Fed. R. Civ. P. 34

(a) IN GENERAL. A party may serve on any other party a request

within the scope of Rule 26(b):

(1) to produce and permit the requesting party or its representative to inspect, copy, test, or sample the following

items in the responding party’s possession, custody, or control:

(A) any designated documents or electronically stored

information—including writings, drawings, graphs, charts,

photographs, sound recordings, images, and other data or

data compilations—stored in any medium from which information can be obtained either directly or, if necessary,

after translation by the responding party into a reasonably usable form; or

(B) any designated tangible things; or

(2) to permit entry onto designated land or other property

possessed or controlled by the responding party, so that the

requesting party may inspect, measure, survey, photograph,

test, or sample the property or any designated object or operation on it.

(b) PROCEDURE.

(1) Contents of the Request. The request:

(A) must describe with reasonable particularity each

item or category of items to be inspected;

(B) must specify a reasonable time, place, and manner

for the inspection and for performing the related acts; and

(C) may specify the form or forms in which electronically stored information is to be produced.

(2) Responses and Objections.

(A) Time to Respond. The party to whom the request is directed must respond in writing within 30 days after being

served or—if the request was delivered under Rule

26(d)(2)—within 30 days after the parties’ first Rule 26(f)

conference. A shorter or longer time may be stipulated to

under Rule 29 or be ordered by the court.

(B) Responding to Each Item. For each item or category,

the response must either state that inspection and related

activities will be permitted as requested or state with

specificity the grounds for objecting to the request, including the reasons. The responding party may state that it

will produce copies of documents or of electronically

stored information instead of permitting inspection. The

production must then be completed no later than the time

for inspection specified in the request or another reasonable time specified in the response.

(C) Objections. An objection must state whether any responsive materials are being withheld on the basis of that

objection. An objection to part of a request must specify

the part and permit inspection of the rest.

(D) Responding to a Request for Production of Electronically

Stored Information. The response may state an objection to

58 Rule 35 FEDERAL RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE

a requested form for producing electronically stored information. If the responding party objects to a requested

form—or if no form was specified in the request—the party

must state the form or forms it intends to use.

(E) Producing the Documents or Electronically Stored Information. Unless otherwise stipulated or ordered by the

court, these procedures apply to producing documents or

electronically stored information:

(i) A party must produce documents as they are kept

in the usual course of business or must organize and

label them to correspond to the categories in the request;

(ii) If a request does not specify a form for producing

electronically stored information, a party must

produce it in a form or forms in which it is ordinarily

maintained or in a reasonably usable form or forms;

and

(iii) A party need not produce the same electronically stored information in more than one form.

(c) NONPARTIES. As provided in Rule 45, a nonparty may be compelled to produce documents and tangible things or to permit an

inspection.

(As amended Dec. 27, 1946, eff. Mar. 19, 1948; Mar. 30, 1970, eff. July

1, 1970; Apr. 29, 1980, eff. Aug. 1, 1980; Mar. 2, 1987, eff. Aug. 1, 1987;

Apr. 30, 1991, eff. Dec. 1, 1991; Apr. 22, 1993, eff. Dec. 1, 1993; Apr.

12, 2006, eff. Dec. 1, 2006; Apr. 30, 2007, eff. Dec. 1, 2007; Apr. 29, 2015,

eff. Dec. 1, 2015.)