(a) When deposition may be taken. After commencement of the action, any party may take the testimony of any person, including a party, by deposition upon oral examination. Leave of court, granted with or without notice, must be obtained only if the plaintiff seeks to take a deposition prior to the expiration of thirty days after service of the summons and complaint upon any defendant, except that leave is not required (1) if a defendant has served a notice of taking deposition or otherwise sought discovery, or (2) if special notice is given as provided in subdivision (2) of § 15-6-30(b). The attendance of witnesses may be compelled by subpoena as provided in § 15-6-45. The deposition of a person confined in prison may be taken only by leave of court on such terms as the court prescribes. The deposition of a person who has already been deposed in the case may only be taken with the consent of the deponent and parties, or by leave of court.
Rule 30.Depositions upon Oral Examinations
Part V: Discovery · Last amended 2018 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceRule 15-6-30 governs oral depositions from when leave of court is needed, through notice content and the mechanism for naming an organization as deponent, recording methods, the officer’s role during examination, time limits and conduct at the deposition, and the procedures for reviewing, signing, certifying, and filing the transcript.
Full Text of Rule 15-6-30
(b) Notice of examination.
(1) A party desiring to take the deposition of any person upon oral examination shall give reasonable notice in writing to every other party to the action. The notice shall state the time and place for taking the deposition and the name and address of each person to be examined, if known, and, if the name is not known, a general description sufficient to identify the person or the particular class or group to which the person belongs. If a subpoena duces tecum is to be served on the person to be examined, the designation of the materials to be produced as set forth in the subpoena shall be attached to or included in the notice.
(2) Leave of court is not required for the taking of a deposition by plaintiff if the notice (A) states that the person to be examined is about to go out of the state, or is about to go out of the United States, or is bound on a voyage to sea, and will be unavailable for examination unless his deposition is taken before expiration of the thirty-day period, and (B) sets forth facts to support the statement. The plaintiff’s attorney shall sign the notice, and the attorney’s signature constitutes a certification by the attorney that to the best of the attorney’s knowledge, information and belief the statement and supporting facts are true.
If a party shows that when the service of notice was made under this subdivision that the party was unable through the exercise of diligence to obtain counsel to represent the party at the taking of the deposition, the deposition may not be used against the party.
(3) The court may for cause shown enlarge or shorten the time for taking the deposition.
(4) The party taking the deposition shall state in the notice the method by which the testimony shall be recorded. Unless the court orders otherwise, it may be recorded by sound, sound-and-visual, or stenographic means, and the party taking the deposition shall bear the costs for the recording. Any party may arrange for a transcription to be made from the recording of a deposition taken by non-stenographic means. With prior notice to the deponent and other parties, any party may designate another method to record the deponent’s testimony in addition to the method specified by the person taking the deposition. The additional record or transcript shall be made at that party’s expense unless the court otherwise orders. If the deposition is recorded other than stenographically, the officer shall state at the beginning of the recorded tape or other recording medium (A) the officer’s name and business address; (B) the date, time, and place of the deposition; (C) the name of the deponent; (D) the administration of the oath or affirmation to the deponent; and (E) an identification of all persons present. The officer shall repeat items (A) through (C) at the beginning of each unit of recorded tape or other recording medium. The appearance or demeanor of deponents or attorneys shall not be distorted through camera or sound-recording techniques.
(5) The notice to a party deponent may be accompanied by a request made in compliance with § 15-6-34 for the production of documents and tangible things at the taking of the deposition. The procedure of § 15- 6-34 shall apply to the request.
(6) A party may in the notice and in a subpoena name as the deponent a public or private corporation or a partnership or association or governmental agency and describe with reasonable particularity the matters on which examination is requested. In that event, the organization so named shall designate one or more officers, directors, or managing agents, or other persons who consent to testify on its behalf, and may set forth, for each person designated, the matters on which the person will testify. A subpoena shall advise a nonparty organization of its duty to make such a designation. The persons so designated shall testify as to matters known or reasonably available to the organization. This subdivision does not preclude taking a deposition by any other procedure authorized in these rules.
