Rule 801 — Definitions That Apply to This Article; Exclusions from Hearsay

Fed. R. Evid. 801

• Source: Federal Rules of Evidence
• Rule: 801
• ARTICLE VIII: HEARSAY
• Citation: Fed. R. Evid. 801

Text

(a) STATEMENT. ‘‘Statement’’ means a person’s oral assertion,
written assertion, or nonverbal conduct, if the person intended it
as an assertion.
(b) DECLARANT. ‘‘Declarant’’ means the person who made the
statement.
(c) HEARSAY. ‘‘Hearsay’’ means a statement that:
(1) the declarant does not make while testifying at the cur-
rent trial or hearing; and
(2) a party offers in evidence to prove the truth of the matter
asserted in the statement.
(d) STATEMENTS THAT ARE NOT HEARSAY. A statement that
meets the following conditions is not hearsay:
(1) A Declarant-Witness’s Prior Statement. The declarant testi-
fies and is subject to cross-examination about a prior state-
ment, and the statement:
(A) is inconsistent with the declarant’s testimony and
was given under penalty of perjury at a trial, hearing, or
other proceeding or in a deposition;
(B) is consistent with the declarant’s testimony and is
offered:
(i) to rebut an express or implied charge that the de-
clarant recently fabricated it or acted from a recent
improper influence or motive in so testifying; or
(ii) to rehabilitate the declarant’s credibility as a
witness when attacked on another ground; or
(C) identifies a person as someone the declarant per-
ceived earlier.

(2) An Opposing Party’s Statement. The statement is offered
against an opposing party and:
(A) was made by the party in an individual or represent-
ative capacity;
(B) is one the party manifested that it adopted or be-
lieved to be true;
(C) was made by a person whom the party authorized to
make a statement on the subject;
(D) was made by the party’s agent or employee on a mat-
ter within the scope of that relationship and while it ex-
isted; or
(E) was made by the party’s coconspirator during and in
furtherance of the conspiracy.
The statement must be considered but does not by itself es-
tablish the declarant’s authority under (C); the existence or
scope of the relationship under (D); or the existence of the
conspiracy or participation in it under (E).
If a party’s claim, defense, or potential liability is directly
derived from a declarant or the declarant’s principal, a state-
ment that would be admissible against the declarant or the
principal under this rule is also admissible against the party.

Advisory Committee Notes

(As amended Pub. L. 94–113, §1, Oct. 16, 1975, 89 Stat. 576, eff. Oct. 31, 1975; Mar. 2, 1987, eff. Oct. 1, 1987; Apr. 11, 1997, eff. Dec. 1, 1997; Apr. 26, 2011, eff. Dec. 1, 2011; Apr. 25, 2014, eff. Dec. 1, 2014; Apr. 2, 2024, eff. Dec. 1, 2024.)