A request for admissions is a formal discovery tool asking the other party to admit or deny specific facts or the genuineness of specific documents. Requests for admissions are used to eliminate the need to prove at trial facts that should not be in genuine dispute.

When a party fails to respond to a request for admissions within the required time the matter is deemed admitted. That deemed admission can then be used at trial without further proof. This consequence makes timely and accurate responses to requests for admissions critically important.

Requests for admissions work best when targeted to specific factual matters that are either clearly true or clearly false. They are not a substitute for disclosure or for depositions on complex factual issues. Used strategically they can significantly reduce the scope of what must be proven at trial.

See also the Admissions entry in this glossary.