(7) The parties may stipulate in writing or the court may upon motion order that a deposition be taken by telephone or other remote electronic means. For the purposes of this subsection and §§ 15-6-28(a), 15-6- 37(a)(1), 15-6-37(b)(1) and 15-6-45(d), a deposition taken by such means is taken in the jurisdiction and at the place where the deponent is to answer questions.
(c) Examination and cross-examination — Record, oath, objections. Examination and cross-examination of witnesses may proceed as permitted at the trial as provided by law. The officer before whom the deposition is to be taken shall put the witness on oath and shall personally, or by someone acting under the officer’s direction and in the officer’s presence, record the testimony of the witness. The testimony shall be taken stenographically or recorded by any other means ordered in accordance with § 15-6-30(b)(4). If requested by one of the parties, the testimony shall be transcribed. All objections made at time of the examination to the qualifications of the officer taking the deposition, or to the manner of taking it, or to the evidence presented, or to the conduct of any party, and any other objection to the proceedings, shall be noted by the officer upon the deposition. Evidence objected to shall be taken subject to the objections. In lieu of participating in the oral examination, parties may serve written questions in a sealed envelope on the party taking the deposition and he shall transmit them to the officer, who shall propound them to the witness and record the answers verbatim.
(d) Schedule and duration — Motion to terminate or limit examination.
(1) Any objection during a deposition must be stated concisely and in a non-argumentative and non- suggestive manner. A person may instruct a deponent not to answer only when necessary to preserve a privilege, to enforce a limitation directed by the court, or to present a motion under § 15-6-30(d)(4).
(2) Unless otherwise authorized by the court or stipulated by the parties, a deposition is limited to one day of seven hours. The court must allow additional time if needed for a fair examination of the deponent or if the deponent or another person, or other circumstance, impedes or delays the examination.
(3) If the court finds that any impediment, delay, or other conduct has frustrated the fair examination of the deponent, it may impose upon the persons responsible an appropriate sanction, including the reasonable costs and attorney’s fees incurred by any parties as a result thereof.
(4) At any time during a deposition, on motion of a party or of the deponent and upon a showing that the examination is being conducted in bad faith or in such manner as unreasonably to annoy, embarrass, or oppress the deponent or party, the court in which the action is pending or the court in the circuit where the deposition is being taken may order the officer conducting the examination to cease forthwith from taking the deposition, or may limit the scope and manner of the taking of the deposition as provided in § 15-6- 26(c). If the order made terminates the examination, it may be resumed thereafter only upon the order of the court in which the action is pending. Upon demand of the objecting party or deponent, the taking of the deposition must be suspended for the time necessary to make a motion for an order. The provisions of § 15-6-37(a)(4) apply to the award of expenses incurred in relation to the motion.
(e) Submission of deposition to witness. When the testimony is fully transcribed the deposition shall be submitted to the witness for examination and shall be read to or by him, unless such examination and reading are waived by the witness and by the parties. Any changes in form or substance which the witness desires to make shall be entered upon the deposition by the officer with a statement of the reasons given by the witness for making them. The deposition shall then be signed by the witness, unless the parties by stipulation waive the signing or the witness is ill or cannot be found or refuses to sign. If the deposition is not signed by the witness within fifteen days of its submission to him, the officer shall sign it and state on the record the fact of the waiver or of the illness or absence of the witness or the fact of the refusal to sign together with the reason, if any, given therefor, and the deposition may then be used as fully as though signed unless on a motion to suppress under subdivision 15-6-32(d)(4) the court holds that the reasons given for the refusal to sign require rejection of the deposition in whole or in part.
(f) Certification and filing by officer — Exhibits — Copies.
(1) The officer shall prepare an electronic copy of the deposition transcript, including any changes as provided in 15–6–30(e), and shall certify on the deposition that the witness was duly sworn by the officer and that the deposition is a true record of the testimony given by the witness. This certificate must be in writing and accompany the record of the deposition. The officer shall promptly send the certified electronic original of the deposition to the attorney who arranged for the transcript or recording, who must store it for filing purposes if necessary. Documents and things produced for inspection during the examination of the witness, shall, upon the request of a party, be marked for identification and electronic files annexed to and returned with the deposition, and may be inspected and copied by any party, except that (A) the person producing the materials may substitute copies to be marked for identification, if he affords to all parties fair opportunity to verify the copies by comparison with the originals, and (B) if the person producing the materials requests their return, the officer shall mark them, give each party an opportunity to inspect and copy them, and return them to the person producing them, and the materials may then be used in the same manner as if annexed to and returned with the deposition. Any party may move for an order that the original be annexed to and returned with the deposition to the court, pending final disposition of the case.
