Rule 33.Interrogatories to parties

Current through January 1, 2025 · Last verified July 8, 2026

In one sentenceRule 33 lets a party serve up to 25 written interrogatories on any other party, requires answers under oath within 30 days with specifically stated objections, and allows a responding party to answer certain interrogatories by making its business records available instead of compiling a narrative answer.

Full Text of Rule 33

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b) (c) (d)

(a) In general.

(1) Number. Unless otherwise stipulated or ordered by the court, a party may serve on any other party no more than 25 written interrogatories, including all discrete subparts. Leave to serve additional interrogatories may be granted to the extent consistent with Rule 26(b).

(2) Scope. An interrogatory may relate to any matter that may be inquired into under Rule 26(b). An interrogatory is not objectionable merely because it asks for an opinion or contention that relates to fact or the application of law to fact, but the court may order that the interrogatory need not be answered until designated discovery is complete, or until a pretrial conference or some other time.

(b) Answers and objections.

(1) Responding party. The interrogatories shall be answered:

(A) by the party to whom they are directed; or

(B) if that party is a public or private corporation, a partnership, an association, or a governmental agency, by any officer or agent, who shall furnish the information available to the party.

(2) Time to respond. The responding party shall serve its answers and any objections within 30 days after being served with the interrogatories. A shorter or longer time may be stipulated to under Rule 29 or be ordered by the court.

(3) Answering each interrogatory. Each interrogatory shall, to the extent it is not objected to, be answered separately and fully in writing under oath.

(4) Objections. The grounds for objecting to an interrogatory shall be stated with specificity. Any ground not stated in a timely objection is waived unless the court, for good cause, excuses the failure.

(5) Signature. The person who makes the answers shall sign them, and the attorney who objects shall sign any objections.

(d) Option to produce business records. If the answer to an interrogatory may be determined by examining, auditing, compiling, abstracting, or summarizing a party's business records (including electronically stored information), and if the burden of deriving or ascertaining the answer will be substantially the same for either party, the responding party may answer by:

(1) specifying the records that shall be reviewed, in sufficient detail to enable the interrogating party to locate and identify them as readily as the responding party could; and

(2) giving the interrogating party a reasonable opportunity to examine and audit the records and to make copies, compilations, abstracts, or summaries.

End

Amendment History

The current West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure took effect January 1, 2025, as part of a rewrite that modernized the rules’ numbering and structure. West Virginia 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 January 1, 2025 update; for the underlying adopting order and any later amendments, see the West Virginia Judiciary’s compiled rules page.

Plain-English Summary

Interrogatories are written questions one party sends another, and Rule 33 caps them at 25 per party (counting discrete subparts), unless the court grants leave for more. They can touch on anything within the broad scope of discovery, and an interrogatory isn't objectionable just because it asks for an opinion or a contention tied to fact or the application of law to fact — though the court can put off requiring an answer until later in the case.

Whoever is asked — an individual party, or an officer or agent of a corporate or organizational party — has 30 days to serve answers and any objections, each interrogatory answered separately and fully under oath unless it's been objected to. Objections have to be specific, or they're waived (unless the court excuses that for good cause), and the person who answers signs the answers while the objecting attorney signs the objections.

When an interrogatory could be answered by digging through business records, and the burden of pulling out the answer would fall equally on either side, Rule 33(d) lets the responding party point the interrogating party to the records themselves — specifying them in enough detail to find them, and giving a fair chance to examine and copy them — instead of compiling the answer from scratch.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many interrogatories can I serve on another party?

25, including all discrete subparts, unless the court grants leave to serve more.

How long does a party have to answer interrogatories?

30 days after being served, unless the parties stipulate to a different time under Rule 29 or the court orders otherwise.

Can I object to an interrogatory instead of answering it?

Yes, but the grounds have to be stated with specificity, and any ground not raised in a timely objection is generally waived.

Can I answer an interrogatory by just pointing to my business records?

Yes, if the answer can be derived from those records and the burden of finding it would be about the same for either party, Rule 33(d) lets you specify the records and let the other side examine them instead of writing out a narrative answer.

Source & verification. The rule text is reproduced verbatim from the official West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure (W. Va. R. Civ. P. 33). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia (W. Va. Const. art. VIII, § 3). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 8, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: interrogatories to parties25 interrogatory limitobjecting to interrogatoriesROGs