Document production
Document production in eDiscovery is the delivery of responsive, non-privileged documents to the requesting party in the form the parties agreed or the rules require, normally Bates-numbered images or native files with document-level text and DAT/OPT load files, delivered in numbered volumes on a schedule set by the request or by the court.
Also called: production · rolling production · production set · production volume · produced documents
Updated October 2, 2026
How does document production work?
A production is the end of the workflow, not a step in it. By the time documents are produced they have been collected, processed, culled, reviewed for responsiveness and privilege, and coded. Production turns the reviewed set into a package the other side can load.
The mechanics are fixed by the ESI protocol: which documents are imaged and which go native, which metadata fields travel with them, the Bates prefix and starting number, the confidentiality legends, the load-file format and delimiters, and how redactions are handled and logged. The platform then renders images, endorses them, writes per-document text files, exports natives, and builds the DAT and OPT.
Three things have to hold across every volume of a production. Bates numbers must be continuous and never reused. Families must be complete: an email produced without its attachment, or an attachment without its parent, is a defect the receiving party will raise. And the privilege log must account for every document withheld or redacted from the set that was produced.
Productions are usually rolling. Volumes are numbered sequentially, each with its own load files and its own cover letter stating the Bates range, the count, the confidentiality designations applied, and any deviations from the protocol.
What does document production look like in practice?
A production cover letter’s operative paragraph, and the volume it describes:
Enclosed please find Defendant’s third production, Bates range APEX-004182 through APEX-006039, comprising 1,417 documents produced as single-page TIFF images with document-level extracted text, and 96 documents produced in native format with placeholder images. Documents designated CONFIDENTIAL under the Protective Order are so endorsed.
The volume on disk carries IMAGES/, TEXT/, NATIVES/ and a DATA/ folder holding VOL003.dat and VOL003.opt. The production checklist covers what to verify before it leaves, in 24 items.
How does document production show up on an eDiscovery invoice?
Production is where the per-event fees cluster. Export and production fees are commonly charged per gigabyte on the produced volume, separately from processing and separately again from format conversion or TIFFing. Endorsement and branding (stamping Bates numbers, confidentiality legends and redaction burn-ins) is sometimes billed per page on top of that, so the same page can appear on three lines. Media and delivery covers encrypted drives or secure transfer, and a per-disc charge for physical media is a common line.
Ask whether load files and images are included in the export fee or itemized, whether a re-production issued to correct a defect is charged again, and what it costs to export your own full dataset at the end of the matter. The Fee Field Guide lists the production-side fees in full.
Sources
- Fed. R. Civ. P. 34(b)(2)(A), (B) and (E).
- Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(d)(2) on early Rule 34 requests.
- EDRM, Production Guide.
- The Sedona Conference, Glossary: eDiscovery & Digital Information Management.
- Fee ranges and documented per-item charges: the Fee Field Guide dataset (ComplexDiscovery pricing survey; filed court cost schedules).
Related terms
Bates numbering · Load file · TIFF production · Native production · Redaction · Privilege log
eDiscovery at one flat monthly rate
$3,250 a month on a 12-month agreement. No per-user fees and no per-GB hosting charges.
Common questions
What is a rolling production?
A production made in installments rather than all at once (VOL001, VOL002 and so on) as batches finish review. Rule 34(b)(2)(B) permits it: the response must state that production will be made by a stated later date, and the production must then be completed no later than the time stated. Rolling productions keep the receiving party working while review continues, but Bates numbering, family completeness and the privilege log all have to stay coherent across volumes. The production checklist covers the cross-volume checks.
How long do you have to produce documents?
Under Rule 34(b)(2)(A) a party must respond in writing within 30 days after being served with the request, or, for requests delivered early under Rule 26(d)(2), within 30 days after the first Rule 26(f) conference. The response states what will be produced and when; the documents themselves follow on the date the response specifies. The period can be lengthened or shortened by stipulation or court order.
Can you be required to produce the same documents twice?
Not in a second form. Rule 34(b)(2)(E)(iii) states that a party need not produce the same electronically stored information in more than one form. That is why the form of production is settled in the ESI protocol before anything is produced. A party that produces images first and is then asked for natives has an argument, but a party that agreed to a hybrid protocol has no dispute to have.