The deposition notice requirements in California are set by the Code of Civil Procedure: a written notice served at least 10 days before the deposition date, identifying the deponent, the date and time, the location (within statutory distance limits), and any documents the deponent must bring. Service by mail or electronic means adds days to that minimum, and non-party witnesses need a subpoena on top of the notice.
When You Can Serve the Notice
A defendant may serve a deposition notice any time after being served with the complaint or appearing in the case, whichever happens first. A plaintiff has to wait: no notice can go out until 20 days after any defendant has been served with the summons or has appeared.1Justia. California Code CCP 2025.210-2025.280 – Article 2, Deposition Notice
If you need to depose someone before that 20-day window closes, you have to file a motion and get a court order. This usually comes up when evidence may disappear or a witness is about to leave the state. It is not routine.
How Many Days of Notice You Must Give
The deposition must be set for a date at least 10 days after service of the notice.2California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 2025.270 That minimum assumes personal delivery. Other service methods add time automatically.
Under CCP 1013, when both the mailing address and the place of mailing are inside California, the notice period extends by five calendar days, so the effective minimum becomes 15 days. If either end of the mailing is outside California, the extension is 10 calendar days and the minimum becomes 20 days.3California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 1013 You do not have to request these extensions; they apply by operation of the statute.
Electronic service is now standard for represented parties in many California courts. Under CCP 1010.6, attorneys are generally required to accept electronic service, and self-represented litigants may opt in by filing a consent form. When a document is served electronically, the responding party gets two additional court days.4Los Angeles County Superior Court. Superior Court of Los Angeles County – eService Expansion in Civil Cases
What the Notice Must Contain
Every deposition notice has to cover four categories of information.
- The deponent’s full name. For a non-party, their address and phone number if known. If the name is unknown, a description specific enough to identify the person or the class of people they belong to.
- The specific date selected under the scheduling rules in CCP 2025.270 and the time the deposition will begin.
- The physical address of the deposition, which must satisfy the distance limits described below.
- A description, with reasonable particularity, of any documents or electronically stored information the deponent must bring.
Omitting any of these creates an irregularity the opposing party can challenge.1Justia. California Code CCP 2025.210-2025.280 – Article 2, Deposition Notice Vague document descriptions and unspecified locations are the defects attorneys see most often.
Where the Deposition Can Be Held
California limits how far a deponent can be forced to travel. For any natural person, party or not, the deposition must take place either within 75 miles of the deponent’s residence, or in the county where the lawsuit is pending so long as that county location is within 150 miles of the deponent’s residence. The noticing party chooses which option to use.5California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 2025.250
Organizations that are parties follow a parallel rule, measured from the organization’s principal California office rather than a residence. Non-party organizations get more protection: their depositions must take place within 75 miles of their California office unless they agree to travel farther.5California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 2025.250
Setting a location outside these limits is a routine basis for objection. If you have good reason to depose someone farther from home, you can ask the court for an order allowing it on a showing of good cause.
Deposing an Organization
When testimony is needed from a company, government agency, or other organization rather than a particular individual, the notice names the entity and describes the topics with reasonable particularity. The organization then identifies and produces whichever officers, directors, managers, employees, or agents are most qualified to testify on those topics.6California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 2025.230
The designated witness has to testify about everything the organization knows or has reasonably available on the listed topics, not just what the individual personally knows. Clearly described examination topics in the notice put the burden on the organization to send someone genuinely prepared.
Choosing the Recording Method
The default is stenographic recording by a court reporter. The noticing party may also elect to record by audio or video, but that choice has to appear in the deposition notice itself. Any other party may arrange an additional method at their own expense, provided they give advance notice to the deponent and all other parties.7California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 2025.330
If you plan to use video clips at trial, the notice stage is when to lock that in.
Remote Appearance Rules
People other than the deponent can attend remotely, but the rules distinguish sharply between parties and non-parties on the deponent side. A party deponent must appear in person and be physically present with the deposition officer who administers the oath. A non-party deponent may appear by telephone only if the court specifically orders it after finding good cause and no prejudice to any party.8Justia. California Code CCP 2025.310-2025.340 – Article 3, Conduct of Deposition
When attorneys or observers will attend remotely, the notice should describe how they can access the connection, including the platform and any login credentials. The statute does not prescribe a specific protocol, but courts increasingly expect parties to address remote logistics in advance.
Non-Party Witnesses Also Need a Subpoena
A deposition notice alone is enough to compel a party to appear. For anyone who is not a party, you also need a deposition subpoena. The Code of Civil Procedure is explicit that the process for requiring discovery from a non-party is a deposition subpoena, not a notice.9California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 2020.010
Without a subpoena you have no enforcement mechanism if the witness does not show. A notice by itself is an invitation. If the non-party also needs to bring documents, the subpoena has to describe them with reasonable particularity.
If the Notice Has a Defect
The window to object is narrow. A party served with a notice that does not comply with the statutory requirements waives the problem unless they serve a written objection at least three calendar days before the scheduled deposition date. The objection must identify the specific error and must be served on the noticing party and every other party who received the notice.10Justia. California Code CCP 2025.410-2025.480 – Article 4, Objections, Sanctions, Protective Orders, Motions to Compel, and Suspension of Depositions
Note how the clock runs. The deadline counts backward from the deposition date, not forward from receipt. If a deposition is set 10 days out and you spot a problem on day eight, you are already late. Review every notice the day it arrives.
Most disputes get resolved by negotiation: a new date, narrower document requests, or a location that complies with the distance rules. If that fails, the burdened party can move for a protective order under CCP 2025.420 on grounds such as an unreasonable schedule, overbroad document requests, or demands that would force disclosure of privileged or trade-secret information. Courts expect a genuine meet-and-confer before the motion is filed and can deny the motion on that basis alone.
Sanctions If Someone Does Not Appear
If a party or a witness affiliated with a party fails to appear at a properly noticed deposition, the court can impose monetary sanctions covering the reasonable expenses of the party who showed up expecting testimony, including attorney fees, court reporter cancellation charges, and travel costs. Sanctions may be imposed against the deponent, the attorney who advised them, or both, unless the court finds the failure was substantially justified or that sanctions would be unjust. If the absent party then disobeys a court order compelling attendance, the available remedies escalate to issue, evidence, and terminating sanctions.11California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 2025.450
Federal Court Cases Follow Different Rules
If your case is in federal court in California, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure apply instead of the CCP. Federal Rule 30 requires “reasonable written notice” to every party but does not fix a specific number of days; most federal courts in California expect at least 10 to 14 days in practice. Rule 30(b)(6) is the federal counterpart to California’s organizational deposition procedure and explicitly requires the parties to confer in good faith about the examination topics before or promptly after service.12Legal Information Institute (LII) / Cornell Law School. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 30 – Depositions by Oral Examination Federal sanctions for failing to attend are governed by Rule 37.13Legal Information Institute (Cornell Law School). Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 37 – Failure to Make Disclosures or to Cooperate in Discovery; Sanctions Non-party witnesses in federal court must be subpoenaed and generally cannot be compelled to travel more than 100 miles from where they reside, work, or regularly conduct business.