Rule 33.Interrogatories to Parties

Last amended December 1, 2015 · Last verified June 30, 2026

In one sentenceRule 33 governs interrogatories — written questions one party serves on another party, limited to 25 including subparts without leave — which must be answered or objected to in writing and under oath within 30 days, with an option to answer by producing business records.

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)(1) and (2).

(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 must 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 must furnish the information available to the party.

(2) Time to Respond. The responding party must 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 must, 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 must 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 must sign them, and the attorney who objects must 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 must 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

(Amended December 27, 1946, effective March 19, 1948; March 30, 1970, effective July 1, 1970; April 29, 1980, effective August 1, 1980; April 22, 1993, effective December 1, 1993; April 12, 2006, effective December 1, 2006; April 30, 2007, effective December 1, 2007; April 29, 2015, effective December 1, 2015.)

Plain-English Summary

Interrogatories are written questions sent from one party to another. Without the court’s leave or the other side’s agreement, a party may serve no more than 25 interrogatories, counting discrete subparts, on any other party. They go only to parties, not to nonparties.

The responding party must serve answers and any objections within 30 days. Answers are given in writing, under oath, and signed by the person making them; objections are signed by the attorney. An interrogatory is not objectionable merely because it asks for an opinion or contention that relates to fact or to the application of law to fact. When the answer can be found in a party’s business records and the burden of finding it is the same for both sides, the responding party may point to those records instead of writing out the answer (Rule 33(d)).

Frequently Asked Questions

How many interrogatories can you serve?

Up to 25, including all discrete subparts, without leave of court or a stipulation (Rule 33(a)(1)).

How long do you have to answer interrogatories?

30 days after being served, unless a different time is stipulated or ordered (Rule 33(b)(2)).

Source & verification. The rule text and amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the official Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (Fed. R. Civ. P. 33), a public-domain work of the U.S. Government. Prescribed by the United States Supreme Court under the Rules Enabling Act. The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified June 30, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: FRCP 33Fed. R. Civ. P. 33interrogatories25 interrogatoriesinterrogatory limitROG