The California Discovery Cutoff: 30 Days Before Trial, and It Does Not Move

Not legal advice. Core CCP rules checked against Westlaw (via CoCounsel legal research) on July 24, 2026. County local rules are paraphrased summaries; individual department standing orders are NOT included. Verify every date against the operative code sections and your court’s rules before relying on it.

Discovery must be completed 30 days before trial, and discovery motions must be heard 15 days before trial. Code of Civil Procedure section 2024.020 sets both. Expert discovery gets a little more room: completion 15 days before trial, motions heard 10 days before (section 2024.030).

The detail that catches even experienced litigators: these deadlines run from the date INITIALLY set for trial. Get a continuance and the cutoff does not budge. Section 2024.020(b) says a continuance does not reopen discovery. If you need discovery after a continuance, you must bring a motion under section 2024.050 and convince the court there is good cause. Courts deny these all the time.

Completed means completed

For depositions, completed means taken, not just noticed. For written discovery, the practical rule is that responses must come due on or before the cutoff, which means your last day to serve interrogatories or document demands is at least 30 days before the cutoff, or roughly 60 days before trial, and earlier if you serve by mail or electronically.

Everything else counting down to trial

The cutoff is one deadline in a chain that all runs backward from the trial date: expert exchange demands (CCP section 2034.220), the exchange itself at 50 days out (section 2034.230), the last day an MSJ can be heard at 30 days out (section 437c), and the last day for a 998 offer at 10 days out (section 998). Each has its own weekend and holiday adjustments.

Our trial countdown calculator builds the whole chain from one input, your trial date, with a citation behind every date and your county’s local trial-prep rules layered on top.

Trial countdown calculator FREE

Trial date

Date initially set for trial (deadlines key off the initial date)

Date initial trial date was set (optional)

Used for the expert demand deadline (CCP § 2034.220)

MSJ service method

§§ 1005 and 1013 do NOT apply to MSJs (§ 437c(a)(6)); § 437c has its own built-in extensions

Your county

CCP deadlines apply statewide; selecting a county adds its local trial-prep rules

FAQ

My trial got continued. Can I take one more deposition?

Not as of right. You need a stipulation or a section 2024.050 motion showing good cause and diligence. File it early; the motion itself must be heard before the (unchanged) motion cutoff unless the court orders otherwise.

Does the cutoff apply to expert depositions?

Experts have their own cutoff: 15 days before the initial trial date, with expert discovery motions heard by 10 days before.

When is my actual last day to serve written discovery?

Count backward: responses must be due by the cutoff, so subtract the 30-day response period plus any service extension from the cutoff date. The calculator does this arithmetic for you, including weekend and holiday rolls.

This page is general legal information, not legal advice. Verify every deadline against the current code and your court’s rules.