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Rule 33.Interrogatories to Parties.

Last amended April 15, 2009 · Last verified July 6, 2026

In one sentenceRule 33 lets a party send up to 30 written interrogatories to another party, sets deadlines and grounds for objecting to them, and lets a party answer certain interrogatories by pointing to its business records instead of writing out the answer.

Full Text of Rule 33

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

(a) Availability. 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, a partnership, an association, or governmental agency, by any officer or agent, who shall furnish such information as is available to the party. Without leave of court or written stipulation, a party may serve only thirty interrogatories upon another party, including all discrete subparts. This limit includes interrogatories served under Rule 26(d)(1). Leave to serve additional interrogatories shall be granted to the extent consistent with the principles of Rule 26(b)(2). Without leave of court or written stipulation, interrogatories may not be served before the time specified in Rule 26(d). There shall be sufficient space provided so that answers to the interrogatories propounded may be inserted thereon.
(b) Answers and Objections.
(1) Each interrogatory shall be answered separately and fully in writing under oath, unless it is objected to, in which event the objecting party shall state the reasons for objection and shall answer to the extent the interrogatory is not objectionable.
(2) The answers are to be signed by the person making them, and the objections signed by the attorney making them.
(3) The party upon whom the interrogatories have been served shall serve a copy of the answers, and objections if any, within 30 days after the service of the interrogatories. A shorter or longer time may be directed by the court or, in the absence of such an order, agreed to in writing by the parties subject to Rule 29.
(4) All grounds for an objection to an interrogatory shall be stated with specificity. Any ground not stated in a timely objection is waived unless the party’s failure to object is excused by the court for good cause shown.
(5) The party submitting the interrogatories may move for an order under Rule 37(a) with respect to any objection to or other failure to answer an interrogatory.
(c) Scope; Use at Trial. Interrogatories may relate to any matters which can be inquired into under Rule 26(b)(1), and the answers may be used to the extent permitted by the rules of evidence.
An interrogatory otherwise proper is not necessarily objectionable merely because an answer to the interrogatory involves an opinion or contention that relates to fact or the application of law to fact, but the court may order that such an interrogatory need not be answered until after designated discovery has been completed or until a pretrial conference or other later time.
(d) Option to Produce Business Records. Where 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, or from a compilation, abstract or summary based thereon, 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 to identify, as readily as can the party served, the records from which the answer can be ascertained.
End

Amendment History

(Adopted by SCO 5 October 9, 1959; amended by SCO 158 effective February 15, 1973; amended by SCO 337 effective January 1, 1979; by SCO 465 effective June 1, 1981; by SCO 1172 effective July 15, 1995; by SCO 1266 effective July 15, 1997; by SCO 1305 effective January 15, 1998; and by SCO 1682 effective April 15, 2009)

Plain-English Summary

A party may serve up to 30 written interrogatories on another party without needing the court's permission or a stipulation, counting every discrete subpart and any of the ten a party may elect to serve early under Rule 26(d)(1); more requires the court's leave, granted under the same standard that governs other discovery limits. Interrogatories can't be served before discovery normally opens. Each interrogatory must be answered separately, fully, and under oath within 30 days, unless the responding party objects and states its reasons, in which case it must still answer whatever part isn't objectionable; objections must be specific, and an unstated ground is waived unless the court excuses it for good cause. The answers are signed by the person who gave them, the objections by the attorney who made them, and a party can ask the court to compel a better answer or overrule an objection.

Interrogatories may cover anything within the general scope of discovery, and one isn't objectionable just because it calls for an opinion or a conclusion that applies law to fact, though the court can put off requiring an answer until later in the case. If the answer can be found in the responding party's business records — including electronically stored information — and it would be just as much work for either side to dig it out, the responding party can answer by pointing to the specific records and giving the other side a fair chance to examine, copy, and summarize them, described in enough detail that the other side can find the answer as easily as the responding party could.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many interrogatories can I send the other side in an Alaska case?

Up to 30, counting every discrete subpart, without needing the court's permission; more requires leave of court.

How long does the other side have to answer interrogatories?

30 days, unless the court or a written agreement sets a different deadline.

Can a party answer an interrogatory just by pointing to its business records?

Yes, if the answer can be derived from those records and it would be equally burdensome for either side to find it, as long as the party gives the requesting side a fair chance to examine and copy them.

Source & verification. The rule text, Amendment History, and Notes are reproduced verbatim from the official Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure (Alaska R. Civ. P. 33). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of Alaska (Alaska Const. art. IV, § 15). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 6, 2026. · Official source
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