US · rules
Fed. R. Evid. 405
Methods of Proving Character
(a) BY REPUTATION OR OPINION. When evidence of a person’s character or character trait is admissible, it may be proved by testimony about the person’s reputation or by testimony in the form
of an opinion. On cross-examination of the character witness, the
court may allow an inquiry into relevant specific instances of the
person’s conduct.
(b) B Y SPECIFIC INSTANCES OF CONDUCT. When a person’s character or character trait is an essential element of a charge, claim,
or defense, the character or trait may also be proved by relevant
specific instances of the person’s conduct.
(As amended Mar. 2, 1987, eff. Oct. 1, 1987; Apr. 26, 2011, eff. Dec.
1, 2011.)
Provenance
- Source
- uscourts.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-09-03
- Edition
- 2026-08-19
- Content hash
7243ee20650af06825b9b4e7b424246d2c38997519913b525474ddfd9481ad2c
The link goes to the issuing authority’s own document — the one we read to produce this record. Where a source publishes whole titles rather than sections, your browser may need a moment to jump to the provision.
Unofficial copy of government-published law, reproduced from official sources with full provenance. Not an official publication; verify against official sources before relying on it in a filing. Records in the 'guidance' corpus, and only that corpus, are sub-regulatory (interpretive guidelines, survey procedures) and are not binding law. Validity bounds follow each jurisdiction's declared temporalBasis.