Rule 34.Production of Documents and Things and Entry Upon Land for Inspection and Other Purposes

Chapter V: Depositions and Discovery · Last amended October 7, 2021 · Last verified July 14, 2026

In one sentenceRule 34 is Mississippi's request-for-production rule, letting a party demand inspection and copying of documents, electronically stored information, and tangible things, or entry onto land, within thirty days of service (forty-five for a defendant answering after being served), with objections that must state specifically whether responsive material is being withheld.

Full Text of Rule 34

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

(a) Scope. Any party may serve on any other party a request (1) to produce and permit the party making the request, or someone acting on his behalf, to inspect and copy, any designated documents or electronically stored information (including writings, drawings, graphs, charts, photographs, phono-records, and other data compilations from which information can be obtained, translated, if necessary, by the respondent through detection devices into reasonably useable form), or to inspect and copy, test, or sample any tangible things which constitute or contain matters within the scope of Rule 26(b) and which are in the possession, custody, or control of the party upon whom the request is served; or (2) to permit entry upon designated land or other property in the possession or control of the party upon whom the request is served for the purpose of inspection and measuring, surveying, photographing, testing, or sampling the property or any designated object or operation thereon, within the scope of Rule 26 (b).

(b) Procedure.

(i) Requests. The request may, without leave of court, be served upon the plaintiff after commencement of the action and upon any other party with or after service of the summons and complaint upon that party. The request shall set forth the items to be inspected either by individual item or by category, and describe each item and category with reasonable particularity. The request shall specify a reasonable time, place, and manner of making the inspection and performing the related acts. The request may specify the form or forms in which electronically stored information is to be produced.

(ii) Responses and Objections.

(A) Time to Respond. The party upon whom the request is served shall serve a written response within thirty days after the service of the request, except that a defendant may serve a response within forty-five days after service of the summons and complaint upon that defendant. The court may allow a shorter or longer time.

(B) Responding to Each Item. The response shall state, with respect to each item or category, that inspection and related activities will be permitted as requested, unless the request is objected to, in which event the grounds for objection shall be stated with specificity, including the reasons. The responding party may state that it will produce copies of documents or of electronically stored information instead of permitting inspection. The production must then be completed no later than the time for inspection specified in the request or another reasonable time specified in the response.

(C) Objections. An objection must state whether any responsive materials are being withheld on the basis of the objection. An objection to a part of a request must specify the part and permit inspection of the rest.

(D) Responding to a Request for Production of Electronically Stored Information. The response may state an objection to a requested form for producing electronically stored information. If the responding party objects to a requested form - or if no form was specified in the request - the responding party must state the form or forms it intends to use. Pursuant to Rule 26(b)(5), a responding party may also object to production of electronically stored information that is not reasonably accessible because of undue burden or cost.

(E) Producing the Documents or Electronically Stored Information. When producing documents, the producing party shall produce them as they are kept in the usual course of business or shall organize and label them to correspond with the categories in the request that call for their production. If a request does not specify a form for producing electronically stored information, a party must produce it in a form or forms in which it is ordinarily maintained or in a reasonably usable form or forms. A party need not produce the same electronically stored information in more than one form.

(F) Motion to Compel. The party submitting the request may move for an order to compel discovery under Rule 37(a) with respect to any objection to or other failure to respond to the request or any part thereof, or any failure to permit inspection as requested.

(c) Persons Not Parties. As provided in Rule 45, a party may compel a nonparty to produce documents and tangible things or to permit inspection.

End

Amendment History

Effective July 1, 2013, MRCP 34 was amended to specifically authorize a party to request any other party to produce electronically stored information. The amendment

established the procedure for requesting production of electronically stored information and the procedure for objecting to such a request.

Effective October 7, 2021, M.R.C.P. 34 was amended. M.R.C.P. 34(b) was subdivided and captions were added. In addition, the amendment requires an objecting party to state the objection with specificity, including the reasons for the objection, and to indicate whether any materials are being withheld based upon the objection. M.R.C.P. 34(c) was amended to include a reference to M.R.C.P. 45.

Plain-English Summary

Rule 34(a) lets a party request that another party produce and permit inspection and copying of documents or electronically stored information — writings, drawings, photographs, and other data compilations, translated into usable form if needed — or tangible things within the scope of Rule 26(b) discovery and in that party's possession, custody, or control. It also lets a party request entry onto land or other property the responding party possesses or controls, to inspect, measure, survey, photograph, test, or sample it or anything on it.

Subsection (b) sets out the procedure. A request may be served on the plaintiff after the suit begins and on any other party with or after service of the summons and complaint. It must describe each item or category with reasonable particularity and specify a reasonable time, place, and manner for the inspection, and it may specify the form for producing electronically stored information. The responding party has thirty days to serve a written response — forty-five days if it is a defendant answering after being served — addressing each item or category: either agreeing to the requested inspection, objecting with specific grounds and stating whether any responsive material is being withheld, or offering to produce copies instead of allowing inspection. An objection to only part of a request must identify that part and still permit inspection of the rest. For electronically stored information, the responding party must state the form it intends to use if it objects to the requested form or none was specified, and documents generally must be produced as kept in the ordinary course of business or organized and labeled to match the request's categories. A party who fails to get the cooperation it is entitled to under this rule can move to compel under Rule 37(a).

Subsection (c) addresses documents and things in the hands of someone who is not a party to the suit, pointing to the subpoena procedure in Rule 45 rather than duplicating it here. A 2013 amendment added electronically stored information to the rule's scope, and a 2021 amendment reorganized subsection (b) with clearer captions and tightened the specificity required of objections.

Frequently Asked Questions

What can I ask the other side to produce under Rule 34?

Documents, electronically stored information, and tangible things within the scope of Rule 26(b) discovery that are in the other party's possession, custody, or control, as well as entry onto land or property that party possesses or controls for inspection, measuring, testing, or sampling.

How long does the other side have to respond to my request for production?

Thirty days after service under Rule 34(b)(ii)(A), except that a defendant answering after being served with the summons and complaint gets forty-five days. The court can shorten or lengthen either deadline.

Can I request electronically stored information in a specific file format?

Yes. Rule 34(b)(i) lets the request specify the form for producing electronically stored information. If the responding party objects to that form, or none was specified, it must state the form it intends to use instead.

If the other side objects to only part of my document request, do I lose the whole thing?

No. Rule 34(b)(ii)(C) requires that an objection to only part of a request identify that part specifically and still permit inspection of the remainder.

How do I get documents from someone who isn't a party to my lawsuit?

Rule 34(c) points to the subpoena procedure in Rule 45 for compelling a nonparty to produce documents or tangible things or to permit inspection.

Source & verification. Rule text and Advisory Committee Notes are reproduced verbatim from the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure, adopted by the Supreme Court of Mississippi. Last verified July 14, 2026. · Official source

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