Deadline to Respond to Discovery Requests in Federal Court

How Discovery Response Deadlines Work

In federal court, written discovery requests usually require a response within thirty (30) days after service. This general 30-day response period applies to interrogatories, requests for production, and requests for admission unless the parties stipulate otherwise or the court orders a different deadline.

How long does it take to respond to discovery requests?

Discovery responses may include substantive answers, objections, or both. Because different discovery devices are governed by different rules, users should confirm the applicable rule and review any scheduling order, local rule, or agreement between the parties that changes the default deadline.

For example, if discovery requests are served on April 1, the response deadline will generally fall 30 days later, subject to the time-computation rules in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 6. If the calculated deadline falls on a weekend or legal holiday, the deadline may move to the next business day.

Federal Discovery Responses Deadline

Objections and responses to discovery requests are generally due 30 days after the requests were served. (Interrogatories – Fed. R. Civ. P. 33(b)(2); Requests for Documents/ESI – Fed. R. Civ. P. 34(b)(2)(A); Requests for Admission – Fed. R. Civ. P. 36(a)(3).)

Enter the date the requests were served

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Related federal discovery deadlines include the Rule 26(f) conference and initial disclosures.