(2) Upon payment of reasonable charges therefor, the officer shall furnish a copy of the transcript or other recording of the deposition to any party or to the deponent.
(3) The party taking the deposition shall give prompt notice of its filing to all other parties.
(g) Failure to attend deposition or to serve subpoena for expense.
(1) If the party giving the notice of the taking of a deposition fails to attend and proceed therewith and another party attends in person or by attorney pursuant to the notice, the court may order the party giving the notice to pay to such other party the amount of the reasonable expenses incurred by that party and that party’s attorney in so attending, including reasonable attorney’s fees.
(2) If the party giving the notice of the taking of a deposition of a witness fails to serve a subpoena upon the witness and the witness because of such failure does not attend, and if another party attends in person or by attorney because that party expects the deposition of that witness to be taken, the court may order the party giving the notice to pay to such other party the amount of reasonable expenses incurred by that party and that party’s attorney in so attending, including reasonable attorney’s fees.
Plain-English Summary
Subdivision (a) lets any party depose any person, including another party, after the action commences. A plaintiff generally needs leave of court to depose someone before thirty days after service of the summons and complaint on any defendant, unless a defendant has already served a deposition notice or otherwise sought discovery, or unless the plaintiff gives the special urgent notice described in subdivision (b)(2). A subpoena compels a witness’s attendance under § 15-6-45. Deposing an imprisoned person requires leave of court on terms the court sets, and deposing someone already deposed in the case requires either the deponent’s and parties’ consent or leave of court.
Subdivision (b) sets what the notice must contain — the time, place, and identity of the person to be examined — and lets a plaintiff skip the thirty-day wait by certifying, with supporting facts, that the deponent is about to leave the state or country or go to sea. It requires the notice to state the recording method, allocates recording costs to the party taking the deposition, and lets any party arrange an additional recording method at their own expense with notice. A notice to a party deponent may bundle a document-production request under § 15-6-34. Most notably, subdivision (b)(6) lets a party name a corporation, partnership, association, or governmental agency as the deponent and describe with reasonable particularity the matters for examination; the organization must then designate one or more officers, directors, managing agents, or other consenting persons to testify on its behalf about matters known or reasonably available to it, and a subpoena to a nonparty organization must advise it of this duty — the organizational-deponent, or 30(b)(6) deposition, mechanism. Parties may also stipulate, or the court may order, that a deposition be taken by telephone or other remote means.
Subdivision (c) has the officer swear the witness and record the testimony, with examination and cross-examination proceeding as they would at trial; objections are noted but the testimony is taken subject to them, and parties may instead serve written questions for the officer to propound. Subdivision (d) requires objections to be concise and non-argumentative, limits instructions not to answer to preserving a privilege, enforcing a court-ordered limit, or presenting a motion to terminate or limit the deposition, caps a deposition at one day of seven hours absent a stipulation or court order, requires the court to allow more time when fairness calls for it, authorizes sanctions for conduct that frustrates a fair examination, and lets the court terminate or limit a deposition being conducted in bad faith or to annoy, embarrass, or oppress a party or deponent.
Subdivision (e) has the transcribed deposition submitted to the witness for review unless waived, with any changes noted along with the witness’s reasons, and the witness signs it — or, if the witness does not sign within fifteen days, the officer signs and notes the reason, after which the deposition may still be used unless a motion to suppress persuades the court to reject it in whole or in part. Subdivision (f) has the officer certify and transmit the deposition and any produced exhibits, with options for substituting or returning original documents, and furnish copies on payment of reasonable charges, and the party who took the deposition must give prompt notice of its filing. Subdivision (g) lets the court shift the reasonable expenses of attending, including attorney’s fees, to a party who notices a deposition and then fails to attend, or who fails to subpoena a witness whose absence then wastes another party’s time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need the court’s permission before taking a deposition in a South Dakota case?
