Current through February 2024 · Last verified July 8, 2026
In one sentenceRule 33 lets a party serve up to thirty written questions on another party, who must answer each one separately, fully, and under oath, or object with stated reasons, within forty days.
(a)Availability; Answers; Objections. Any party may serve upon any other party written interrogatories to be answered by the party served or, if the party served is a public or private corporation or a partnership, governmental entity, or unincorporated association, by any officer or agent, who shall furnish such information as is available to the party. Interrogatories may be served after commencement of the action and without leave of court, except that, if service is made by the plaintiff within sixty (60) days after service of process upon the defendant, leave of court granted with or without notice must be first obtained.
Each interrogatory shall be answered separately and fully in writing under oath. If the interrogatory is objected to, the reasons for the objection shall be stated. Each answer shall be preceded by the interrogatory to which it responds. The answers shall be signed by the person making them; and the party upon whom the interrogatories have been served shall serve a copy of the answers and objections on the party submitting the interrogatories within forty (40) days after the service of the interrogatories, unless the court on motion and notice and for good cause shown, enlarges, or shortens the time. With the party's answers a party may serve specific written objections to particular interrogatories, stating the grounds on which the objections are based. The party shall answer to the extent the interrogatory is not objectionable. Failure to serve such objections within the time prescribed shall constitute a waiver thereof. Answers to interrogatories to which objection is made may be deferred until an order to answer is entered in accordance with Rule 37(a) upon motion of the interrogating party.
(b)Scope; Limitations. Interrogatories may relate to any matters which can be inquired into under Rule 26(b), and the answers may be used to the extent permitted by the Rhode Island Rules of Evidence. Interrogatories may be served before or after a deposition has been taken, and a deposition may be sought before or after interrogatories have been answered, but the court on motion of the deponent or the party interrogated, may make such protective order as justice may require. A party may serve more than one (1) set of interrogatories upon another party provided the total number of interrogatories shall not exceed thirty (30) unless the court otherwise orders for good cause shown. The provisions of Rule 26(c) are applicable for the protection of the party from whom answers to interrogatories are sought under this rule.
An interrogatory is not objectionable merely because it calls for an answer which involves an opinion or contention that relates to fact, or to the application of law to fact, but the court may order that such an interrogatory need not be answered until after other designated discovery has been completed or at some other later time.
(c)Continuing Duty to Answer. If the party furnishing answers to interrogatories shall subsequently obtain information which renders such answers incomplete or incorrect, amended answers shall be served within a reasonable time thereafter but not later than thirty (30) days prior to the day fixed for trial. Thereafter amendments may be allowed only on motion and upon such terms as the court may direct.
(d)Option to Produce Business Records. If the answer to an interrogatory may be derived or ascertained from the business records (including electronically stored information) of the party upon whom the interrogatory has been served or from an examination, audit or inspection of such business records, including a compilation, abstract or summary thereof, and the burden of deriving or ascertaining the answer is substantially the same for the party serving the interrogatory as for the party served, it is a sufficient answer to such interrogatory to specify the records from which the answer may be derived or ascertained and to afford to the party serving the interrogatory reasonable opportunity to examine, audit or inspect such records and to make copies, compilations, abstracts or summaries. A specification shall be in sufficient detail to permit the interrogating party to locate and identify, as readily as can the party served, the records from which the answer may be ascertained.
Amendment History
Rhode Island does not publish a per-rule amendment history inside the compiled rules text reproduced here. The text above is verified current through the source’s own February 2024 printing; for the underlying adopting orders and any later amendments, see the Rhode Island Judiciary’s compiled rules page.
Plain-English Summary
Rule 33 covers interrogatories — written questions that one party sends to another to be answered in writing and under oath. A plaintiff can serve them as soon as the case starts, except that if the plaintiff serves interrogatories within sixty days after serving the defendant, the plaintiff needs the court’s permission first. Every other party can serve interrogatories without asking the court.
Each question gets its own answer, written out fully and under oath, with the question repeated before its answer. The person answering signs the answers. If a party objects to a question instead of answering it, the objection has to state the reason, and the party still has to answer any part of the question that is not objectionable. The whole response — answers and any objections — is due within forty days of service, unless the court shortens or extends that period for good cause. Missing the deadline to object waives the objection.
Interrogatories can cover anything within the general scope of discovery, and a party can serve more than one set, but the total across all sets is capped at thirty questions unless the court allows more for good cause. A question is not objectionable just because it asks for an opinion or a conclusion that mixes law and fact, though the court can delay when that kind of question has to be answered.
Answers that turn out to be incomplete or wrong because of later information have to be corrected within a reasonable time, and no later than thirty days before trial; after that, the court has to approve any further amendments. And if the answer can be found in the responding party’s business records just as easily by the party asking as by the party answering, it is enough to point the other side to those records and let them examine, copy, or summarize them instead of writing out a narrative answer.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many interrogatories can I send?
Rule 33 caps the total at thirty across all sets of interrogatories served on a party, unless the court allows more for good cause. You can serve them in more than one round, but the combined count still applies.
How long does the other side have to answer?
Forty days after the interrogatories are served, unless the court shortens or lengthens that period for good cause. If the responding party wants to object to a particular question instead of answering it, the objection has to be served within that same window or it is waived.
Can the other side just point me to their files instead of answering in writing?
Yes, if the answer can be worked out from their business records and it would take about the same effort for you to find it there as it would for them. In that case, Rule 33 lets them identify the records and give you a fair chance to examine, copy, or summarize them instead of writing a narrative answer.
Source & verification. The rule text is reproduced verbatim from the
official Rhode Island Superior Court Rules of Civil Procedure (R.I. Super. Ct. R. Civ. P. 33). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of Rhode Island (R.I. Gen. Laws § 8-6-2). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 8, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as:interrogatorieswritten questions to other partyROGshow many interrogatories can I sendinterrogatory deadlineobjecting to interrogatoriesbusiness records instead of answering interrogatory