Rules of Court · Part 5 · New Jersey

R. 5:5-1 New Jersey Rules of Court, R. 5:5-1: Discovery, rendered as code with every cross-reference linked

Discovery

the rule, verbatim; Code adds line numbers, links on every cross-reference and the list of rules that cite this one

Except for summary actions and except as otherwise provided by law or rule, discovery in civil family actions shall be permitted as follows:

(a) Interrogatories as to all issues in all family actions may be served by any party as of course pursuant to R. 4:17.

(b) An interrogatory requesting financial information may be answered by reference to the case information statement required by R. 5:5-2.

(c) Depositions of any person, excluding family members under the age of 18, and including parties or experts, as of course may be taken pursuant to R. 4:11 et seq. and R. 4:10-2(d)(2) as to all matters except those relating to the elements that constitute grounds for divorce, dissolution of civil union, or termination of domestic partnership.

(d) All other discovery in family actions shall be permitted only by leave of court for good cause shown except for production of documents (R. 4:18-1); request for admissions (R. 4:22-1); and copies of documents referred to in pleadings (R. 4:18-2) which shall be permitted as of right.

(e) Discovery shall be completed within 90 days from the date of service of the original complaint in actions assigned to the expedited track and within 120 days from said date in actions assigned to the standard track. In actions assigned to the priority or complex track, time for completion of discovery shall be prescribed by case management order.

Note: Source-R. (1969) 4:79-5. Adopted December 20, 1983, to be effective December 31, 1983; paragraph (b) amended January 10, 1984, to be effective April 1, 1984; paragraphs (c) and (d) amended November 1, 1985 to be effective January 2, 1986; paragraph (d) amended November 7, 1988 to be effective January 2, 1989; paragraph (c) amended July 14, 1992 to be effective September 1, 1992; paragraph (e) added January 21, 1999 to be effective April 5, 1999; paragraph (c) amended July 21, 2011 to be effective September 1, 2011.

Verbatim rule text, unmarked. Nothing here is a summary.

rule 5:5-1 "Discovery" {
Except for summary actions and except as otherwise provided by law or rule, discovery in civil family actions shall be permitted as follows:
(a) Interrogatories as to all issues in all family actions may be served by any party as of course pursuant to R. 4:17.
(b) An interrogatory requesting financial information may be answered by reference to the case information statement required by R. 5:5-2.
(c) Depositions of any person, excluding family members under the age of 18, and including parties or experts, as of course may be taken pursuant to R. 4:11 et seq. and R. 4:10-2(d)(2) as to all matters except those relating to the elements that constitute grounds for divorce, dissolution of civil union, or termination of domestic partnership.
(d) All other discovery in family actions shall be permitted only by leave of court for good cause shown except for production of documents (R. 4:18-1); request for admissions (R. 4:22-1); and copies of documents referred to in pleadings (R. 4:18-2) which shall be permitted as of right.
(e) Discovery shall be completed within 90 days from the date of service of the original complaint in actions assigned to the expedited track and within 120 days from said date in actions assigned to the standard track. In actions assigned to the priority or complex track, time for completion of discovery shall be prescribed by case management order.
Note: Source-R. (1969) 4:79-5. Adopted December 20, 1983, to be effective December 31, 1983; paragraph (b) amended January 10, 1984, to be effective April 1, 1984; paragraphs (c) and (d) amended November 1, 1985 to be effective January 2, 1986; paragraph (d) amended November 7, 1988 to be effective January 2, 1989; paragraph (c) amended July 14, 1992 to be effective September 1, 1992; paragraph (e) added January 21, 1999 to be effective April 5, 1999; paragraph (c) amended July 21, 2011 to be effective September 1, 2011.
}
referenced_by: 4:10-1, 4:24-1
source: njcourts.gov // verbatim; changed 2025-09-17; corpus harvested 2026-09-02

R. 5:5-2 → · chapter 5:5 · all rules

The Rules of Court are a government edict and carry no copyright; the text above is the Judiciary’s own publication, unchanged. Structure, links and highlighting are ours and carry no legal weight. Read the rule on njcourts.gov before you rely on it; amendments take effect each September 1.