Usually not, but Rule 15-6-30(a) requires a plaintiff to get leave of court to depose someone before thirty days after service on any defendant, unless a defendant has already sought discovery or the plaintiff gives the special urgent notice under subdivision (b)(2).
Can I name a company or agency as the deponent instead of naming an individual employee?
Yes. Rule 15-6-30(b)(6) lets a party name a corporation, partnership, association, or governmental agency as the deponent, and the organization must designate one or more people to testify on its behalf about matters known or reasonably available to it — the organizational-deponent, or 30(b)(6) deposition, mechanism.
How long can a deposition last in South Dakota?
Rule 15-6-30(d)(2) sets a default limit of one day of seven hours, though the court must allow additional time when needed for a fair examination or when something has impeded or delayed it.
Can a lawyer instruct a witness not to answer a deposition question?
Only in limited circumstances. Rule 15-6-30(d)(1) allows an instruction not to answer only to preserve a privilege, to enforce a court-ordered limitation, or to present a motion to terminate or limit the deposition.
What happens if the witness will not sign the deposition transcript?
Under Rule 15-6-30(e), if the witness has not signed within fifteen days of submission, the officer signs it and states the reason for the refusal, illness, or absence, and the deposition may then be used as if signed unless a motion to suppress persuades the court to reject it.
Amendment History
(a)SDC 1939 & Supp 1960, §§ 36.0501, 36.0511; SD RCP, Rule 26(a), as adopted by Sup. Ct. Order March 29, 1966, effective July 1, 1966; SDCL, § 15-6-26(a); Supreme Court Rule 76-3, § 4; 2006, ch 294 (Supreme Court Rule 06- 20).
(b)SDC 1939 & Supp 1960, §§ 36.0506, 36.0513; SD RCP, Rules 26(d), 30(a), as adopted by Sup. Ct. Order March 29, 1966, effective July 1, 1966; SDCL, §§ 15-6-26(d), 15-6-30(a); Supreme Court Rule 76-3, § 4; Supreme Court Rule 82-9; Supreme Court Rules 86-4, 86-5; SL 2005, ch 290 (SCR 05-04), effective February 25, 2005; 2006, ch 295 (Supreme Court Rule 06-21).
(c)SDC 1939 & Supp 1960, §§ 36.0505, 36.0517; SD RCP, Rules 26 (c), 30 (c), as adopted by Sup. Ct. Order March 29, 1966, effective July 1, 1966; SDCL, § 15-6-26(c); Supreme Court Rule 76-3, § 4; SL 2004, ch 329 (Supreme Court Rule 04-02) effective July 1, 2004; 2006, ch 296 (Supreme Court Rule 06-22).
(d)SD RCP, Rule 30 (d), as adopted by Sup. Ct. Order March 29, 1966, effective July 1, 1966; Supreme Court Rule 76-3, § 4; 2006, ch 297 (Supreme Court Rule 06-23).
(e)SDC 1939 & Supp 1960, § 36.0518; SD RCP, Rule 30 (e), as adopted by Sup. Ct. Order March 29, 1966, effective July 1, 1966; Supreme Court Rule 76-3, § 4.
(f)SDC 1939 & Supp 1960, §§ 36.0519, 36.0520, 36.0521; SD RCP, Rule 30 (f), as adopted by Sup. Ct. Order March 29, 1966, effective July 1, 1966; Supreme Court Rule 76-3, § 4; 1995, ch 308 (Supreme Court Rule 95-1); 2006, ch 298 (Supreme Court Rule 06-24); SL 2016, ch 241 (SCR 16-02), eff. July 1, 2016; 2018, ch 295 (SCR 18-04), eff. July 1, 2018.
(g)SDC 1939 & Supp 1960, § 36.0515; SD RCP, Rule 30 (g), as adopted by Sup. Ct. Order March 29, 1966, effective July 1, 1966; Supreme Court Rule 76-3, § 4; 2006, ch 299 (Supreme Court Rule 06-25).
Source & verification. Rule text and History are
reproduced verbatim from the South Dakota Codified Laws, published by the
South Dakota Legislative Research Council. Last verified July 16, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: south dakota 30(b)(6) depositiondeposition of organization south dakotacorporate designee deposition sdseven hour deposition limit south dakotainstruct witness not to answer sd depositionoral deposition notice requirements south dakota