California State Court Requests for Admission

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

COUNTY OF [________________________________]

[☐ UNLIMITED ☐ LIMITED] CIVIL JURISDICTION

[REQUESTING PARTY]'S REQUESTS FOR ADMISSION (SET [________]) TO [RESPONDING PARTY]

REQUESTING / RESPONDING PARTY INFORMATION

Attorney for Requesting Party:

I. INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT AND STATUTORY COMPLIANCE

Pursuant to Cal. Code Civ. Proc. §§ 2033.010 through 2033.080, Requesting Party [________________________________] ("Requesting Party") hereby requests that Responding Party [________________________________] ("Responding Party" or "You") admit, for purposes of this action only, the truth of the matters of fact, opinions relating to fact, and applications of law to fact set forth below, and the genuineness of the documents identified below.

1. Authority and Scope. Under Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2033.010, a party may request that any other party admit the genuineness of specified documents or the truth of specified matters of fact, opinion relating to fact, or application of law to fact. Each matter requested is within the scope of permissible discovery under Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2017.010.

2. No Leave of Court Required. Pursuant to Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2033.020, a defendant may serve requests for admission without leave of court at any time, and a plaintiff may do so on or after the date specified by statute. No leave of court is required to serve these Requests.

3. 35-Request Limit; Genuineness of Documents Unlimited. Pursuant to Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2033.030(a), no party may request, as a matter of right, that any other party admit more than thirty-five (35) matters that do not relate to the genuineness of documents. The matters of fact and application-of-law-to-fact requests in this set do not exceed that limit unless a Declaration for Additional Discovery is attached. Pursuant to Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2033.030(c), the number of requests for admission of the genuineness of documents is not limited except as justice requires to protect the Responding Party from unwarranted annoyance, embarrassment, oppression, or undue burden and expense.

II. DEADLINE FOR RESPONSE AND DEEMED-ADMITTED WARNING

Response Deadline. Pursuant to Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2033.250(a), the Responding Party must serve the original of a written response to these Requests on the Requesting Party, and a copy on all other parties who have appeared, within thirty (30) days after service of these Requests, plus any additional time allowed for the method of service under Cal. Code Civ. Proc. §§ 1010.6 and 1013 (e.g., the extension for service by mail or overnight delivery). In an unlawful detainer or other proceeding under Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 1159 et seq., the period is shortened to at least five (5) days. Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2033.250(b).

WARNING — FAILURE TO RESPOND RESULTS IN ADMISSION. Pursuant to Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2033.280, if the Responding Party fails to serve a timely response, (1) the Responding Party waives any objection to the Requests, including objections based on privilege or work product, and (2) the Requesting Party may move for an order that the genuineness of any documents and the truth of any matters specified in the Requests be deemed admitted, and for monetary sanctions. The court shall make this order unless the Responding Party has served, before the hearing, a proposed response that is in substantial compliance with Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2033.220.

The form and content of the written response are governed by Cal. Code Civ. Proc. §§ 2033.210 through 2033.240. Each answer must be as complete and straightforward as the information reasonably available to the Responding Party permits, and the response must be signed under oath by the Responding Party (with the attorney signing any objections). Cal. Code Civ. Proc. §§ 2033.210, 2033.240.

III. DEFINITIONS

For purposes of these Requests, the following terms have the meanings set forth below. These definitions apply regardless of capitalization.

1. "You," "Your," or "Responding Party" means [________________________________], and all present and former agents, employees, officers, directors, partners, members, representatives, attorneys, accountants, and all other persons or entities acting or purporting to act on Responding Party's behalf.

2. "Document" has the broadest meaning permissible under Cal. Evid. Code § 250 and Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2033.010, and includes every writing and recording of every kind, including electronically stored information ("ESI"), drafts, and non-identical copies.

3. "Communication" means any transmission of information by any means, whether oral, written, or electronic.

4. "Admit" means to acknowledge unequivocally the truth of the matter or the genuineness of the document stated in the Request, without qualification, unless a good-faith qualification is expressly stated as permitted by Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2033.220.

5. "Genuine" or "genuineness," as applied to a document, means that the document is what it purports to be, that it was prepared, executed, sent, or received as it appears, and (where applicable) that it has not been altered since its execution.

6. "Relating to," "Concerning," or "Referring to" means constituting, evidencing, describing, mentioning, reflecting, referring to, or in any way pertaining to, in whole or in part.

