Under New York’s Civil Practice Law and Rules, a deposition notice must be in writing, served on every party at least 20 days before the examination, and must state the time and place of the deposition together with the name and address of each person to be examined (or, if the name is unknown, a description sufficient to identify the person or the class they belong to).1FindLaw. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules Rule 3107 – Notice of Taking Oral Questions The CPLR deposition notice requirements are compact on their face, but several related rules — on service, on organizational deponents, on non-parties, on audiovisual and remote formats — quietly add content and timing obligations that a bare reading of CPLR 3107 does not surface. Miss one, and the notice can be quashed.
What CPLR 3107 Requires on the Face of the Notice
CPLR 3107 sets three content elements. The notice must be written, and it must give the time, the place, and the identity of each deponent by name and address. When you do not know a witness’s name, a description that identifies the person or the group they belong to satisfies the rule.1FindLaw. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules Rule 3107 – Notice of Taking Oral Questions
The notice does not need to list the subjects of examination. That is a meaningful difference from federal practice: New York does not use a topics-based notice, and you are not required to preview what you will ask about.
Naming a Deponent from an Organization
When the party you want to depose is an organization, CPLR 3106(d) adds a content requirement. The notice must identify the particular officer, director, member, or employee you want to examine by identity, description, or title. The organization is then obligated to produce that person, unless at least ten days before the deposition it serves a written notice designating a substitute and identifying who the substitute will be.2New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules Rule 3106 – Priority of Depositions, Witnesses, Prisoners, Designation of Deponent
This is the opposite of Rule 30(b)(6) practice. In New York, the noticing party names the individual. The organization’s only counter-move is to propose someone else on ten days’ notice.
The 20-Day Clock and How Service Changes It
The 20 days in CPLR 3107 run from service, not from the date on the notice.1FindLaw. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules Rule 3107 – Notice of Taking Oral Questions How you serve the notice matters, because CPLR 2103 tacks additional days onto any deadline measured from service when the papers are mailed. Mail service from within New York adds five days; mail from elsewhere in the United States adds six. Electronic service is available where the parties have consented to it, and personal delivery and overnight delivery are also permitted.3New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules Rule 2103 – Service of Papers
The practical consequence: if you mail your notice from within the state, you effectively need to send it 25 days out to give the other side 20 clear days. A court can shorten the 20-day period by order, but absent that, the arithmetic is what it is.
Plaintiff Timing and Cross-Notices
Plaintiffs face a restriction defendants do not. Under CPLR 3106(a), a plaintiff who wants to depose a party must obtain court leave if the notice is served before the opposing party’s time to respond to the pleading has expired. Defendants have no equivalent wait.2New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules Rule 3106 – Priority of Depositions, Witnesses, Prisoners, Designation of Deponent
If someone else has already noticed a deposition, you can piggyback on it. A cross-notice to examine any other party (or a party’s agent or employee) at the same time and place requires only 10 days rather than the standard 20.1FindLaw. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules Rule 3107 – Notice of Taking Oral Questions The cross-notice still has to satisfy the same content rules.
Non-Party Witnesses Need a Subpoena
A notice by itself is not enough to compel a non-party. CPLR 3106(b) requires a subpoena, and the subpoena must be personally delivered under CPLR 2303. Unless the court orders otherwise, the subpoena must be served at least 20 days before the examination.2New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules Rule 3106 – Priority of Depositions, Witnesses, Prisoners, Designation of Deponent
Subpoenaing a non-party also triggers witness-fee obligations under CPLR 8001: $15 per day for attendance, plus an additional $3 per day when the appearance is for a deposition rather than trial, and $0.23 per mile from the place of service to the deposition location and back (no mileage fee for travel entirely within a city). If the subpoena requires the witness to prepare a transcript of records, the witness is entitled to $0.10 per folio on demand.4New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules 8001 – Witnesses The fee is owed whether or not the witness ends up testifying.
