condition.
After that privilege is waived, what do I have to hand over, and how fast?
Within 14 days of a written request, you must provide copies of the relevant medical reports and written authorization to inspect the hospital and medical records tied to that condition, including the expert’s conclusions. Deposing the treating or examining doctor still requires a separate court order for good cause.
Source & verification. The rule text and Advisory Committee Comments are reproduced verbatim from the
official Minnesota Rules of Civil Procedure (Minn. R. Civ. P. 35). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of Minnesota (Minn. Stat. § 480.051). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 1, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: independent medical examinationIMEphysical and mental exams
Advisory Committee Comment--1993 Amendments
The amendments to Rule 35 are intended to expand the power of the courts to order examinations by professionals other than physicians. This amendment is generally consistent with amendments made to Fed. R. Civ. P. 35 in 1991, though the state and federal rules have always been somewhat different. This amendment recognizes that examination may be appropriate by, for example, a licensed psychologist, dentist, audiologist, or physical or occupational therapist. These licensed professionals are not physicians but may, and often do, provide valuable information or testimony. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 35, Notes of Advisory Committee--1991 Amendment, reprinted in Federal Civil Judicial Procedure & Rules 126 (West pamph. 1993).