7. "Incident" means the events, acts, omissions, and circumstances giving rise to this action, as described in the operative pleadings.

8. "Person" means any natural person, corporation, partnership, limited liability company, association, governmental entity, or other legal entity.

IV. INSTRUCTIONS

1. Separate Answer to Each Request. Pursuant to Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2033.210, the response must answer the substance of each Request in the same sequence and numbering used here. Each answer must (a) admit so much of the matter as is true, either as expressed in the Request or as reasonably and clearly qualified by the Responding Party; (b) deny so much of the matter as is untrue; or (c) specify so much of the matter as to which the Responding Party lacks sufficient information or knowledge to admit or deny. Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2033.220.

2. Reasonable Inquiry. Pursuant to Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2033.220(c), if the Responding Party gives lack of information or knowledge as a reason for a failure to admit all or part of a Request, that party must state that a reasonable inquiry concerning the matter has been made and that the information known or readily obtainable is insufficient to enable an admission.

3. Genuineness of Documents. Where a Request seeks admission of the genuineness of a document, a copy of the document is attached to or served with these Requests, unless the document has been or is otherwise made available for inspection and copying. An admission of the genuineness of a document does not preclude the Responding Party from objecting at trial to the document's admissibility on grounds of competency, relevance, or otherwise.

4. Objections. Pursuant to Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2033.230, if only a part of a Request is objectionable, the remainder must be answered. Each objection must be stated separately and set forth the specific ground. If the Responding Party objects on the basis of privilege or work product as to a document whose genuineness is requested, the Responding Party must identify with particularity the document and the specific privilege or protection claimed.

5. Compound, Conjunctive, or Disjunctive Requests. Each Request is intended to be full and complete in itself and to seek admission of a single matter. To the extent any Request is read as compound, conjunctive, or disjunctive, the Responding Party must answer each discrete matter separately.

6. Effect of Failure to Respond. As stated in Section II above, failure to serve a timely response permits the Requesting Party to move under Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2033.280 for an order that the matters be deemed admitted and for monetary sanctions, and waives objections.

7. Effect of Admission; Conclusively Established. Pursuant to Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2033.410, any matter admitted in response to a Request is conclusively established against the Responding Party in this action, unless the court permits withdrawal or amendment of the admission.

8. Withdrawal or Amendment. Pursuant to Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2033.300, the court may permit a party to withdraw or amend an admission only on a noticed motion and only if it determines that the admission was the result of mistake, inadvertence, or excusable neglect and that the party who obtained the admission will not be substantially prejudiced in maintaining its action or defense on the merits.

9. Construction. The singular includes the plural and vice versa; "and" and "or" shall be construed conjunctively or disjunctively as necessary to bring within the scope of these Requests all matters that might otherwise be construed outside their scope.

V. REQUESTS FOR ADMISSION — MATTERS OF FACT AND APPLICATION OF LAW TO FACT

REQUEST FOR ADMISSION NO. 1: Admit that the Incident occurred on [__/__/____].

REQUEST FOR ADMISSION NO. 2: Admit that, at the time of the Incident, You were [describe role/relationship, e.g., the owner of the vehicle described in the Complaint].

REQUEST FOR ADMISSION NO. 3: Admit that You [describe conduct alleged, e.g., entered into the written agreement attached as Exhibit A].

REQUEST FOR ADMISSION NO. 4: Admit that You received the [document/communication] described in Paragraph [____] of the operative pleading.

REQUEST FOR ADMISSION NO. 5: Admit that You did not [perform the act / make the payment / provide the notice] described in Paragraph [____] of the operative pleading.

REQUEST FOR ADMISSION NO. 6: Admit that the amount of [$____________] remains unpaid under the agreement at issue.

REQUEST FOR ADMISSION NO. 7: Admit that You owed a duty of [care / performance] to Requesting Party with respect to [________________________________].

REQUEST FOR ADMISSION NO. 8: Admit that You breached the duty referenced in Request No. 7.

REQUEST FOR ADMISSION NO. 9: Admit that Requesting Party sustained damages as a result of the Incident.

REQUEST FOR ADMISSION NO. 10: Admit that You have no documents supporting Your affirmative defense of [________________________________].

REQUEST FOR ADMISSION NO. 11: Admit that the statement(s) set forth in Paragraph [____] of Your responsive pleading are not supported by any percipient witness other than You.

REQUEST FOR ADMISSION NO. 12: Admit that [describe an application of law to fact, e.g., the agreement attached as Exhibit A is an enforceable contract between You and Requesting Party].

