Group V: Depositions and Discovery · Not amended since adoption on record · Last verified July 13, 2026
In one sentenceRule 31 lets a party depose a witness by submitting written questions in advance instead of examining them live, with fixed windows for other parties to add cross, redirect, and recross questions before an officer reads everything to the witness and records the answers.
(a)Serving Questions; Notice . After commencement of the action, any party may take the testimony of any person, including a party, by deposition upon written questions. The attendance of witnesses may be compelled by the use of subpoena as provided in Rule 45. The deposition of a person confined in prison may be taken only by leave of court on such terms as the court prescribes.
A party desiring to take a deposition upon written questions shall serve them upon every other party with a notice stating (1) the name and address of the person who is to answer them, if known, and if the name is not known, a general description sufficient to identify him or the particular class or group to which he belongs, and (2) the name or descriptive title and address of the officer before whom the deposition is to be taken. A deposition upon written questions may be taken of a public or private corporation or a partnership or association or governmental agency in accordance with the provisions of Rule 30(b)(6).
Within 30 days after the notice and written questions are served, a party may serve cross questions upon all other parties. Within 10 days after being served with cross questions, a party may serve redirect questions upon all other parties. Within 10 days after being served with redirect questions, a party may serve recross questions upon all other parties. The court may for cause shown enlarge or shorten the time.
(b)Officer to Take Responses and Prepare Record. A copy of the notice and copies of all questions served shall be delivered by the party taking the deposition to the officer designated in the notice, who shall proceed promptly, in the manner provided by Rule 30(c), (e), and (f), to take the testimony of the witness in response to the questions and to prepare, certify, and deliver or mail the deposition, attaching thereto the copy of the notice and the questions received by him, to the party taking the deposition.
(c)Notice of Filing . When the deposition is received the party taking it shall promptly give notice thereof to all other parties.
Notes
Note: This is the language of the Federal Rule. There is no counterpart to this discovery device in State practice. It is a useful device to determine if a distant witness had relevant knowledge without the expense of an oral deposition. It may also be useful to establish the evidentiary foundation of documents held by third parties.
Plain-English Summary
Not every deposition needs a lawyer in the room asking questions in real time. Rule 31 offers a paper alternative: a party serves written questions on every other party along with notice naming the witness and the officer who will conduct the session. That officer — not the party who drafted the questions — reads them to the witness and records the answers, following the same procedures Rule 30 uses for recording, submission to the witness, and certification.
Because no one is in the room to react to an answer on the spot, Rule 31 builds in a sequence for follow-up. Other parties get thirty days after the original questions are served to submit cross questions, then ten days after cross questions to submit redirect questions, then ten days after that for recross questions. The court can shorten or lengthen any of these periods for cause. An organization can be the target of a written-question deposition too; Rule 31 incorporates the Rule 30(b)(6) designee procedure so a corporation, partnership, association, or government agency can be required to name someone to answer on its behalf.
This method suits situations where live questioning adds little — a distant witness with narrow, predictable testimony, or a records custodian needed mainly to authenticate documents. It is slower in one sense, since the question-and-answer rounds unfold over weeks, but it can be considerably cheaper than travel and a court reporter for a witness whose testimony does not call for on-the-spot follow-up.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a deposition upon written questions?
Instead of a lawyer questioning the witness in person, a party serves written questions in advance. An officer named in the notice then reads the questions to the witness and records the answers.
How much time do other parties have to add their own questions?
Thirty days after the original questions are served to submit cross questions, then ten days after that for redirect questions, then another ten days for recross questions, unless the court adjusts those periods for cause.
Can a party depose an organization using written questions?
Yes. Rule 31 incorporates the Rule 30(b)(6) procedure, so the organization named as deponent must designate someone to answer on its behalf.
Who asks the witness the questions in this kind of deposition?
The officer named in the notice, not the attorney who wrote the questions, reads them to the witness and takes down the answers.
Source & verification. Rule text, official Notes, and amendment
history are reproduced verbatim from the South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure,
adopted by the Supreme Court of South Carolina. Last verified July 13, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as:deposition upon written questions South Carolinawritten deposition questions SCcross questions depositiondeposition by written interrogatories