(a) The witness to be deposed must appear before the judge or before an officer authorized to administer oaths by the laws of the United States or by the laws of the place of the examination, as specified in:
(1) The judge's order under § 30.216(c); or
(2) The stipulation of the parties under § 30.216(a)(1).
(b) The witness must be examined under oath or affirmation and subject to cross-examination. The witness's testimony must be recorded by the officer or someone in the officer's presence.
(c) When the testimony is fully transcribed, it must be submitted to the witness for examination and must be read to or by him or her, unless examination and reading are waived.
(1) Any changes in form or substance that the witness desires to make must be entered on the transcript by the officer, with a statement of the reasons given by the witness for making them.
(2) The transcript must then be signed by the witness, unless the interested parties by stipulation waive the signing, or the witness is unavailable or refuses to sign.
(3) If the transcript is not signed by the witness, the officer must sign it and state on the record the fact of the waiver, the unavailability of the witness, or the refusal to sign together with the reason given, if any. The transcript may then be used as if it were signed, unless the judge determines that the reason given for refusal to sign requires rejection of the transcript in whole or in part.
(d) The officer must certify on the transcript that the witness was duly sworn by the officer and that the transcript is a true record of the witness's testimony. The officer must then hand deliver or mail the original and two copies of the transcript to the judge.