Incarcerated witnesses are a separate matter: CPLR 3106(c) requires a court order before the deposition can go forward.2New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules Rule 3106 – Priority of Depositions, Witnesses, Prisoners, Designation of Deponent
Where You Can Notice the Deposition
CPLR 3110 controls the “place” element of the notice when the deposition is taken inside New York. A party — or an officer, director, member, or employee of a party — is properly deposed in the county where they reside, where they have an office and regularly transact business, or where the action is pending. The five boroughs of New York City count as a single county for this purpose.5FindLaw. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules Rule 3110 – Where the Deposition Is to Be Taken Within the State
Public corporations follow a narrower rule. The deposition is taken in the county where the action is pending, and the default location is the office of one of the public corporation’s attorneys unless the parties agree otherwise.5FindLaw. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules Rule 3110 – Where the Deposition Is to Be Taken Within the State
For witnesses outside New York, CPLR 3108 authorizes depositions on written questions or through a commission or letters rogatory.6New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules Rule 3108 – Written Questions, When Permitted A location that does not fit one of these rules is grounds to challenge the notice.
Audiovisual and Remote Depositions Add Content
If the deposition will be recorded by audiovisual means, the notice or subpoena must say so, and it must also give the name and address of the camera operator and the operator’s employer, if any. This comes from 22 NYCRR 206.11.7Legal Information Institute. New York Comp. Codes R. and Regs. Tit. 22 206.11 – Recording of Civil Depositions Leaving those details off an audiovisual notice creates an easy formal defect.
Remote depositions cannot be forced by notice at all. Under CPLR 3113(d), telephone and videoconference depositions require a stipulation by all parties. The stipulation has to address how the accurate record will be made, how exhibits will be used, and who must be physically present at the witness’s location. Unless the parties agree otherwise, the officer administering the oath must be physically present with the witness, and the party requesting the remote format bears the additional costs.8New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules Rule 3113 – Conduct of the Examination Without a stipulation or court order, the deposition proceeds in person.
Adding a Document Demand
CPLR 3111 lets you use the deposition notice — or, for a non-party, the subpoena — to require the witness to bring designated books, papers, and other things in their possession, custody, or control for use as exhibits. When the deponent is a non-party, the requesting party is responsible for the reasonable production expenses.9New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules Rule 3111 – Production of Things at the Examination That obligation is separate from, and in addition to, the CPLR 8001 witness fees.
Experts: A Notice Alone Will Not Do
Fact-witness notice procedure does not carry over to experts. Under CPLR 3101(d)(1)(i), a party must, on request, identify each expected trial expert and provide a summary of opinions, qualifications, and grounds. But deposing an opposing expert requires a court order and a showing of “special circumstances.” The court can attach conditions on scope and fees.10New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules 3101 – Scope of Disclosure
Medical, dental, and podiatric malpractice cases have a distinct procedure: any party can offer to identify and produce its expert, and if all parties accept, each side must then produce its expert on notice, with preclusion at trial for any party that fails to follow through after making or accepting the offer.10New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules 3101 – Scope of Disclosure
What Happens When a Notice Is Defective or Ignored
A properly drafted and served notice creates enforceable obligations. If a party fails to appear or otherwise refuses to comply, CPLR 3124 allows a motion to compel.11New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules Rule 3124 – Failure to Disclose, Motion to Compel Disclosure Continued refusal after a court order opens the door to CPLR 3126 sanctions: the court can deem disputed issues resolved against the disobedient party, preclude evidence or witnesses, strike pleadings, stay the action, dismiss, or enter default. Willfulness is a factor in how far the court goes.12New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules 3126 – Penalties for Refusal to Comply With Order or to Disclose
Non-parties who ignore a subpoena face CPLR 2308. A judicial subpoena carries contempt exposure, a warrant for the sheriff to bring the witness in, and a penalty of up to $150 plus actual damages. A non-judicial subpoena (one issued by counsel) requires a Supreme Court motion to compel; if the court finds the subpoena authorized, it orders compliance and may impose costs of up to $50, with a further penalty of up to $50 plus damages. Under either type, a witness who appears but refuses to answer or produce can be committed until they comply.13New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules 2308 – Disobedience of Subpoena
The other side of that coin is that a defective notice — wrong time computation, missing officer identification, missing audiovisual disclosures, an out-of-county location without justification — invites a motion to quash and a protective order under CPLR 3103, which suspends the disputed disclosure the moment it is filed.14New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules 3103 – Protective Orders The rules are short. The consequences of missing them are not.