California Rule of Court 3.1010: Notice, Appearance, and Costs

California Rule of Court 3.1010 lets any party take an oral deposition by telephone, videoconference, or other remote means, lets other parties and attorneys appear remotely at someone else’s deposition, and leaves the deponent to appear as statute or stipulation requires. The rule has four subsections, (a) through (d), and works alongside Code of Civil Procedure sections 2025.220, 2025.310, 2025.330, and 2025.420 to form California’s remote deposition framework.1Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court – Rule 3.1010

What the Rule Actually Covers

Rule 3.1010 addresses three things and gives the court a catch-all: how a party takes a deposition remotely (subdivision (a)), how non-deposing parties and attorneys appear remotely (subdivision (b)), how the deponent appears (subdivision (c)), and the court’s authority to issue additional orders on motion (subdivision (d)).1Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court – Rule 3.1010 There are no subsections (e), (f), or (j), despite what some older summaries say. Most of the procedural detail people associate with remote depositions, including oath administration, officer qualifications, and notice contents, lives in the Code of Civil Procedure rather than in the rule itself.

Noticing a Remote Deposition

Under Rule 3.1010(a), a party may take an oral deposition by telephone, videoconference, or other remote means if three conditions are met. The party must serve notice of the remote format along with the deposition notice or subpoena. The party must also arrange for every other party to participate in an equivalent manner, though each party pays its own costs for remote participation. And any party or attorney of record keeps the right to physically attend at the deponent’s location by serving written notice through personal delivery, email, or fax at least five court days in advance.1Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court – Rule 3.1010

The physical-attendance right catches people off guard. Even when the deposition is noticed as fully remote, any party may elect to be in the room where the witness sits. The deponent’s own attorney may be physically present with the deponent without giving any advance notice at all.1Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court – Rule 3.1010

Appearing Remotely at Someone Else’s Deposition

Rule 3.1010(b) covers the party or attorney who is not taking the deposition but wants to attend remotely. This situation comes up constantly in multi-party cases where a co-defendant’s lawyer needs to cross-examine but has no reason to travel. Under subdivision (b), a non-deposing party or attorney of record may appear by telephone, videoconference, or other remote means if they serve written notice at least five court days before the deposition and handle their own arrangements and expenses.1Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court – Rule 3.1010

Five court days is a hard floor. Serving notice the day before and expecting to log in will likely get you shut out, and the deposing party has no obligation to accommodate a late request.

How the Deponent Appears

Rule 3.1010(c) is brief: a deponent must appear as required by statute or as agreed to by the parties and the deponent.1Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court – Rule 3.1010 The rule points you to the underlying statute, which is primarily CCP 2025.310.

CCP 2025.310(a) is where the flexibility sits. At the election of either the deponent or the deposing party, the deposition officer may attend from a different location than the witness through remote means, and the deponent is not required to be physically present with the officer when being sworn in.2California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 2025.310 A witness in San Diego may be deposed while the court reporter sits in Sacramento and the attorneys dial in from Los Angeles, with no court order needed as long as either the deposing party or the deponent elects that arrangement.

Going remote does not waive any other deposition rules. CCP 2025.310(d) states that using remote technology does not change the rules governing the time, place, or manner of the examination.2California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 2025.310 The officer still has the duty to put the deponent under oath under CCP 2025.330(a).3California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 2025.330 CCP 2025.310(e) confirms that remote attendance does not change who qualifies to serve as a deposition officer or administer oaths; the officer must still be a certified shorthand reporter or other person authorized under the Business and Professions Code and Government Code.

What Must Go in the Deposition Notice

The contents of a deposition notice come from CCP 2025.220, not Rule 3.1010 itself. The notice must be in writing, use at least 12-point type, and state:

  • The address where the deposition will take place.
  • The date and starting time.
  • The name, address, and telephone number of each deponent (for non-parties), or a description sufficient to identify the person if the name is unknown.
  • Any materials, including electronically stored information, the deponent must produce.
  • Any intention to record by audio or video in addition to the required stenographic record.
  • Any intent to reserve the right to use a video recording at trial for the testimony of treating physicians or expert witnesses.
  • Any known contract between the noticing party (or a litigation funder) and the deposition officer or reporting entity for services beyond the noticed deposition.

These requirements apply to all depositions, remote or otherwise.4California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 2025.220 Rule 3.1010(a)(1) adds that notice of the remote format must accompany the deposition notice. The statutes do not specifically require the notice to contain the meeting link, login credentials, or platform details, but Rule 3.1010(a)(2)’s equivalent-participation requirement means the connection information needs to reach every party in time to use it.1Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court – Rule 3.1010

Who Pays for What

Rule 3.1010 sets a straightforward cost principle. The party taking the deposition must arrange equivalent remote access for everyone, but each party appearing remotely pays its own expenses, under both subdivision (a) for the noticing party and subdivision (b) for other parties joining remotely.1Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court – Rule 3.1010 A co-defendant logging in to cross-examine covers their own videoconference subscription and any technical support fees.

The deposing party still bears baseline costs: the court reporter, the transcript, and any hosting fees necessary to make the session happen. The “equivalent manner” language in subdivision (a)(2) prevents the noticing party from forcing an expensive platform choice onto the other side; they must either provide access or allow an equivalent alternative.

When to Ask the Court to Step In

Rule 3.1010(d) gives courts broad authority: on motion by any person, the court in a specific action may make such other orders as it deems appropriate.1Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court – Rule 3.1010 This is the safety valve for a remote format that is producing unfairness, whether that means a witness whose connection fails during hard questions, an attorney who appears to be coaching off-camera, or audio that cannot be transcribed cleanly.

The detailed protective-order framework sits in CCP 2025.420. Before, during, or after a deposition, any party, deponent, or other affected person may move for a protective order. On a showing of good cause, the court may order the deposition taken at a different time or place, limit the scope of examination, exclude certain people from attending, change the recording method, or terminate the examination entirely.5California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 2025.420 A motion for a protective order must include a meet-and-confer declaration showing that an informal resolution was attempted.

In remote cases, these motions commonly address whether a deponent can be required to appear on video rather than audio-only, whether a particular platform meets accessibility needs, and whether a failure to provide working login credentials warrants sanctions. Protocols requiring the witness to sit alone, keep their phone out of reach, disable messaging applications, or show the room on camera before testimony are not mandated by Rule 3.1010 itself, but courts routinely approve them under the general order authority in subdivision (d).

A Note for Cases That Might Move to Federal Court

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 30(b)(4) is more restrictive. In federal court, parties must either stipulate to a remote deposition or obtain a court order; there is no unilateral right to notice one. California’s framework, by contrast, lets any party notice a remote deposition as a matter of right under Rule 3.1010(a), subject only to the notice and equivalent-access conditions. Both systems treat the deposition as occurring where the deponent answers the questions, not where the attorneys or reporter are located.6Legal Information Institute (LII). Federal Rules of Civil Procedure – Rule 30 Depositions by Oral Examination An arrangement that works without comment in state court may require a stipulation or motion after removal.