A notice of deposition in California must, under the Code of Civil Procedure, identify the deponent, state the date, time, and address of the deposition, describe the recording method, list any documents to be produced, and be served on every appearing party at least 10 days before the deposition date. Those are the core requirements. The details below cover what each element looks like, when the 10-day minimum stretches, where the deposition can legally be held, and the extra steps that apply when the deponent is a non-party, an organization, or the custodian of consumer records.
What the Notice Must Contain
CCP 2025.220 sets the checklist, and it requires at least 12-point type. Every notice must include:
- The address where the deposition will take place.
- The date and starting time.
- The deponent’s full name, plus their address and phone number if they are not a party. If the name is unknown, a description identifying the person or their category is enough.
- A reasonably detailed description of any documents or electronically stored information the deponent must bring.
- The recording method: whether audio or video recording will supplement the required stenographic record, and whether real-time stenographic display will be used.
The notice also carries the standard case caption identifying the parties and the court where the action is pending.1California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 2025.210-2025.295 – Deposition Notice
How a Sample Notice Is Laid Out
Formats vary between firms, but a properly drafted notice contains the same sections in roughly the same order:
- A caption block naming the court (for example, Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles), the plaintiff and defendant, and the case number.
- A title, usually “Notice of Deposition” or, when documents are requested, “Notice of Deposition and Request for Production of Documents.”
- A body paragraph stating that the deposing party will take the oral deposition of the named person at the given address, date, and time, and identifying the recording method.
- If documents are requested, a numbered list of categories described with enough specificity that the deponent can find what is being asked for. Broad requests like “all documents related to the subject matter” invite objections and rarely survive challenge.
- A signature block with the issuing attorney’s name, bar number, firm, and contact information.
- A proof of service showing the notice went to all parties and, where applicable, to the deponent along with a subpoena.
When the deponent is an organization rather than a named person, the body paragraph names the entity and lists the topics for testimony instead of naming an individual.
When You Can First Notice a Deposition
A defendant can serve a deposition notice any time after being served with the lawsuit or after making an appearance, whichever comes first. A plaintiff must wait 20 days after the summons is served on, or the first appearance by, any defendant before noticing a deposition without court permission.2California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 2025.210 A plaintiff who needs testimony sooner can ask the court for leave to serve earlier on a showing of good cause.
Timing and Service
The notice must be served on every party who has appeared in the action, and the deposition date must be at least 10 days after service.3California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 2025.270 Unlawful detainer cases run on a shorter clock: five days minimum, and the deposition must take place at least five days before trial.
The 10-day minimum grows when the notice is served by mail. Add five calendar days for mail service within California, 10 calendar days if either end of the mailing is outside California but within the United States, and 20 calendar days if either end is outside the country.4California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 1013 Personal service and electronic service do not trigger those extensions. The court can shorten or extend the notice period for good cause, and it can stay the deposition while a protective order motion is pending.
Where the Deposition Can Be Held
The address you list has to comply with distance limits. For any individual, party or not, the deposition must be held within 75 miles of the deponent’s residence, or within the county where the case is pending and within 150 miles of the residence.5California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 2025.250
For an organization that is a party, the same two options apply, measured from the organization’s principal California office. A non-party organization gets tighter protection: the deposition must be held within 75 miles of its principal California office unless it agrees otherwise. If the organization has no designated principal office in California, the deposing party can choose the county where the case is pending or a location within 75 miles of any of its California offices.
Compelling Attendance: Parties Versus Non-Parties
For a party, or for an officer, director, managing agent, or employee of a party, the deposition notice by itself compels attendance, testimony, and production of the documents listed in the notice.6California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 2025.280 No subpoena is needed.
For anyone else, you need a deposition subpoena, personally delivered to the witness with enough lead time to travel to the location and, if documents are requested, to gather them.7California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 2020.220 Any person can hand-deliver the subpoena; it does not have to go through a process server or sheriff, though many attorneys use professional servers for reliable proof of service.
Depositions of Organizations
When the deponent is a company, partnership, association, or government agency, the notice names the entity and describes, in reasonable detail, the topics on which testimony is sought. The organization then designates the person or persons most qualified to testify on those topics and produces them.8California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 2025.230 This is commonly called a Person Most Knowledgeable, or PMK, deposition. The designated witness does not need firsthand knowledge of every topic; the organization is expected to prepare them using internal documents, employee interviews, and other reasonably available information. If no single employee has all the answers, the organization can designate multiple witnesses for different topics.
Requesting Documents
For a party or party-affiliated deponent, you include the document request in the notice itself, describing each category with enough specificity that the deponent can identify and collect the materials.
For a non-party, the document command goes into a deposition subpoena, sometimes called a subpoena duces tecum, listing the specific items or categories to be produced.
Consumer records and employment records carry extra requirements. The party issuing the subpoena must give the consumer or employee whose records are sought at least 10 days’ notice before the production date, plus any additional days the method of service requires, along with a written notice of the right to object.9California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure CCP 1985.3 The deposition itself in a consumer-records case must be scheduled at least 20 days after the subpoena is issued, not the usual 10.3California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 2025.270
The Seven-Hour Limit
Unless the court orders otherwise or the parties agree to waive it, examination of a witness by all attorneys other than the deponent’s own counsel is capped at seven hours of total testimony. The court will allow more time if a fair examination requires it, or if the deponent or other circumstances delayed or obstructed the process.10California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure CCP 2025.290
Four categories are exempt from the cap entirely:
- Witnesses designated as experts under the discovery statutes.
- Cases formally designated as complex.
- Cases brought by an employee or job applicant against an employer over employment-related conduct.
- Witnesses designated as the most qualified person to testify for an organization.
The PMK exemption matters in practice because organizational depositions frequently cover multiple topics and routinely run past seven hours.
Remote Depositions
California allows the deposition officer, typically the court reporter, to attend remotely from a different location than the deponent, and the deponent does not need to be physically with the reporter when sworn in. Attorneys and parties can choose whether to appear in person at the deponent’s location or participate remotely.11California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 2025.310 Going remote does not waive any other procedural requirement. Location, timing, and notice rules still apply, and the notice should identify the remote platform along with the recording method so all parties can prepare.
Objecting to a Defective Notice
A notice with errors or missing elements can be challenged, but the clock is short. A written objection identifying the specific problem must be served on the noticing party and all other counsel or parties at least three calendar days before the scheduled deposition. Miss that deadline and the objection is waived.12California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 2025.410 An objection served inside that three-day window must be personally served on the party that noticed the deposition. If the objection is valid and the objecting party stays away, testimony taken in their absence cannot be used against them once the court agrees the objection was sound. A party can also move to quash the notice, which stays the deposition while the court decides; the motion must include a declaration showing an attempt to resolve the dispute informally. Whichever side loses a motion to quash faces monetary sanctions unless the court finds the position was substantially justified.