§ 2025.220.Form and contents of notice; copy of deposition subpoena as notice of deposition

Title 4. Civil Discovery Act · Chapter 9. Oral Deposition Inside California · Article 2. Deposition Notice · Last amended 2019 · Last verified July 29, 2026

In one sentenceSection 2025.220 requires a deposition notice, in 12-point type, to state the deposition's location, date, and time, the deponent's identity, any materials to be produced, any plan to record by audio, video, or instant visual display, any reservation to use a physician's or expert's video testimony at trial, and any financial relationship with the deposition officer.

Full Text of § 2025.220

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(a) A party desiring to take the oral deposition of any person shall give notice in writing. The deposition notice shall state all of the following, in at least 12-point type:

(1) The address where the deposition will be taken.

(2) The date of the deposition, selected under Section 2025.270, and the time it will commence.

(3) The name of each deponent, and the address and telephone number, if known, of any deponent who is not a party to the action. If the name of the deponent is not known, the deposition notice shall set forth instead a general description sufficient to identify the person or particular class to which the person belongs.

(4) The specification with reasonable particularity of any materials or category of materials, including any electronically stored information, to be produced by the deponent.

(5) Any intention by the party noticing the deposition to record the testimony by audio or video technology, in addition to recording the testimony by the stenographic method as required by Section 2025.330 and any intention to record the testimony by stenographic method through the instant visual display of the testimony. If the deposition will be conducted using instant visual display, a copy of the deposition notice shall also be given to the deposition officer. Any offer to provide the instant visual display of the testimony or to provide rough draft transcripts to any party which is accepted prior to, or offered at, the deposition shall also be made by the deposition officer at the deposition to all parties in attendance. Any party or attorney requesting the provision of the instant visual display of the testimony, or rough draft transcripts, shall pay the reasonable cost of those services, which may be no greater than the costs charged to any other party or attorney.

(6) Any intention to reserve the right to use at trial a video recording of the deposition testimony of a treating or consulting physician or of an expert witness under subdivision (d) of Section 2025.620. In this event, the operator of the video camera shall be a person who is authorized to administer an oath, and shall not be financially interested in the action or be a relative or employee of any attorney of any of the parties.

(7) The form in which any electronically stored information is to be produced, if a particular form is desired.

(8) (A) A statement disclosing the existence of a contract, if any is known to the noticing party, between the noticing party or a third party who is financing all or part of the action and either of the following for any service beyond the noticed deposition:

(i) The deposition officer.

(ii) The entity providing the services of the deposition officer.

(B) A statement disclosing that the party noticing the deposition, or a third party financing all or part of the action, directed his or her attorney to use a particular officer or entity to provide services for the deposition, if applicable.

(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), where under Article 4 (commencing with Section 2020.410) only the production by a nonparty of business records for copying is desired, a copy of the deposition subpoena shall serve as the notice of deposition.

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Plain-English Summary

A deposition notice is more than an invitation to show up; this section treats it as a checklist that protects everyone involved from surprise. Every notice, printed in at least 12-point type, has to state the address where the deposition will happen, the date and time, and the identity of each deponent, along with contact information for anyone who is not a party. If the noticing party does not yet know exactly who at an organization will testify, a description of the person or class of person suffices.

The notice also has to describe with reasonable particularity any documents, electronically stored information, or other materials the deponent should bring, and say what form any electronically stored information should take if the noticing party wants a particular format. Recording method gets its own disclosure requirement: the notice must say whether the party intends to record the testimony by audio or video technology in addition to the required stenographic record, or by instant visual display, and it must flag any intention to preserve a video recording of a treating or consulting physician or an expert witness for possible use at trial.

Finally, the section requires financial transparency. If the noticing party, or a third party financing the litigation, has a contract with the deposition officer or that officer's employer for any service beyond the deposition itself, or has directed counsel to use a particular reporter or company, the notice must disclose that arrangement, a safeguard against the deposition officer favoring the side that hired the officer. A narrow exception in subdivision (b) lets a business-records-only subpoena under Article 4 of the nonparty discovery chapter stand in for a full deposition notice when no live testimony is sought.

Frequently Asked Questions

What information must a deposition notice include?

The location, date, and time of the deposition, the deponent's identity and contact information, the materials to be produced, any intent to record by audio, video, or instant visual display, and any intent to preserve a physician's or expert's video testimony for trial.

Does the notice need to be in a particular font size?

Yes, at least 12-point type.

What if the noticing party doesn't know exactly who at an organization will testify?

A general description sufficient to identify the person or class of person is enough.

What financial relationship must the notice disclose?

Any contract between the noticing party (or a litigation funder) and the deposition officer or that officer's employer for services beyond the deposition, and any instruction to use a particular reporter or entity.

When can a subpoena stand in for a deposition notice?

When only a nonparty's production of business records for copying is sought under Article 4 of the nonparty discovery chapter.

Amendment History

(Added by Stats.2004, c. 182 (A.B.3081), § 23, operative July 1, 2005. Amended by Stats.2012, c. 72 (S.B.1574), § 20; Stats.2015, c. 346 (A.B.1197), § 2, eff. Jan. 1, 2016; Stats.2018, c. 268 (A.B.3019), § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 2019.)

Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from the West's Annotated California Codes / Thomson Reuters. Enacted by the California Legislature. Last verified July 29, 2026. · Official source

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