Deposition Officer

No litigant or attorney may serve as the deposition officer. The deposition officer must be authorized to administer an oath, which eliminates most litigants, anyway. In practice, this section refers to the court reporter who reports and transcribes the deposition. The court reporter is usually also the deposition officer because court reporters are authorized to take oaths. As a pro se litigant, you must hire a court reporter to serve as a deposition officer for every deposition you notice, just as lawyers must also hire a court reporter.

I think you’re confused about the terminology. The deposition officer administers the oath, and typically also reports the proceedings. Deposition officers do not conduct the deposition or ask the questions. Pro per parties cannot act as deposition officers. You can absolutely hire a court reported and question the deponent as a pro per (state court) litigant but brush up on your rules of evidence to make sure you don’t get into objections that you don’t understand. Best of luck to you. Attorney Rebekah Ryan Main If you found this answer helpful, let me know by clicking the "Mark as Helpful" button at the bottom of this answer. It’s easy and appreciated. This response is intended to be a general statement of law, should not be relied upon as legal advice, does not create an attorney/client relationship and does not create a right to continuing email exchanges.

I agree with my colleagues. The court reporter is usually the deposition officer because court reporters are authorized to take oaths. Perhaps you are confusing this term with "deposition officer" in connection with a subpoena for production of documents?