35.01 Order for Examination. When the mental or physical condition (including the blood group) of a party, or of a person in the custody or under the legal control of a party, is in controversy, the court in which the action is pending may order the party to submit to a physical or mental examination by a suitably licensed or certified examiner or to produce for examination the person in his or her custody or legal control. The order may be made only on motion for good cause shown and upon notice to the person to be examined and to all parties and shall specify the time, place, manner, conditions, and scope of the examination and the person or persons by whom it is to be made.
Rule 35.Physical and Mental Examination of Persons
Last amended July 1, 1994 · Last verified July 2, 2026
In one sentenceRule 35 lets a court order a party, or a person in a party’s custody or legal control, to submit to a physical or mental examination once that person’s condition is at issue and the moving party shows good cause, and it lets the examined person obtain a copy of the examiner’s report in exchange for waiving related medical privilege.
Full Text of Rule 35
35.02 Report of Examining Physician.
1 If requested by the party against whom an order is made under Rule 35.01 or the person examined, the party causing the examination to be made shall deliver to him a copy of a detailed written report of the suitably licensed or certified examiner setting out findings, including results of all tests made, diagnoses and conclusions, together with like reports of all earlier examinations of the same condition. After delivery the party causing the examination shall be entitled upon request to receive from the party against whom the order is made a like report of any examination, previously or thereafter made, of the same condition, unless, in the case of a report of examination of a person not a party, the party cannot obtain it. The court on motion may make an order against a party requiring delivery of a report on such terms as are just, and if a suitably licensed or certified examiner fails or refuses to make a report the court may exclude testimony if offered at the trial.
2 By requesting and obtaining a report of the examination so ordered or by taking the deposition of the examiner, the party examined waives any privilege in that action or any other involving the same controversy, regarding the testimony of every other person who has examined or may thereafter examine that party in respect of the same mental or physical condition.
3 This subdivision applies to examinations made by agreement of the parties, unless the agreement expressly provides otherwise. This subdivision does not preclude discovery of a report of a suitably licensed or certified examiner or the taking of a deposition of the suitably licensed or certified examiner in accordance with the provisions of any other rule.
Advisory Commission Comments
Advisory Commission Comments [1994].
The amendment expands the group of professionals who can conduct examinations. Whether an examiner authorized under this rule may give testimony at a trial or proceeding is governed by the Tennessee Rules of Evidence.
Amendment History
- As amended July 1, 1979, and by order entered December 20, 1993, effective July 1, 1994.
Plain-English Summary
Rule 35.01 lets the court order an examination only on motion, only for good cause, and only after notice to the person who will be examined and to every party. The order must specify the time, place, manner, conditions, and scope of the exam and name who will perform it. This is one of the few discovery tools that is not self-executing — a party cannot notice an examination the way it would notice a deposition; it has to persuade the court first. Courts have read “good cause” to demand more than a bare pleading allegation about a party’s condition — the party asking for the exam has to make a specific showing tied to that condition and that particular kind of exam, and to consider whether the information could be reached another way.
Tennessee courts apply that standard differently depending on context. In custody and other domestic-relations disputes, courts have been cautious about ordering exams, wary that they can be used to pressure a party rather than to develop real evidence, and reluctant to order one that adds little beyond what the record already shows. In personal-injury cases, by contrast, a defendant facing a claim for physical injury has close to an automatic right to have the plaintiff examined by an examiner of the defendant’s own choosing — the rule does not require that examiner to be neutral — unless the plaintiff shows a good reason to limit or deny the exam, such as an unusually invasive procedure or an examiner with an obvious conflict.
Rule 35.02 builds in a trade: if the examined party or the party against whom the order was entered asks for a copy of the examiner’s detailed written report, the party who obtained the exam has to produce it, along with reports of any earlier examinations of the same condition. Requesting that report — or deposing the examiner — waives the examined party’s privilege as to every other examination of the same condition, past or future, in that case or in any other case involving the same controversy. A party who never asks for the report keeps the privilege intact. Rule 35.02(3) extends the same reporting and privilege rules to examinations the parties arrange by agreement, unless their agreement says otherwise.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a court order me to undergo a medical exam requested by the other side?
Only on motion, for good cause, and after notice to you and every other party. Rule 35.01 requires the court’s order to specify the time, place, manner, conditions, and scope of the exam and who will perform it — a party cannot demand an exam without first getting the court’s permission.
Does the examiner have to be neutral?
No. Rule 35 does not require the examiner to be independent of the party who requested the exam, and Tennessee courts have rejected arguments that it does — the opposing party’s remedy is to challenge the examiner’s qualifications or ask for its own exam, not to demand a neutral examiner.
What happens if I ask for a copy of the examination report?
Rule 35.02 lets you request the examiner’s detailed written report, but requesting it — or deposing the examiner — waives your privilege regarding every other examination of the same condition, whether past or future, in that case or in any related one.
Source & verification. The rule text and Advisory Commission Comments are reproduced verbatim from the
official Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure (Tenn. R. Civ. P. 35). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of Tennessee (Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 16-3-402 to 16-3-407, 16-3-601). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 2, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: independent medical examinationIMEphysical examinationmental examinationwaiver of medical privilege
Advisory Commission Comments.
This Rule permits a court to order the physical or mental examination of a party upon motion of another party when the condition is in controversy. A provision is made to permit the examined party to obtain a copy of the report; obtaining such a copy acts as a waiver of any privilege with respect to other examinations of the same party for the same condition.