In a civil action, a request for admission is a discovery device that allows one party to request that another party admit or deny the truth of a statement under oath. If admitted, the statement is considered to be true for all purposes of the current trial. Parties may also use this discovery device to request that other parties verify that documents are genuine.
Requests for admission are generally used toward the end of the discovery process to settle uncontested issues and simplify the trial.
Rules regarding requests for admission vary by jurisdiction. See State Civil Procedure Rules. In the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 36 governs interrogatories.
See Civil Procedure.