REQUEST FOR ADMISSION NO. 13: [________________________________]

REQUEST FOR ADMISSION NO. 14: [________________________________]

REQUEST FOR ADMISSION NO. 15: [________________________________]

VI. REQUESTS FOR ADMISSION — GENUINENESS OF DOCUMENTS

REQUEST FOR ADMISSION NO. 16: Admit that the document attached hereto as Exhibit [____] ([describe / Bates Nos. ____ through ____]) is genuine.

REQUEST FOR ADMISSION NO. 17: Admit that the document attached hereto as Exhibit [____] is a true and correct copy of the [contract / letter / email / record] dated [__/__/____].

REQUEST FOR ADMISSION NO. 18: Admit that the document attached hereto as Exhibit [____] was [sent / received / executed] by You on or about [__/__/____].

REQUEST FOR ADMISSION NO. 19: Admit that the signature appearing on the document attached hereto as Exhibit [____] is Your signature (or the signature of Your authorized agent).

REQUEST FOR ADMISSION NO. 20: Admit that the document attached hereto as Exhibit [____] is a business record kept by You in the ordinary course of business.

REQUEST FOR ADMISSION NO. 21: [________________________________]

REQUEST FOR ADMISSION NO. 22: [________________________________]

VII. DEADLINE AND COST-OF-PROOF NOTICE

The Responding Party is reminded that a written response is due within thirty (30) days of service (plus any applicable service-method extension), failing which the matters herein may be deemed admitted under Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2033.280.

Cost-of-Proof Sanctions. Pursuant to Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2033.420, if the Responding Party fails to admit the genuineness of any document or the truth of any matter requested herein, and the Requesting Party thereafter proves the genuineness of that document or the truth of that matter, the Requesting Party may move the court for an order requiring the Responding Party to pay the reasonable expenses incurred in making that proof, including reasonable attorney's fees. The court shall make this order unless it finds that (1) an objection to the Request was sustained or a response to it was waived under § 2033.290; (2) the admission sought was of no substantial importance; (3) the Responding Party had reasonable ground to believe it would prevail on the matter; or (4) there was other good reason for the failure to admit. Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2033.420(b).

VIII. SIGNATURE

Dated: [__/__/____]

Respectfully submitted,

Signature: [________________________________]
[________________________________], Esq.
State Bar No. [________________________________]
Attorney for [Requesting Party]
[________________________________] (Firm Name)
[________________________________] (Street Address)
[________________________________] (City, State, ZIP)
[________________________________] (Telephone)
[________________________________] (Email)

IX. (OPTIONAL) DECLARATION FOR ADDITIONAL DISCOVERY

I, [________________________________], declare:

1. I am (☐ a party to this action appearing in propria persona) (☐ presently the attorney for [________________________________], a party to this action).

2. I am propounding to [________________________________] the attached set of requests for admission.

3. This set of requests for admission will cause the total number of requests propounded to the party to whom they are directed to exceed the number of requests permitted by Section 2033.030 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

4. I have previously propounded a total of [____] requests for admission to this party.

5. This set of requests for admission contains a total of [____] requests.

6. I am familiar with the issues and the previous discovery conducted by all of the parties in this case.

7. I have personally examined each of the requests in this set of requests for admission.

8. This number of requests for admission is warranted under Section 2033.040 of the Code of Civil Procedure because [state the reasons why the complexity or quantity of issues warrants this number of requests].

9. None of the requests in this set is being propounded for any improper purpose, such as to harass the party, or the attorney for the party, to whom it is directed, or to cause unnecessary delay or needless increase in the cost of litigation.

I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing is true and correct, and that this declaration was executed on [__/__/____], at [________________________________], California.

Signature: [________________________________]
Attorney for [Requesting Party]

X. PROOF OF SERVICE

I am over the age of 18 and not a party to this action. I am employed in or a resident of the County of [________________________________], State of California. My business address is [________________________________].

On [__/__/____], I served the foregoing [REQUESTING PARTY]'S REQUESTS FOR ADMISSION (SET [____]) TO [RESPONDING PARTY] on the interested parties in this action by the method indicated below, in accordance with Cal. Code Civ. Proc. §§ 1010–1013 and 1010.6:

☐ By United States Mail — by placing a true copy in a sealed envelope with postage fully prepaid, addressed as shown below, and depositing it with the U.S. Postal Service (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 1013(a)).

