Texas Officially Adopts the Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act
On August 29, 2025, the Supreme Court of Texas published an order officially incorporating the Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act (UIDDA) into Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 201. The newly created Rule 201.3 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure went into effect on August 31, 2025, and now governs the process to obtain discovery in Texas for use in out-of-state proceedings. Texas finally joins the overwhelming majority of states that have adopted the UIDDA, with a few notable caveats.
Under the previous version of Rule 201, a party could not obtain discovery in Texas for an out-of-state proceeding until a Texas court enforced a “mandate, writ, or commission” from the out-of-state court. Depending on the originating state’s rules of discovery, this process often caused unnecessary delay and expense for the party seeking discovery. The UIDDA streamlines the discovery process and lowers these procedural hurdles.
Under the new Rule 201.3, a party seeking discovery may submit a foreign state subpoena directly to a court clerk in the Texas county where discovery is sought. That clerk must then promptly issue a Texas subpoena incorporating the terms of the original subpoena. All aspects of compliance with the Texas subpoena—service, objections, protective orders, and enforcement—are subject to the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure. For example, Rules 176 and 205 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure govern service and enforcement of the subpoena.
Furthermore, the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure regarding the scope of discovery, Rule 192.3, limits on the scope of discovery, Rule 192.4, protective orders, Rule 192.6, responses and objections to written discovery, Rule 193.1-7, written discovery requests, Rules 196-198, oral depositions, Rule 199, depositions by written question, Rule 200, and discovery from non-parties, Rule 205, are all applicable to the Texas subpoena. However, Rule 201.3 specifically deviates from the UIDDA’s model language permitting premises inspections by subpoena. Thus, a party seeking a premises inspection must receive authorization by court order.
Revisions to TRCP 201.2 Governing Foreign Proceedings
In addition to adopting the new Rule 201.3, the Supreme Court of Texas amended Rule 201.2 to clarify its limited scope following Texas’s adoption of the UIDDA. As revised, Rule 201.2 now applies exclusively to depositions taken in Texas for use in proceedings pending in a foreign country, rather than to interstate discovery between U.S. jurisdictions. This change reflects the Court’s intent to separate domestic interstate discovery under the new rule 201.3 from discovery conducted for use in international litigation.
Under the amended rule, a party seeking discovery in Texas for use in a foreign proceeding must continue to obtain authorization from a Texas court through a letter of request from the foreign tribunal, assuming it complies with a treaty or convention to which Texas and the foreign state are subject. Unlike Rule 201.3, which allows the clerk of court to issue subpoenas without judicial involvement, Rule 201.2 preserves judicial oversight at the outset, consistent with principles of international comity and existing treaty obligations.
Practically, this amendment eliminates prior ambiguity regarding whether Rule 201.2 applied to interstate discovery and confirms that the streamlined UIDDA procedures are limited to subpoenas issued in connection with proceedings pending in other U.S. states or territories. Parties seeking discovery for use in foreign-country litigation must still comply with court-supervised procedures and cannot rely on the UIDDA’s new subpoena mechanism.
Key Takeaways
Together, the amendments to Rule 201 represent a substantial modernization of Texas discovery practice. By adopting the UIDDA through new Rule 201.3, Texas has aligned itself with the majority of jurisdictions nationwide and significantly reduced the cost, delay, and procedural complexity historically associated with obtaining discovery in Texas for out-of-state litigation. At the same time, the Court preserved important safeguards by requiring judicial approval for premises inspections and maintaining court oversight for discovery sought in aid of international proceedings under Rule 201.2.
For corporations, litigants and practitioners, the revised rules provide greater predictability and efficiency while clarifying which discovery mechanisms apply depending on the origin of the underlying proceeding. As interstate litigation continues to increase, these amendments position Texas courts and clerks to facilitate discovery more efficiently while ensuring that Texas procedural protections remain firmly in place.
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