A demand for discovery in Florida is a formal written request one party in a civil lawsuit sends to another to obtain information, documents, admissions, or testimony relevant to the case. The rules live in Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.280 and the rules that follow it, and they govern what you can ask for, when you can ask, how fast the other side must respond, and what happens if they don’t.1Fastcase Public Documents. FL. R. Civ. P. 1.280 General Provisions Governing Discovery Since 2024, you cannot send any of those demands until mandatory initial disclosures are satisfied.
What You Can Demand
Rule 1.280 lets parties seek any information relevant to the subject matter of the pending action that is not protected by a legal privilege.1Fastcase Public Documents. FL. R. Civ. P. 1.280 General Provisions Governing Discovery The information does not need to be admissible at trial. It just needs to be reasonably calculated to lead to admissible evidence. That is a deliberately wide net.
Two main protections pull material back out of it. Attorney-client privilege shields confidential communications between a client and a lawyer about legal advice. The work product doctrine protects materials prepared by a party or their representative in anticipation of litigation. A party withholding information on either ground has to make an express claim, usually through a privilege log that describes the withheld material in enough detail for the other side to evaluate the claim without exposing the protected content.
Initial Disclosures Come First
Florida’s 2024 amendments to Rule 1.280 added a step many litigants miss. Before either side can send a single interrogatory or document request, each party must give the other baseline information within 60 days after service of the complaint.1Fastcase Public Documents. FL. R. Civ. P. 1.280 General Provisions Governing Discovery A party who skips this step cannot begin other forms of discovery unless the court orders otherwise or the parties agree.
The required initial disclosures include:
- Contact information for witnesses with discoverable information, and the topics each is likely to know about.
- Copies of documents in the party’s possession that support its claims or defenses.
- A computation of each category of damages claimed, with supporting documents.
- Any insurance policies that may cover part or all of a judgment.
These happen automatically, with no request from the other side. A 2025 amendment to Rule 1.280(f)(1) tightened the language further, requiring that a party’s disclosure obligations be “satisfied” rather than merely “served” before that party can pursue additional discovery.2Justia Law. In Re Amendments to Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.280(f) Treat initial disclosures as the gate to everything else.
The Three Written Discovery Tools
Once initial disclosures are done, you have three main written demands to choose from. Each does a different job.
Interrogatories
Interrogatories are written questions the other party must answer in writing and under oath. Florida caps each party at 30 interrogatories, counting all subparts, unless the court allows more for good cause. The cap forces you to use them for information that is hard to get another way: the identities of witnesses, the basis for damage calculations, the legal theories the other side plans to rely on. Spending questions on things you could pull from documents is a waste.
Requests for Production
Requests for production require the other party to turn over specific documents, electronically stored information, or physical items for inspection and copying. The request has to describe the items with enough specificity that the responding party knows exactly what to look for. A vague request like “all documents related to the transaction” invites objections. Narrow requests that identify document types, date ranges, and custodians move faster.
Electronic records get their own treatment. The requesting party can designate the format for electronic production, and the responding party can object to that format. Preservation matters too. Once litigation is reasonably foreseeable, destroying or altering relevant electronic records can bring spoliation sanctions, up to and including adverse jury instructions or judgment against the offending party.
Requests for Admission
Requests for admission ask the other party to admit or deny specific facts or the genuineness of particular documents. Florida caps these at 30 per party, including subparts, unless the court allows more. The tool narrows what has to be proven at trial by taking undisputed facts off the table.
The stakes are higher than they look. Any fact admitted is conclusively established for the rest of the case. And if a party fails to respond within the deadline, the requests are automatically deemed admitted. Withdrawing an admission later takes a court motion, and the court will only allow it if doing so serves the merits and does not prejudice the party who obtained the admission. In this one corner of discovery, doing nothing produces a result you cannot undo.
Depositions and Subpoenas
Written answers are rehearsed. Depositions are not. A deposition is an in-person or remote examination of a witness under oath, with a court reporter recording every word. Rule 1.310 governs depositions by oral examination, and the deposing party must give reasonable written notice to every other party stating the time, place, and identity of the person to be deposed. Depositions are the most expensive tool in the kit, which is why they tend to be saved for key witnesses after written discovery has done the groundwork.
Written demands and deposition notices only reach the parties to the lawsuit. To get documents or testimony from someone who is not a party, you need a subpoena. A subpoena duces tecum compels production of documents. A subpoena ad testificandum compels appearance for a deposition. Non-parties can object or move to quash on grounds such as unreasonable time to comply, privilege, or undue burden. Courts tend to be more protective of non-parties than of litigants, so build extra time into the schedule if you plan to subpoena one.
Deadlines to Respond
Response deadlines are the same across interrogatories, requests for production, and requests for admission:3The Florida Bar. Florida Rules of Civil Procedure
- 30 days from the date the discovery request is served.
- 45 days from service of process and the initial pleading, for defendants served with the initial complaint.
The court can shorten or extend these periods, and parties can stipulate to extensions, though court approval is needed if an extension would interfere with other case deadlines. Missing a deadline is not a minor slip. An unanswered request for admission is automatically admitted. A late response to interrogatories or document requests opens the door to a motion to compel and sanctions. Calendar the deadlines the moment discovery arrives.
How to Respond Properly
Every demand requires a substantive response. That means either providing the requested information in full or stating a specific legal objection explaining why the information is being withheld. Boilerplate objections that recite generic language without tying the objection to the particular request are not valid under Florida practice.
Interrogatory responses must be signed under oath by the party, not just the attorney. For a corporation, a designated officer or agent signs. A false response carries the same consequences as lying under oath in court.
Privilege Logs
When a party withholds documents on privilege or work product grounds, Rule 1.280(b)(6) requires a privilege log. The log must describe each withheld document in enough detail for the other side to assess the claim without revealing the protected content. At a minimum, that usually means the date, author, recipients, general subject matter, and the specific privilege being asserted. Vague or incomplete logs are risky. Courts have found that an inadequate privilege log waives the privilege, which means the documents have to be produced after all.
When the Other Side Won’t Comply
If the opposing party ignores a demand, answers incompletely, or hides behind improper objections, the next step is a motion to compel. Before filing, Florida requires the parties to confer in good faith to try to resolve the dispute without court involvement. The moving party must certify that this conference took place or was attempted.4Eleventh Judicial Circuit Miami-Dade County, Florida. Administrative Order No. 06-09 In Re Ex Parte Motions to Compel Discovery in Civil Actions Judges routinely deny motions to compel when the moving party skipped this step.
If the court grants the motion and the other party still refuses, Rule 1.380 authorizes escalating sanctions:
- Attorney’s fees and costs the other side incurred in bringing the motion.
- Evidentiary sanctions prohibiting the non-complying party from introducing certain evidence or supporting certain claims.
- Striking some or all of the non-complying party’s claims or defenses.
- Default or dismissal in extreme cases, with judgment entered against the non-complying party or the case thrown out entirely.
Courts generally impose sanctions proportionally, starting with fees and escalating only when a party’s conduct shows willful disregard for its discovery obligations. That ladder is what gives a demand for discovery its weight. A party that treats these requests as optional is gambling with the outcome of the whole case.