What Is a Deposition? — In Plain Words

This page is general information only. It is not legal advice.

A deposition is sworn testimony given by answering oral questions, before trial, as part of discovery in a case.

This page follows two federal sources only: the U.S. Courts glossary and Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 30, titled “Depositions by Oral Examination.”

Federal framing: this page describes the federal rule for federal cases. State courts run depositions under their own state rules. This page does not state any one state's rules.

This page explains what a deposition is and how Rule 30 says it works.

It does not tell any person what to say at a deposition.

The short answer

The U.S. Courts glossary defines “deposition” this way: “An oral statement made before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths.”

The glossary adds: “Such statements are often taken to examine potential witnesses, to obtain discovery, or to be used later in trial. See discovery.”

In plain words: a person answers questions out loud, under oath, in front of an officer who is authorized by law to give the oath.

Rule 30 calls the person who answers the questions the deponent.

The glossary defines “testimony” as “Evidence presented by witnesses during trials or other legal proceedings,” and it defines a “witness” as “A person called upon in a case to give testimony before the court or jury.”

What a deposition is for

The glossary's deposition entry gives three uses: to examine potential witnesses, to obtain discovery, or to be used later in trial.

The glossary defines “discovery” this way: “The process by which lawyers learn about their opponent's case in preparation for trial.”

It states: “Typical tools of discovery include depositions, interrogatories, requests for admissions, and requests for documents.”

It also states: “All these devices help the lawyer learn the relevant facts and collect and examine any relevant documents or other materials.”

So, as the glossary states it, a deposition is one of the tools lawyers use before trial to learn what a witness knows and to learn the relevant facts.

The glossary also states that such statements are taken “to be used later in trial.”

This page prints the glossary's wording — “to be used later in trial” — as the glossary states it. Neither anchor on this page states a rule for when deposition testimony may be read or played at trial.

Who may be deposed, and when

Rule 30(a)(1), “Without Leave,” states: “A party may, by oral questions, depose any person, including a party, without leave of court except as provided in Rule 30(a)(2).”

Rule 30(a)(1) also states: “The deponent's attendance may be compelled by subpoena under Rule 45.”

Rule 30(a)(2), “With Leave,” states that a party must obtain leave of court, and the court must grant leave to the extent consistent with Rule 26(b)(1) and (2):

If the parties have not stipulated to the deposition and the deposition would result in more than 10 depositions being taken under Rule 30 or Rule 31 by the plaintiffs, or by the defendants, or by the third-party defendants.
If the parties have not stipulated to the deposition and the deponent has already been deposed in the case.
If the parties have not stipulated to the deposition and the party seeks to take the deposition before the time specified in Rule 26(d), unless the party certifies in the notice, with supporting facts, that the deponent is expected to leave the United States and be unavailable for examination in this country after that time.
If the deponent is confined in prison.

Notice to the other side: Rule 30(b)

Rule 30(b)(1), “Notice in General,” states: “A party who wants to depose a person by oral questions must give reasonable written notice to every other party.”

Rule 30(b)(1) also states: “The notice must state the time and place of the deposition and, if known, the deponent's name and address.”

Rule 30(b)(1) adds that if the name is unknown, “the notice must provide a general description sufficient to identify the person or the particular class or group to which the person belongs.”

Rule 30(b)(2), “Producing Documents,” states that if a subpoena duces tecum is to be served on the deponent, the materials designated for production, as set out in the subpoena, must be listed in the notice or in an attachment.

Rule 30(b)(2) also states that the notice to a party deponent may be accompanied by a request under Rule 34 to produce documents and tangible things at the deposition.

How the testimony is recorded: Rule 30(b)(3)

Rule 30(b)(3)(A), “Method Stated in the Notice,” states: “The party who notices the deposition must state in the notice the method for recording the testimony.”

Rule 30(b)(3)(A) also states: “Unless the court orders otherwise, testimony may be recorded by audio, audiovisual, or stenographic means.”

Rule 30(b)(3)(A) adds: “The noticing party bears the recording costs. Any party may arrange to transcribe a deposition.”

Rule 30(b)(3)(B), “Additional Method,” states that with prior notice to the deponent and other parties, any party may designate another method for recording the testimony in addition to the method specified in the original notice, and that party bears the expense of the additional record or transcript unless the court orders otherwise.

The glossary defines “transcript” as “A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial, or during some other formal conversation, such as a hearing or oral deposition.”

