1. Except as otherwise provided herein, after commencement of an action, any party may serve upon any other party written interrogatories. Except in a matrimonial action, a party may not serve written interrogatories on another party and also demand a bill of particulars of the same party pursuant to section 3041. In the case of an action to recover damages for personal injury, injury to property or wrongful death predicated solely on a cause or causes of action for negligence, a party shall not be permitted to serve interrogatories on and conduct a deposition of the same party pursuant to rule 3107 without leave of court. 2. After the commencement of a matrimonial action or proceeding, upon motion brought by either party, upon such notice to the other party and to the non-party from whom financial disclosure is sought, and given in such manner as the court shall direct, the court may order a non-party to respond under oath to written interrogatories limited to furnishing financial information concerning a party, and further provided such information is both reasonable and necessary in the prosecution or the defense of such matrimonial action or proceeding.
§ 3130.Use of interrogatories.
Article 31. Disclosure · Last amended 1986 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceCPLR 3130 authorizes written interrogatories between parties, bars combining them with a bill of particulars outside matrimonial cases, restricts pairing interrogatories with a deposition in negligence-based injury cases, and lets a court order financial interrogatories to a non-party in a matrimonial case.
Full Text of CPLR 3130
Plain-English Summary
Interrogatories are written questions one party sends another, to be answered under oath. CPLR 3130 opens the door to that tool once an action has begun, but boxes it in with a few practical limits so litigants don't stack overlapping discovery devices on top of each other.
The first limit keeps interrogatories from duplicating the bill of particulars: outside a matrimonial action, a party can't serve interrogatories on someone and also demand a bill of particulars from that same party under CPLR 3041. The second targets personal injury, property damage, and wrongful death cases built solely on negligence — there, a party can't serve interrogatories on, and depose, the same party without the court's permission. New York treats those as duplicative ways of extracting the same basic facts in a negligence case, and makes a litigant pick one absent a judge's sign-off.
Matrimonial cases get a separate provision built around financial disclosure. On a motion, with notice to the other spouse and to the non-party from whom information is sought, a court can order that non-party to answer written interrogatories about a party's finances, so long as the information is both necessary and reasonable for prosecuting or defending the matrimonial case. That reaches financial information a bank, employer, or business associate might hold that neither spouse can supply directly.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many interrogatories can I serve in a New York lawsuit?
CPLR 3130 doesn't set a numeric cap; the limits in the statute are about combining interrogatories with other devices, not a maximum number of questions, though individual court parts and case-specific orders can impose their own limits.
Can I serve interrogatories and demand a bill of particulars from the same party?
Not outside a matrimonial action. CPLR 3130 bars serving interrogatories on a party and also demanding a bill of particulars from that same party under CPLR 3041, except in matrimonial cases.
Can I depose a defendant and also send them interrogatories in a car accident case?
Not without the court's permission. In personal injury, property damage, or wrongful death cases based solely on negligence, CPLR 3130 requires leave of court to serve interrogatories on and depose the same party.
Can a court order someone who isn't part of my divorce case to answer written questions about finances?
Yes. In a matrimonial action, CPLR 3130 lets a court, on motion with notice to the other spouse and the non-party, order that non-party to answer financial interrogatories if the information is reasonable and necessary to the case.
When can interrogatories be served in a New York lawsuit?
Any time after the action has commenced.
Are answers to interrogatories the same as an affidavit?
They must be answered in writing under oath, so they carry that same sworn weight, though the format and scope differ from a standalone affidavit.
Why would I choose interrogatories over a deposition in New York?
Interrogatories let you get detailed information in writing, often with the input of counsel, without the time and expense of a deposition, though in negligence-based personal injury cases you generally can't use both against the same party without court approval.
Advisory Committee Notes
Interrogatories are sent by one party to another. Normally they will be answered by attorneys consulting with their clients. Insofar as they elicit detailed information about a case they serve some of the functions of the bill of particulars. Unlike the present bill of particulars, however, they are not part of the pleading and they do not bind the party. They may, nevertheless, be used as admissions in evidence. Interrogatories differ from the written questions described in CPLR R 3108, which are read to a witness or party who has been sworn by an officer conducting the examination. In the latter procedure, the witness himself answers orally and a record of his answers is taken. Written questions rather than interrogatories will be used where a non-party witness is being questioned, or where one party wishes to participate in the taking of an oral examination without going to the expense of being physically present personally or by attorney.
Amendment History
Add, L 1963, ch 422, § 3; amd, L 1979, ch 197, § 1, eff Sept 1, 1979; L 1983, ch 275, § 1; L 1986, ch 257, § 1; L 1986, ch 467, § 1, eff Aug 20, 1986.
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: interrogatories New York lawsuithow many interrogatories New Yorkwritten interrogatories versus deposition New YorkCPLR 3130 bill of particularsmatrimonial financial interrogatories New Yorknegligence case interrogatories deposition New York