Rule 902 — Evidence That Is Self-Authenticating

Fed. R. Evid. 902

• Source: Federal Rules of Evidence
• Rule: 902
• ARTICLE IX: AUTHENTICATION AND IDENTIFICATION
• Citation: Fed. R. Evid. 902

Text

The following items of evidence are self-authenticating; they re-
quire no extrinsic evidence of authenticity in order to be admit-
ted:
(1) Domestic Public Documents That Are Sealed and Signed. A
document that bears:
(A) a seal purporting to be that of the United States; any
state, district, commonwealth, territory, or insular posses-
sion of the United States; the former Panama Canal Zone;
the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands; a political sub-
division of any of these entities; or a department, agency,
or officer of any entity named above; and
(B) a signature purporting to be an execution or attesta-
tion.
(2) Domestic Public Documents That Are Not Sealed but Are
Signed and Certified. A document that bears no seal if:
(A) it bears the signature of an officer or employee of an
entity named in Rule 902(1)(A); and
(B) another public officer who has a seal and official du-
ties within that same entity certifies under seal—or its
equivalent—that the signer has the official capacity and
that the signature is genuine.
(3) Foreign Public Documents. A document that purports to be
signed or attested by a person who is authorized by a foreign
country’s law to do so. The document must be accompanied by
a final certification that certifies the genuineness of the sig-
nature and official position of the signer or attester—or of any
foreign official whose certificate of genuineness relates to the
signature or attestation or is in a chain of certificates of genu-
ineness relating to the signature or attestation. The certifi-
cation may be made by a secretary of a United States embassy
or legation; by a consul general, vice consul, or consular agent
of the United States; or by a diplomatic or consular official of
the foreign country assigned or accredited to the United
States. If all parties have been given a reasonable opportunity
to investigate the document’s authenticity and accuracy, the
court may, for good cause, either:
(A) order that it be treated as presumptively authentic
without final certification; or
(B) allow it to be evidenced by an attested summary
with or without final certification.
(4) Certified Copies of Public Records. A copy of an official
record—or a copy of a document that was recorded or filed in
a public office as authorized by law—if the copy is certified as
correct by:
(A) the custodian or another person authorized to make
the certification; or
(B) a certificate that complies with Rule 902(1), (2), or (3),
a federal statute, or a rule prescribed by the Supreme
Court.
(5) Official Publications. A book, pamphlet, or other publica-
tion purporting to be issued by a public authority.
(6) Newspapers and Periodicals. Printed material purporting
to be a newspaper or periodical.

(7) Trade Inscriptions and the Like. An inscription, sign, tag,
or label purporting to have been affixed in the course of busi-
ness and indicating origin, ownership, or control.
(8) Acknowledged Documents. A document accompanied by a
certificate of acknowledgment that is lawfully executed by a
notary public or another officer who is authorized to take ac-
knowledgments.
(9) Commercial Paper and Related Documents. Commercial
paper, a signature on it, and related documents, to the extent
allowed by general commercial law.
(10) Presumptions Under a Federal Statute. A signature, docu-
ment, or anything else that a federal statute declares to be
presumptively or prima facie genuine or authentic.
(11) Certified Domestic Records of a Regularly Conducted Activ-
ity. The original or a copy of a domestic record that meets the
requirements of Rule 803(6)(A)–(C), as shown by a certification
of the custodian or another qualified person that complies
with a federal statute or a rule prescribed by the Supreme
Court. Before the trial or hearing, the proponent must give an
adverse party reasonable written notice of the intent to offer
the record—and must make the record and certification avail-
able for inspection—so that the party has a fair opportunity to
challenge them.
(12) Certified Foreign Records of a Regularly Conducted Activity.
In a civil case, the original or a copy of a foreign record that
meets the requirements of Rule 902(11), modified as follows:
the certification, rather than complying with a federal statute
or Supreme Court rule, must be signed in a manner that, if
falsely made, would subject the maker to a criminal penalty
in the country where the certification is signed. The pro-
ponent must also meet the notice requirements of Rule 902(11).
(13) Certified Records Generated by an Electronic Process or Sys-
tem. A record generated by an electronic process or system
that produces an accurate result, as shown by a certification
of a qualified person that complies with the certification re-
quirements of Rule 902(11) or (12). The proponent must also
meet the notice requirements of Rule 902(11).
(14) Certified Data Copied from an Electronic Device, Storage
Medium, or File. Data copied from an electronic device, storage
medium, or file, if authenticated by a process of digital identi-
fication, as shown by a certification of a qualified person that
complies with the certification requirements of Rule 902(11) or
(12). The proponent also must meet the notice requirements of
Rule 902(11).

Advisory Committee Notes

(As amended Mar. 2, 1987, eff. Oct. 1, 1987; Apr. 25, 1988, eff. Nov. 1, 1988; Apr. 17, 2000, eff. Dec. 1, 2000; Apr. 26, 2011, eff. Dec. 1, 2011; Apr. 27, 2017, eff. Dec. 1, 2017.)