Rule 32.Use of depositions in court proceedings

Group 5: Depositions and Discovery · Last amended April 28, 2015 · Last verified July 13, 2026

In one sentenceRule 32 sets the conditions under which a deposition can be read or played at trial in place of live testimony, lists the objections a party waives by staying silent at the deposition, and preserves objections that can only be raised once the deposition is offered into evidence.

Full Text of Rule 32

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(a) Use of depositions. At the trial or upon the hearing of a motion or an interlocutory proceeding, any part or all of a deposition, so far as admissible under the Rules of Evidence applied as though the witness were then present and testifying, may be used against any party who was present or represented at the taking of the deposition or who had reasonable notice thereof, in accordance with any of the following provisions:

(1) Any deposition may be used by any party for the purpose of contradicting or impeaching the testimony of deponent as a witness or for any purpose permitted by the Rules of Evidence.

(2) The deposition of a party or of anyone who at the time of taking the deposition was an officer, director, or managing agent, or a person designated under rule 30(b)(6) or 31(a) to testify on behalf of a public or private corporation, partnership or association or governmental agency which is a party may be used by an adverse party for any purpose.

(3) The deposition of a witness, whether or not a party, may be used by any party for any purpose if the court finds: (A) that the witness is dead; or (B) that the witness resides out of the county and more than 20 miles from the place of trial, unless it appears that the absence of the witness was procured by the party offering the deposition or unless the witness is an out-of-state expert subject to subsection (a)(5)(A) of this rule; or (C) that the witness is unable to attend or testify because of age, illness, infirmity, or imprisonment; or (D) that the party offering the deposition has been unable to procure the attendance of the witness by subpoena; or (E) upon application and notice, that such exceptional circumstances exist as to make it desirable, in the interest of justice and with due regard to the importance of presenting the testimony of witnesses orally in open court, to allow the deposition to be used.

(4) If only part of a deposition is offered in evidence by a party, an adverse party may require the party to introduce any other part which ought in fairness to be considered with the part introduced, and any party may introduce any other parts.

(5) The deposition of an expert witness may be used as follows:

(A) The discovery deposition of an opposing party’s rule 26(b)(5) expert witness, who resides outside the state of Washington, may be used if reasonable notice before the trial date is provided to all parties and any party against whom the deposition is intended to be used is given a reasonable opportunity to depose the expert again.

(B) The deposition of a health care professional, even though available to testify at trial, taken with the expressly stated purpose of preserving the deponent’s testimony for trial, may be used if, before the taking of the deposition, there has been compliance with discovery requests made pursuant to rules 26(b)(5)(A)(i), 33, 34, and 35 (as applicable) and if the opposing party is afforded an adequate opportunity to prepare, by discovery deposition of the deponent or other means, for cross examination of the deponent.

Substitution of parties pursuant to rule 25 does not affect the right to use depositions previously taken; and, when an action has been brought in any court of the United States or of any state and another action involving the same issues and subject matter is afterward brought between the same parties or their representatives or successors in interest, all depositions lawfully taken and duly filed in the former action may be used in the latter as if originally taken therefor. A deposition previously taken may also be used as permitted by the Rules of Evidence.

(b) Objections to admissibility. Subject to the provisions of rule 28(b) and subsection (d)(3) of this rule, objection may be made at the trial or hearing to receiving in evidence any deposition or part thereof for any reason which would require the exclusion of the evidence if the witness were then present and testifying.

(c) Effect of taking or using depositions. A party does not make a person the party’s own witness for any purpose by taking the person’s deposition. The introduction in evidence of the deposition or any part thereof for any purpose other than that of contradicting or impeaching the deponent makes the deponent the witness of the party introducing the deposition, but this shall not apply to the use by an adverse party of a deposition under subsection (a)(2) of this rule. At the trial or hearing any party may rebut any relevant evidence contained in a deposition whether introduced by the party or by any other party.

(d) Effect of errors and irregularities in depositions.

(1) As to notice. All errors and irregularities in the notice for taking a deposition are waived unless written objection is promptly served upon the party giving the notice.

(2) As to disqualification of officer. Objection to taking a deposition because of disqualification of the officer before whom it is to be taken is waived unless made before the taking of the deposition begins or as soon thereafter as the disqualification becomes known or could be discovered with reasonable diligence.

(3) As to taking of deposition.

(A) Objections to the competency of a witness or to the competency, relevancy, or materiality of testimony are not waived by failure to make them before or during the taking of the deposition, unless the ground of the objection is one which might have been obviated or removed if presented at that time.

(B) Errors and irregularities occurring at the oral examination in the manner of taking the deposition, in the form of the questions or answers, in the oath or affirmation, or in the conduct of parties, and errors of any kind which might be obviated, removed, or cured if promptly presented, are waived unless seasonable objection thereto is made at the taking of the deposition.

(C) Objections to the form of written questions submitted under rule 31 are waived unless served in writing upon the party propounding them within the time allowed for serving the succeeding cross or other questions and within 5 days after service of the last questions authorized.

