A deposition may be taken on written questions when the examining party and the deponent so stipulate or when the testimony is to be taken without the state. A commission or letters rogatory may be issued where necessary or convenient for the taking of a deposition outside of the state.
R 3108.Written questions; when permitted
Article 31. Disclosure · Last amended 1963 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceCPLR 3108 permits a deposition on written questions when the parties stipulate to that format or when the witness will testify from outside New York, and allows a commission or letters rogatory to facilitate taking testimony out of state.
Full Text of CPLR 3108
Plain-English Summary
This short rule authorizes an alternative to the standard oral deposition. Written-question depositions happen in two situations: when the examining party and the deponent agree to that format by stipulation, or automatically when the witness will be testifying from outside New York. The written format lets counsel submit questions in advance for an officer to read to the witness, rather than conducting a live back-and-forth examination, and it is the format sections 3109 and 3113(b) go on to describe procedurally.
The rule also authorizes the tools that make out-of-state and international depositions workable: a commission, which directs a designated person to take the deposition, or letters rogatory, a formal request to a foreign court or authority to assist, whenever either is necessary or convenient for taking testimony outside New York. In practice, litigants use written questions far less often than oral examination, since they cannot adapt follow-up questions to a witness's answers in real time, but the option remains available by agreement or when distance makes an oral deposition impractical.
Frequently Asked Questions
When can a deposition be taken on written questions in New York?
When the examining party and the deponent stipulate to that format, or whenever the deponent's testimony is being taken from outside New York.
What is a commission or letters rogatory in a New York deposition?
Tools authorized by CPLR 3108 to help take testimony outside the state — a commission designates someone to take the deposition, and letters rogatory formally request assistance from a court or authority elsewhere, typically in another country.
Do both sides have to agree to a written-question deposition?
Only when the witness is within New York. If the witness is testifying from outside the state, written questions are permitted without any stipulation.
Why would a party choose written questions over an oral deposition?
The rule does not require a reason when the witness is out of state, but parties within New York sometimes stipulate to written questions to cut cost and scheduling friction for a witness with limited, well-defined testimony.
What governs the procedure once written questions are authorized under CPLR 3108?
Amendment History
Add, L 1962, ch 308; renumbered Rule 3108, L 1962, ch 318, § 17; L 1963, ch 562, § 17, eff Sept 1, 1963.
Source & verification. Provision text, History, and Advisory
Committee Notes are reproduced verbatim from the Consolidated Laws of New York.
Last verified July 21, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: written question deposition New Yorkcommission letters rogatory New York depositionout-of-state deposition New York procedure