ancient document rule

The ancient document rule is one of the methods available to authenticate evidence for trial under the Federal Rules of Evidence .

Under the rule , if a document is (1) more than 20 years old; (2) is regular on its face with no signs of obvious alterations; and (3) found in a place of natural custody, or in a place where it would be expected to be found, then the document is found to be prima facie authenticated and therefore admissible .

The ancient document rule may also refer to Federal Rule of Evidence 803 (16) which provides a hearsay exception when dealing with ancient documents. To qualify for this exception and thus be admissible, the hearsay-containing document in question must be authenticated and have been created before 1998.

[Last reviewed in June of 2022 by the Wex Definitions Team ]

Keywords

• evidence

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