Discovery material shall not be filed unless relevant to a motion or other pre- trial proceeding, ordered by the court or required by statute.
Rule 4002.1.Filing Discovery Material.
Adopted November 7, 1988 · Last amended November 7, 1988 · Last verified June 30, 2026
In one sentenceDiscovery material is not filed with the court unless it is relevant to a motion or pretrial proceeding, ordered filed by the court, or required to be filed by statute.
Full Text of Rule 4002.1
Plain-English Summary
This short rule keeps the court file from filling with discovery. Interrogatory answers, deposition transcripts, and similar discovery material are not filed unless they are relevant to a motion or other pretrial proceeding, the court orders them filed, or a statute requires it.
Because discovery is exchanged between the parties and often runs to great volume, defaulting to no-filing spares the prothonotary and the record from material the court does not need. When the material becomes relevant to something the court must decide, it is filed then.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is discovery filed with the court?
No, not unless it is relevant to a motion or pretrial proceeding, ordered filed, or required by statute.
When must discovery be filed?
When it becomes relevant to a motion or other pretrial proceeding, or when the court or a statute requires it.
Amendment History
The provisions of this Rule 4002.1 adopted November 7, 1988, effective January 1, 1989, 18 Pa.B. 5338.
Source & verification. Rule text, the Official Note, and the amendment
history are reproduced verbatim from the Pennsylvania Code, Title 231, the official compilation
of rules adopted by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Last verified June 30, 2026. ·
Official text
Also known as: filing discovery material