ESI protocol
An ESI protocol is a written agreement between the parties to a lawsuit, frequently entered by the court as a stipulated order, that sets the rules for preserving, collecting, searching, reviewing and producing electronically stored information. It fixes production format, metadata fields, load files, deduplication, privilege logging and clawback terms before any production is made.
Also called: ESI stipulation · ESI order · ESI agreement · discovery protocol · production protocol
Updated September 6, 2026
How does an ESI protocol work?
Rule 26(f) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure requires the parties to confer early about, among other things, “any issues about disclosure, discovery, or preservation of electronically stored information, including the form or forms in which it should be produced.” The ESI protocol is the document that records what they agreed.
A complete protocol usually addresses, in roughly this order: scope and the relevant date range; the sources of ESI in play and the custodians; preservation obligations and what need not be preserved; search methodology, whether search terms, technology-assisted review or both; form of production, native, TIFF or hybrid; the metadata fields to be exchanged; load-file format and delimiters; Bates numbering conventions; deduplication and email threading; privilege logging and a clawback provision under Rule 502(d); redaction rules; handling of sources that are not reasonably accessible; and production mechanics and a process for disputes.
The guide to ESI protocols walks through each section, the federal model orders and where to get a template. The value is in the sequencing. A protocol entered before collection lets the producing party process once, to the agreed specification. A protocol negotiated after a production has already been made in the wrong form is a re-production, at the producing party’s cost.
What does an ESI protocol look like in practice?
A two-paragraph excerpt from a typical form-of-production section:
Documents shall be produced as single-page, Group IV TIFF images at 300 DPI, together with document-level extracted text files and the load files specified in Section 6. The following shall instead be produced in native format with a single-page TIFF placeholder image bearing the Bates number and any confidentiality designation: spreadsheet files, presentation files, audio and video files, database exports, and any document whose static image would omit or obscure content.
Each production shall be accompanied by a delimited data load file (.DAT) containing the metadata fields specified in Section 7, and an image load file (.OPT) cross-referencing images to document boundaries.
The format risk planner generates clauses like the first from the file types in your collection. The whole document is drafted for the matter, against the rules of the court hearing it.
How does an ESI protocol show up on an eDiscovery invoice?
The protocol determines several line items before the first gigabyte is processed. A TIFF-everything protocol means format conversion charges per page on every spreadsheet and presentation; a hybrid protocol avoids most of them. A protocol that permits global deduplication reduces processed and hosted volume, and therefore per-GB processing and hosting fees, across every custodian. A protocol that requires a custom metadata field order or a non-standard load file can trigger hourly project management for the export. Negotiating the protocol is the single largest lever on the eventual bill that counsel controls directly.
Sources
- Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(f)(3)(C) and 34(b)(2)(E).
- Fed. R. Evid. 502(d).
- Model ESI orders and guidelines of the U.S. District Courts for the Northern District of California, the District of Kansas and the District of Maryland.
- The Sedona Conference, Principles, Third Edition, Principle 3 (early agreement on ESI).
Related terms
Electronically stored information (ESI) · Meet and confer · Load file · Clawback agreement · Privilege log · Native production
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$3,250 a month on a 12-month agreement. No per-user fees and no per-GB hosting charges.
Common questions
What does an ESI protocol bind the parties to?
The mechanics of electronic discovery, fixed in advance: production format, the metadata fields exchanged, load-file format, deduplication scope, privilege logging and clawback terms. Settling them once, before anything is produced, is what converts a series of potential motions into a checklist both sides agreed to. The guide walks through each section.
When in a matter is an ESI protocol agreed?
Before collection, wherever the schedule allows. A protocol entered early lets the producing party process once, to a known specification. A protocol negotiated after a production has already gone out in the wrong form is a re-production, at the producing party's cost, which is why the sequencing matters more than the drafting.
What is the difference between an ESI stipulation and an ESI order?
A stipulation is the parties' agreement. It becomes an order when the court signs it, which makes it enforceable through the court's contempt and sanctions powers rather than only as a contract between counsel. Most protocols are drafted as stipulations and submitted for entry as orders.