☐ By Overnight Delivery — by depositing a true copy in a sealed envelope or package designated by the express service carrier, with delivery fees paid, addressed as shown below (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 1013(c)).

☐ By Personal Delivery — by personally delivering a true copy to the person(s) at the address(es) shown below (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 1011).

☐ By Electronic Service — by transmitting a true copy via electronic service to the electronic address(es) shown below, in accordance with Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 1010.6 and applicable rules of court.

Served upon:

[________________________________], Esq.
[________________________________] (Firm Name)
[________________________________] (Street Address)
[________________________________] (City, State, ZIP)
[________________________________] (Email)

I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing is true and correct.

Executed on [__/__/____], at [________________________________], California.

Signature: [________________________________]
Printed Name: [________________________________]

XI. PRACTICE NOTES

1. California Terminology. Use "Requesting Party" and "Responding Party," consistent with the Civil Discovery Act. The Judicial Council form cover sheet for requests for admission is DISC-020.

2. 30-Day Response Deadline and Deemed Admission. Responses are due within 30 days of service (plus the service-method extension). Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2033.250. Failure to respond exposes the Responding Party to a motion to deem the matters admitted and waives objections. Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2033.280. This auto-admission consequence is the hallmark of requests for admission.

3. 35-Request Limit. No more than 35 non-document requests may be made as a matter of right (combined across all sets). Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2033.030(a). Requests for admission of the genuineness of documents are unlimited. § 2033.030(c). To exceed 35 non-document requests, attach the § 2033.050 Declaration for Additional Discovery.

4. Pair with Form Interrogatory 17.1. Serving Judicial Council Form Interrogatory No. 17.1 concurrently requires the Responding Party to state the facts, witnesses, and documents supporting each response that is not an unqualified admission — building the record for a later § 2033.420 cost-of-proof motion.

5. Cost-of-Proof Sanctions. If a denied matter is later proven, the Requesting Party may recover the reasonable expenses, including attorney's fees, of making that proof. Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2033.420. Draft requests that address matters of substantial importance and historical fact to strengthen a later motion.

6. Single Matters Only. Each request must seek admission of a single, discrete matter; compound requests are improper. Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2033.060(f). Do not combine requests for admission with other discovery methods in one document. § 2033.060(h).

7. Not Filed With the Court. Requests and responses are served, not filed, except as relevant to a motion (e.g., a motion to deem admitted under § 2033.280 or to compel a further response under § 2033.290). See Cal. R. Ct. 3.250.

XII. SOURCES AND REFERENCES

• Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2017.010 — Scope of Discovery
• Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2033.010 — Requests for Admission; Scope (Genuineness of Documents; Truth of Facts, Opinion, Application of Law to Fact)
• Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2033.020 — Time to Make Requests
• Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2033.030 — 35-Matter Limit (Non-Document Requests); Genuineness of Documents Unlimited
• Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2033.040 — Number of Requests; Necessity for Additional Discovery
• Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2033.050 — Declaration for Additional Discovery (Form)
• Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2033.060 — Form and Content of Requests; Single Matters; No Combination With Other Discovery
• Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2033.070 — Service of Requests
• Cal. Code Civ. Proc. §§ 2033.210–2033.240 — Form and Content of Response; Reasonable Inquiry; Objections
• Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2033.250 — 30-Day Response Deadline (5 Days in Unlawful Detainer)
• Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2033.280 — Failure to Respond; Waiver of Objections; Matters Deemed Admitted; Sanctions
• Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2033.290 — Motion to Compel Further Response
• Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2033.300 — Withdrawal or Amendment of Admission
• Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2033.410 — Effect of Admission; Conclusively Established
• Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2033.420 — Cost-of-Proof Sanctions for Failure to Admit
• Cal. Code Civ. Proc. §§ 1010–1013, 1010.6 — Service of Papers
• Cal. Evid. Code § 250 — Definition of "Writing"
• Judicial Council Form DISC-020 — Requests for Admission (Cover Sheet)
• Judicial Council Form Interrogatory No. 17.1 — Facts Supporting Non-Admissions
• California Courts (Forms): https://www.courts.ca.gov
• California Legislative Information (Codes): https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov

This template is designed for use in the California Superior Court. Verify all Code of Civil Procedure citations, confirm any applicable local rules and standing orders, attach copies of any documents whose genuineness is requested, count non-document requests against the 35-request limit, and tailor each request to the specific claims and defenses at issue. Have the document reviewed by a licensed California attorney before service.