California form interrogatories for unlawful detainer cases are a set of standardized written questions, numbered DISC-003 (also labeled UD-106), that either the landlord or the tenant can serve on the other side in an eviction lawsuit. The questions are approved by the Judicial Council, so you don’t draft them yourself. You check boxes next to the categories you want answered, serve the form, and the recipient must answer under penalty of perjury. Because eviction cases move on a compressed schedule in California Superior Court, DISC-003 is often the only realistic way to get information from the other side before trial.
What the Form Covers
DISC-003 contains twelve numbered categories. You use only the ones that fit your case:
- 70.0 General — identifies people who helped prepare the responses and anyone with knowledge of the facts.
- 71.0 Notice — the termination notice, its type, and how it was served.
- 72.0 Service — how the summons and complaint were served and whether service was proper.
- 73.0 Malicious Holding Over — bad-faith refusal to leave after the tenancy ended.
- 74.0 Rent Control and Eviction Control — whether a local ordinance applies.
- 75.0 Breach of Warranty to Provide Habitable Premises — defects, notice to the landlord, and repairs.
- 76.0 Waiver, Change, Withdrawal, or Cancellation of Notice to Quit — whether the landlord’s conduct canceled the notice.
- 77.0 Retaliation and Arbitrary Discrimination — eviction motivated by a protected act or discriminatory intent.
- 78.0 Nonperformance of the Rental Agreement by Landlord — the landlord’s own breach.
- 79.0 Offer of Rent by Defendant — tenant offered full payment and was refused.
- 80.0 Deduction from Rent for Necessary Repairs — rent withheld to cover repairs.
- 81.0 Fair Market Rental Value — the property’s actual rental value, which affects damages.
You cannot add your own questions to the form. If you need something outside these twelve categories, you draft separate specially prepared interrogatories.
Filling Out the Form
Download the current version from the California Courts website. The header on page one needs four things: the name and address of the attorney or self-represented party, the name and branch of the Superior Court, the names of the plaintiff and defendant, and the case number. Copy the case number exactly; a wrong number sends the document into the wrong file.
Below the header, identify the asking party (the person propounding the interrogatories) and the responding party (the one who must answer). Then go through the twelve categories and check every box relevant to your case. A landlord in a straightforward nonpayment case might check only 70.0, 71.0, and 81.0. A tenant raising a habitability defense would likely check 70.0, 75.0, 78.0, and possibly 80.0. Checking a box you don’t actually need isn’t fatal, but it gives the other side more work to do and more reason to ask for extensions in a proceeding where days matter.
Sign and date at the bottom. Your signature certifies the request is made in good faith. No filing fee applies, because you serve the form on the other party, not on the court.
When You Can Serve It
If you’re the plaintiff (usually the landlord), you can serve DISC-003 without a court order starting five days after the summons was served on the defendant, or five days after the defendant appeared in the case, whichever happens first.1California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 2030.020 If you need to serve sooner, you can ask the court for leave on a showing of good cause.
If you’re the defendant, you can serve interrogatories any time after being served with the summons or after you’ve appeared in the case.
How to Serve the Form
Whoever physically delivers the interrogatories must be at least 18 and cannot be a party to the case.2California Courts | Self Help Guide. Serving Court Papers A friend, a co-worker, or a professional process server can do it. The method you choose controls how long the other side has to answer.
Personal Service
Hand delivery to the opposing party or their attorney starts a five-day response clock.3Justia Law. California Code of Civil Procedure 2030.210-2030.310 The server fills out a Proof of Personal Service — Civil (Form POS-020) afterward.
Service by Mail
First-class mail within California gives the responding party the same five-day period, but Code of Civil Procedure Section 1013 adds five calendar days for the mailing itself.4California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 1013 That’s effectively ten days from the date of mailing. The server completes a Proof of Service by First-Class Mail — Civil (Form POS-030).5California Courts | Self Help Guide. Proof of Service by First-Class Mail – Civil (POS-030)
Electronic Service
Anything that can be served by mail can also be served electronically, but only if the receiving party has consented or is required to accept it. A represented party who has appeared must accept electronic service. An unrepresented party can consent by filing a notice with the court or by agreeing through an electronic filing service provider. Electronic service adds two court days to the response deadline rather than the five calendar days that mail adds.6Judicial Branch of California. Rule 2.251 – Electronic Service
Whichever method you use, don’t file the proof of service with the court. Keep it in your case file. You’ll need it if the other side doesn’t respond and you have to prove they were served.
How to Respond If You Receive One
There is no Judicial Council fill-in form for your answers. You type your responses on pleading paper: numbered lines down the left margin, your name and address in the upper left, the court name and case number at the top, and a caption like “Responses to Form Interrogatories — Unlawful Detainer.”7California Courts | Self Help Guide. Respond to Form Interrogatories Restate each interrogatory number and the full question, then put your answer directly below it.
Answers must be as complete as you can make them. If you lack personal knowledge to answer fully, say so, but still answer to the extent you can. End the document with a verification: a declaration under penalty of perjury that your answers are true and correct. Without that declaration, the responses are legally defective.
You can object to specific interrogatories on grounds like attorney-client privilege or overbreadth. Be careful about the deadline, though. If you miss the five-day window entirely, you automatically waive every objection, privilege included. A court can relieve you from that waiver only if you later serve responses that substantially comply with the rules and can show the delay came from mistake or excusable neglect.
Serve your responses on the asking party using any of the service methods above and keep your copy. Responses are not filed with the court unless a judge orders it or they’re introduced as evidence at trial.
What Happens If a Party Doesn’t Respond
Ignoring DISC-003 is one of the fastest ways to lose an eviction case. Failing to serve timely responses waives every objection to the interrogatories, including privilege and work-product protection. The asking party can then file a motion to compel, and the court must impose monetary sanctions against the non-responding party or their attorney unless the failure was substantially justified. The filing fee for a discovery motion in California Superior Court is $60.8Judicial Branch of California. Statewide Civil Fee Schedule Effective 01/01/2026
If a party then disobeys a court order compelling answers, the consequences escalate. The judge can deem certain facts established against the non-responding party, bar them from introducing evidence on the topic, or issue a terminating sanction that effectively ends the case in the other side’s favor. In a proceeding built on five-day responses, these steps can happen quickly.
Two Federal Issues That May Surface
Two federal protections occasionally intersect with California unlawful detainer discovery, and the interrogatory responses may be where you first see one.
Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, an active-duty service member can ask the court to halt an eviction for up to 90 days, or longer if justice requires. The protection applies when the property is the service member’s primary residence, the rent does not exceed $10,239.63 per month (adjusted annually for inflation), and military service has materially affected the member’s ability to pay rent.
If a tenant files for bankruptcy, the automatic stay generally halts eviction proceedings, discovery included. Whether the stay blocks the landlord from continuing depends on whether the unlawful detainer judgment was entered before or after the bankruptcy petition was filed. A landlord who needs to proceed can file a Motion for Relief from the Automatic Stay in bankruptcy court.9United States Bankruptcy Court – Central District of California. Tenant/Lessee Filed For Bankruptcy, What Happens Now? If responses mention a pending bankruptcy, stop and consult an attorney before taking any further action; violating the automatic stay can result in sanctions.