California Code of Civil Procedure sections 2032.010 through 2032.650, commonly cited as CCP 2032, govern when one party in a lawsuit can require another party to undergo a physical or mental examination. The rules come up most often in personal injury cases, where a defendant wants an independent doctor to evaluate the plaintiff’s claimed injuries. The statutes set out who can be examined, when a court order is needed, how to respond to a demand, what protections apply during the exam, and what happens with the examiner’s report afterward.
When an Exam Is Available and Who It Reaches
An examination is only available when a person’s physical or mental condition is genuinely at issue. A plaintiff claiming a back injury from a car accident has put their physical condition in controversy. Someone whose health has nothing to do with the dispute cannot be forced into an exam.1California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 2032.020 – Physical or Mental Examination
The reach is broader than just the named parties. A party can seek an examination of another party, an agent of a party, or any person in the custody or legal control of a party. In a case involving a child’s injuries, the defendant can seek an examination of the child even though the parent is the named plaintiff.1California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 2032.020 – Physical or Mental Examination
The One Physical Exam a Defendant Can Demand Without a Court Order
In a personal injury case, each defendant gets one physical examination of the plaintiff as a matter of right. No court order is needed. Two hard limits apply: the exam cannot include any test or procedure that is painful, protracted, or intrusive, and the location must be within 75 miles of where the examinee lives.2California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 2032.220 – Physical Examination of Personal Injury Plaintiff
The written demand must spell out the time, place, manner, scope, and nature of the examination, and identify the examiner by name and specialty. The exam must be scheduled at least 30 days after the demand is served, and the defendant must serve a copy on the plaintiff and every other party who has appeared. A court can shorten the 30-day window on motion.2California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 2032.220 – Physical Examination of Personal Injury Plaintiff
How to Respond to an Examination Demand
After receiving the demand, the plaintiff has 20 days to serve a written response. The response must say one of three things: the examinee will comply as demanded, will comply with specific modifications, or will refuse and explain why.3California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 2032.230
That deadline matters. If the plaintiff proposes modifications the defendant considers unwarranted, or refuses the exam entirely, the defendant can file a motion to compel. The motion must include a meet-and-confer declaration showing the parties tried to resolve the dispute informally first.4California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 2032.250
If the plaintiff never responds at all, the defendant can move for an order compelling both a response and attendance. The court must impose monetary sanctions against whichever side loses that motion, unless the losing party acted with substantial justification or sanctions would be unjust. Defying a court order to attend escalates matters quickly: the court can treat certain facts as established against the plaintiff, bar the plaintiff from introducing evidence on the disputed condition, or even end the case through terminating sanctions.5California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 2032.240
When a Court Order Is Required
The demand-based process covers one non-invasive physical examination per defendant. Anything beyond that requires a court order: a second physical exam, an exam involving invasive procedures, or any mental examination. The moving party files a motion specifying the time, place, manner, scope, and nature of the proposed exam, along with the identity and specialty of the examiner, and attaches a meet-and-confer declaration.6California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 2032.310 – Physical or Mental Examination by Leave of Court
The court grants the motion only for good cause. The resulting order specifies exactly which tests and procedures the examiner may perform, leaving no room for the examiner to go beyond the authorized scope.7California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 2032.320
Mental Exams and the Plaintiff’s Stipulation
Mental examinations face a higher bar. If the plaintiff stipulates that they are not claiming emotional distress beyond what normally accompanies their physical injuries and will not offer expert testimony on that distress, the court cannot order a mental exam unless the defendant shows exceptional circumstances.7California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 2032.320
That stipulation is a tactical tool. A plaintiff who makes it trades away the ability to present expert testimony about emotional suffering in exchange for avoiding a potentially intrusive psychological evaluation. Whether the tradeoff is worth it depends on the case.
Travel Beyond 75 Miles
When an exam location is more than 75 miles from the examinee’s residence, the court may still order it, but only on two conditions. The court must find good cause for the travel, and the requesting party must advance the examinee’s reasonable travel expenses and costs.7California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 2032.320
What the Examinee Can Do During the Exam
The examinee’s attorney or an authorized representative has the right to attend and observe any physical examination conducted for discovery purposes. The observer can record the entire session using stenography or audio technology. If a representative stands in for the attorney, the attorney must provide written authorization identifying that person.8California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 2032.510 – Conduct of Examination
The observer may watch and take notes, but cannot participate in or disrupt the exam. If the examiner becomes abusive or starts performing unauthorized tests, the observer can suspend the examination so the examinee’s side can seek a protective order from the court.9California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 2032.510 – Physical Examinations; Attendance; Recording
Mental examinations work differently. The attendance and observation rights in section 2032.510 apply to physical exams, because the presence of a third party could compromise psychological testing. For mental exams, both the examiner and the examinee have the right to make an audio recording. The statute authorizes audio, not video. The court order for a mental exam will typically address whether and how observation may occur.10California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 2032.530 – Conduct of Examination
The Examiner’s Report and the Reciprocal Obligation
After the exam, the examinee can demand a copy of the examiner’s written report. The report must include the examiner’s findings, all test results, diagnoses, prognoses, and conclusions. The examinee can also demand reports from any earlier examinations of the same condition performed at the requesting party’s direction. Once demanded, the reports must be delivered within 30 days after service of the demand or 15 days before trial, whichever comes first.11California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 2032.610 – Report of Examination
Making the demand triggers a reciprocal obligation. The examinee must then turn over reports from their own doctors about the same condition, including evaluations done before or after the lawsuit was filed. The act of requesting the defense examiner’s report opens the door to the plaintiff’s own medical records on that condition. Weigh that tradeoff before sending the demand.
Sanctions for Noncompliance
Monetary sanctions appear at nearly every stage of CCP 2032. Whether the dispute involves a refusal to attend, a missed response, or a failure to hand over medical reports, the court generally must impose monetary sanctions against the side that loses the resulting motion, unless the losing party acted with substantial justification or sanctions would be unjust.
If the examining party fails to deliver the report after a proper demand, the examinee can move to compel. If a court then orders delivery and the party still refuses, the court can impose issue, evidence, or terminating sanctions, and it must exclude the examiner’s testimony at trial. Losing the examiner’s testimony is practically devastating for a defendant who paid for an expert evaluation and then cannot put the findings before the jury.12California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 2032.620
The reciprocal rule cuts the other way too. If the examinee demanded and received the defense examiner’s report but then fails to produce their own physicians’ reports on the same condition, the other side can move to compel, and the court must exclude the testimony of any health care practitioner whose report was not provided as ordered.13California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 2032.650
Terminating sanctions are reserved for the most egregious conduct, but courts can impose them when a party repeatedly refuses to comply. Ignoring a valid examination demand or court order is one of the fastest ways to lose a case on procedural grounds rather than on the merits.5California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 2032.240