The glossary defines “court reporter” as “A person who makes a word-for-word record of what is said in court, generally by using a stenographic machine or audio recording, and then produces a transcript of the proceedings upon request.”

Depositions by remote means: Rule 30(b)(4)

Rule 30(b)(4), “By Remote Means,” states: “The parties may stipulate — or the court may on motion order — that a deposition be taken by telephone or other remote means.”

Rule 30(b)(4) also states that for the purpose of Rule 30 and Rules 28(a), 37(a)(2), and 37(b)(1), the deposition takes place where the deponent answers the questions.

The officer and the oath: Rule 30(b)(5)

Rule 30(b)(5)(A), “Before the Deposition,” states: “Unless the parties stipulate otherwise, a deposition must be conducted before an officer appointed or designated under Rule 28.”

Rule 30(b)(5)(A) states that the officer must begin the deposition with an on-the-record statement that includes:

The officer's name and business address.
The date, time, and place of the deposition.
The deponent's name.
The officer's administration of the oath or affirmation to the deponent.
The identity of all persons present.

Rule 30(b)(5)(B), “Conducting the Deposition; Avoiding Distortion,” states that if the deposition is recorded nonstenographically, the officer must repeat the items in Rule 30(b)(5)(A)(i)–(iii) at the beginning of each unit of the recording medium, and that the deponent's and attorneys' appearance or demeanor must not be distorted through recording techniques.

Rule 30(b)(5)(C), “After the Deposition,” states that at the end of a deposition, the officer must state on the record that the deposition is complete and must set out any stipulations made by the attorneys about custody of the transcript or recording and of the exhibits, or about any other pertinent matters.

As Rule 30(b)(5) states it, the deposition is conducted before an officer, who gives the oath or affirmation and makes the record. Rule 30 does not describe a judge asking the questions or running the deposition.

Naming an organization as the deponent: Rule 30(b)(6)

Rule 30(b)(6), “Notice or Subpoena Directed to an Organization,” states that in its notice or subpoena, a party may name as the deponent a public or private corporation, a partnership, an association, a governmental agency, or other entity and must describe with reasonable particularity the matters for examination.

Rule 30(b)(6) states that the named organization must designate one or more officers, directors, or managing agents, or designate other persons who consent to testify on its behalf, and it may set out the matters on which each person designated will testify.

Rule 30(b)(6) also states that before or promptly after the notice or subpoena is served, the serving party and the organization must confer in good faith about the matters for examination, that a subpoena must advise a nonparty organization of its duty to confer with the serving party and to designate each person who will testify, and that the persons designated must testify about information known or reasonably available to the organization.

Rule 30(b)(6) adds that this paragraph does not preclude a deposition by any other procedure allowed by the rules.

Questioning and objections: Rule 30(c)

Rule 30(c)(1), “Examination and Cross-Examination,” states: “The examination and cross-examination of a deponent proceed as they would at trial under the Federal Rules of Evidence, except Rules 103 and 615.”

Rule 30(c)(1) also states: “After putting the deponent under oath or affirmation, the officer must record the testimony by the method designated under Rule 30(b)(3)(A).”

Rule 30(c)(1) adds that the testimony must be recorded by the officer personally or by a person acting in the presence and under the direction of the officer.

Rule 30(c)(2), “Objections,” states: “An objection at the time of the examination — whether to evidence, to a party's conduct, to the officer's qualifications, to the manner of taking the deposition, or to any other aspect of the deposition — must be noted on the record, but the examination still proceeds; the testimony is taken subject to any objection.”

Rule 30(c)(2) also states: “An objection must be stated concisely in a nonargumentative and nonsuggestive manner.”

Rule 30(c)(2) adds: “A person may instruct a deponent not to answer only when necessary to preserve a privilege, to enforce a limitation ordered by the court, or to present a motion under Rule 30(d)(3).”

Rule 30(c)(3), “Participating Through Written Questions,” states that instead of participating in the oral examination, a party may serve written questions in a sealed envelope on the party noticing the deposition, who must deliver them to the officer, and the officer must ask the deponent those questions and record the answers verbatim.

How long a deposition lasts: Rule 30(d)(1)

Rule 30(d)(1), “Duration,” states: “Unless otherwise stipulated or ordered by the court, a deposition is limited to 1 day of 7 hours.”

Rule 30(d)(1) also states: “The court must allow additional time consistent with Rule 26(b)(1) and (2) if needed to fairly examine the deponent or if the deponent, another person, or any other circumstance impedes or delays the examination.”