(4) As to completion and return of deposition. Errors and irregularities in the manner in which the testimony is transcribed or the deposition is prepared, signed, certified, sealed, endorsed, transmitted, filed, or otherwise dealt with by the officer under rules 30 and 31 are waived unless a motion to suppress the deposition or some part thereof is made with reasonable promptness after such defect is, or with due diligence might have been, ascertained.

End

Amendment History

Prior: RPPP Rule 32. Adopted May 5, 1967, effective July 1, 1967; amended May 26, 1972, effective July 1, 1972; amended, adopted June 14, 1983, effective Sept. 1, 1983; amended June 10, 1993, effective Sept. 1, 1993; amended, effective April 28, 2015.

Plain-English Summary

Taking a deposition and using it at trial are two different things, and Rule 32 governs the second half of that process. A deposition can be used against any party who was present, represented, or had reasonable notice of the taking, but only to the extent the testimony would be admissible under the rules of evidence if the witness were on the stand. Rule 32(a) lists five situations where that use is allowed: impeachment of the deponent, use against a party or the party's designated corporate representative for any purpose, use of any witness's deposition where the court finds the witness unavailable in one of several specific ways, use of a partial deposition triggering the adverse party's right to introduce related portions, and use of an expert's deposition under particular conditions.

The unavailability categories in Rule 32(a)(3) cover a witness who has died, who lives more than 20 miles from the trial location and outside the county (unless the offering party caused that absence, or the witness is an out-of-state expert governed by the separate rule for experts), who cannot attend or testify because of age, illness, infirmity, or imprisonment, whose attendance could not be procured by subpoena, or whose deposition testimony the court finds should be admitted because of exceptional circumstances in the interest of justice. The rule carves out a distinct path for expert witnesses: the discovery deposition of an opposing party's expert who lives outside Washington can be used at trial if the offering party gives reasonable advance notice and lets the other side re-depose the expert, and a health care professional's deposition taken expressly to preserve trial testimony can be used once discovery obligations tied to that expert have been satisfied and the opposing party has had a fair opportunity to prepare for cross-examination.

Rule 32(c) addresses a practical worry: using someone's deposition at trial does not make that person your own witness, except that introducing the deposition for a purpose other than impeachment does make the deponent the introducing party's witness -- with an exception for an adverse party using a party-opponent's deposition. Either side can still rebut anything in a deposition regardless of who introduced it.

Rule 32(d) is a waiver map. Objections to the deposition notice are waived unless raised promptly; objections to the officer's qualification to preside are waived unless raised before or promptly after the disqualification becomes known; objections to a witness's competency or to relevance and materiality survive even without a contemporaneous objection, unless the defect could have been fixed at the time; but objections to the form of a question, the manner of examination, or the oath are waived unless raised when they happen, because those are the kinds of problems a prompt objection could have cured. Objections to the form of written questions under Rule 31 must be served within the time allowed for the next round of questions and within five days after the last question is served. And objections to how the deposition itself was transcribed, signed, certified, or filed are waived unless a motion to suppress is made with reasonable promptness after the defect is discovered.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a deposition be read into evidence just because the witness is inconvenient to bring to trial?

Not on inconvenience alone. Rule 32(a)(3) requires the court to find one of several specific conditions: the witness is dead, lives outside the county and more than 20 miles from the trial location, cannot attend because of age, illness, infirmity, or imprisonment, could not be reached by subpoena, or exceptional circumstances make use of the deposition appropriate in the interest of justice.

Can any party use a deposition to impeach a witness at trial?

Yes. Rule 32(a)(1) allows any party to use any deposition to contradict or impeach the deponent's trial testimony, or for any other purpose the rules of evidence permit, regardless of whether that party noticed the deposition.

What are the special rules for using an expert witness's deposition at trial?

Rule 32(a)(5) allows the discovery deposition of an opposing party's expert who resides outside Washington to be used if reasonable notice is given before trial and the other side gets a chance to depose the expert again. A health care professional's deposition taken specifically to preserve trial testimony can be used once the discovery obligations tied to that expert have been met and the opposing party has had an adequate opportunity to prepare for cross-examination.

Does introducing someone's deposition at trial make that person my witness?

Only sometimes. Rule 32(c) says that introducing a deposition for a purpose other than impeachment makes the deponent your witness, but that rule does not apply when an adverse party uses a party-opponent's or corporate representative's deposition under Rule 32(a)(2). Merely taking someone's deposition never makes them your witness.

If I do not object to something during a deposition, do I lose the right to object at trial?

It depends on the type of problem. Objections to the form of a question, the manner of the examination, or the oath are waived unless raised at the time, because those defects could have been fixed on the spot. Objections to a witness's competency or to the relevance of testimony survive even without a contemporaneous objection, unless the problem could have been cured had it been raised then.

Is there a deadline for objecting to the form of written questions served under Rule 31?

Yes. Rule 32(d)(3)(C) requires that objection to be served within the time allowed for the next round of cross, redirect, or recross questions, and in any event within five days after the last authorized question is served.

Source & verification. Rule text and amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the Washington Superior Court Civil Rules, adopted by the Supreme Court of Washington. Last verified July 13, 2026. · Official source

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