A request for admissions is a normal part of the discovery (pre-trial fact finding) process in a legal case. The request for admissions takes the form of a series of compiled questions which is issued by one or another of the parties in the legal case and served on the opposing party. The respondents must normally provide a written response within a certain time frame, e.g. thirty days from the date of the request. The written questions are not the same as interrogatories as they basically serve as a way that the adversary admits or denies certain statements or allegations made against them. Sometimes, the number of admissions requests can reach disproportionate numbers and may be used as a way of harassing or oppressing the opposition, so a court may limit the number of requests to an acceptable number.
In a way, requests for admission are a bit like a true / false type of question in which the respondent must admit or deny a certain statement. In some cases, where they feel that they are unable to either admit or deny a statement they are entitled to state the reasons why they cannot respond to that particular request.
Requests for admissions if not responded to in a timely fashion may be deemed to have been “admitted” by the respondent unless an objection to the request has been received by the requester. This is the case with federal rules of discovery but many states think that this is too harsh and require the requester to file a motion to have the requests “admitted” before they are in fact legally regarded as admitted.