If the examination is impeded: Rule 30(d)(2) and (d)(3)

Rule 30(d)(2), “Sanction,” states: “The court may impose an appropriate sanction — including the reasonable expenses and attorney's fees incurred by any party — on a person who impedes, delays, or frustrates the fair examination of the deponent.”

Rule 30(d)(3)(A), “Grounds,” states that at any time during a deposition, the deponent or a party may move to terminate or limit it on the ground that it is being conducted in bad faith or in a manner that unreasonably annoys, embarrasses, or oppresses the deponent or party, that the motion may be filed in the court where the action is pending or the deposition is being taken, and that if the objecting deponent or party so demands, the deposition must be suspended for the time necessary to obtain an order.

Rule 30(d)(3)(B), “Order,” states that the court may order that the deposition be terminated or may limit its scope and manner as provided in Rule 26(c), and that if terminated, the deposition may be resumed only by order of the court where the action is pending.

Rule 30(d)(3)(C), “Award of Expenses,” states: “Rule 37(a)(5) applies to the award of expenses.”

Review by the witness: Rule 30(e)

Rule 30(e)(1), “Review; Statement of Changes,” states that on request by the deponent or a party before the deposition is completed, the deponent must be allowed 30 days after being notified by the officer that the transcript or recording is available in which to review the transcript or recording and, if there are changes in form or substance, to sign a statement listing the changes and the reasons for making them.

Rule 30(e)(2), “Changes Indicated in the Officer's Certificate,” states that the officer must note in the certificate prescribed by Rule 30(f)(1) whether a review was requested and, if so, must attach any changes the deponent makes during the 30-day period.

The certified record: Rule 30(f)

Rule 30(f)(1), “Certification and Delivery,” states that the officer must certify in writing that the witness was duly sworn and that the deposition accurately records the witness's testimony, and that the certificate must accompany the record of the deposition.

Rule 30(f)(1) also states that unless the court orders otherwise, the officer must seal the deposition in an envelope or package bearing the title of the action and marked “Deposition of [witness's name]” and must promptly send it to the attorney who arranged for the transcript or recording, and that the attorney must store it under conditions that will protect it against loss, destruction, tampering, or deterioration.

Rule 30(f)(2), “Documents and Tangible Things,” states that documents and tangible things produced for inspection during a deposition must, on a party's request, be marked for identification and attached to the deposition, and that any party may inspect and copy them.

Rule 30(f)(2) also states the two ways the person who produced them may keep the originals: by offering copies to be marked, attached to the deposition, and then used as originals — after giving all parties a fair opportunity to verify the copies by comparing them with the originals — or by giving all parties a fair opportunity to inspect and copy the originals after they are marked, in which event the originals may be used as if attached to the deposition.

Rule 30(f)(2)(B), “Order Regarding the Originals,” states that any party may move for an order that the originals be attached to the deposition pending final disposition of the case.

Rule 30(f)(3), “Copies of the Transcript or Recording,” states that unless otherwise stipulated or ordered by the court, the officer must retain the stenographic notes of a deposition taken stenographically or a copy of the recording of a deposition taken by another method, and that when paid reasonable charges, the officer must furnish a copy of the transcript or recording to any party or the deponent.

Rule 30(f)(4), “Notice of Filing,” states: “A party who files the deposition must promptly notify all other parties of the filing.”

If the deposition does not go forward: Rule 30(g)

Rule 30(g), “Failure to Attend a Deposition or Serve a Subpoena; Expenses,” states that a party who, expecting a deposition to be taken, attends in person or by an attorney may recover reasonable expenses for attending, including attorney's fees, if the noticing party failed to attend and proceed with the deposition, or failed to serve a subpoena on a nonparty deponent, who consequently did not attend.

Rule 30 states no dollar amounts. Where Rule 30 speaks of money, it uses the words printed above, such as “recording costs,” “reasonable expenses,” “attorney's fees,” and “reasonable charges.”

What this page does not do

This page states the federal glossary definition and the federal rule, Rule 30, as those two sources state them.

It does not state any state's deposition rules.

It does not give advice for any one person's case or deposition.

Sources

Sources used for this page (web addresses shown as plain text):

U.S. Courts, Glossary of Legal Terms — entries for “deposition,” “discovery,” “affidavit,” “court reporter,” “transcript,” “testimony,” and “witness”: https://www.uscourts.gov/glossary
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 30, “Depositions by Oral Examination,” rule text (subdivisions (a) through (g)), as published by Cornell Law Institute, Legal Information Institute: https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/rule_30

Checked November 2, 2026.