Request for Entry on Land for Inspection and Testing
(CA)

Summary

This template is for use in a civil action in California superior court to demand permission to enter land or other real property for the purpose of inspecting, measuring, surveying, photographing, testing, or sampling. This template contains practical guidance and drafting notes. Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2031.010(d) permits a party to demand that any other party to the action allow the demanding party to enter land or other property in the possession, custody, or control of that party, and to inspect and measure, survey, photograph, test, or sample the land or property, or any designated object or operation on the property. A defendant may serve the request on another party without leave of court at any time. Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2031.020(a). A plaintiff may serve the request on another party at any time that is at least 10 days after the service of summons on, or appearance by, that party, whichever occurs first. The plaintiff may serve the request sooner than that date only by obtaining leave of the court on motion for good cause shown. See Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2031.020(a), (b), (d). For a full listing of key content covering fundamental civil litigation tasks throughout a California state court litigation lifecycle, see Civil Litigation Fundamentals Resource Kit (CA). You must serve the party to whom the requests are directed and also serve copies on all other parties who have appeared in the action. Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2031.040. Do not file the request with the court unless offering it as relevant to a motion or other hearing or if ordered. Instead, retain the original and the proof of service until six months after final disposition of the case, unless otherwise ordered by the court for good cause. See Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2031.290; Cal. Rules of Ct., Rule 3.250(a)(9), (b). For discussion of service procedures, see Filing and Serving Documents Other Than Initial Complaint and Summons (CA). For a detailed discussion of requests for entry on land for inspection or testing, see Requests for Entry on Land or Inspection of Tangible Evidence (CA). If you also wish to request production of documents, electronically stored information, or tangible things, you can combine those demands with this demand. For detailed discussions of discovery in California, including requests for production, see Discovery Planning and Strategy (CA), Scope of Discovery and Objections to Discovery (CA), E-discovery: Planning for and Conducting E-discovery (CA), and Document Requests: Drafting and Serving RFPs (CA). For a related template, see Requests for Production of Documents (RFPs) (CA).