Fed. R. Evid. 902

The following items of evidence are self-authenticating; they require no extrinsic evidence of authenticity in order to be admitted:

(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 possession 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 attestation.

(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 duties 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 signature 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 genuineness relating to the signature or attestation. The certification 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 publication purporting to be issued by a public authority.

(6) Newspapers and Periodicals. Printed material purporting

to be a newspaper or periodical.

26 Rule 903 FEDERAL RULES OF EVIDENCE

(7) Trade Inscriptions and the Like. An inscription, sign, tag,

or label purporting to have been affixed in the course of business 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 acknowledgments.

(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, document, 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 Activity. 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 available 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 proponent must also meet the notice requirements of Rule 902(11).

(13) Certified Records Generated by an Electronic Process or System. 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 requirements 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 identification, 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).

(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.)