Upon the hearing if the court is satisfied that the statements contained in the written application are true, it shall make an order reciting the substance and effect of the lost, injured, or destroyed record. The order shall have the same effect that the original would have had if it had not been lost, injured, or destroyed, so far as concerns the person making the application, and the persons who have been notified, pursuant to Section 1953.03.
§ 1953.04.Hearing; order reciting substance of record; effect
Title 2. Of the Kinds and Degrees of Evidence · Chapter 3. Writings · Article 4. Records Destroyed in Fire or Calamity · Enacted 1953 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1953.04 directs the court, once satisfied at the hearing that the applicant's statements are true, to issue an order reciting the substance and effect of the lost record, giving that order the same legal effect the original would have had for the applicant and anyone properly notified.
Full Text of § 1953.04
Plain-English Summary
This section is where the affidavit process under Section 1953.03 pays off. At the hearing, if the court believes the application's statements, it doesn't just approve the request in the abstract; it writes an order reciting the substance and effect of the record that was lost, injured, or destroyed, rebuilding the record's content in the court's own words.
That order then carries the same legal effect the original record would have had, but its reach is tied to who got notice: it binds the applicant and the people who were notified under Section 1953.03. The reconstructed record doesn't automatically bind the rest of the world the way the original might have.
Frequently Asked Questions
What must the court be satisfied of before issuing an order under this section?
That the statements in the written application are true.
What does the court's order contain?
A recitation of the substance and effect of the lost, injured, or destroyed record.
Who is bound by the reconstructed record's legal effect?
The applicant and the persons who were notified under Section 1953.03, rather than every person who might have relied on the original.
Amendment History
(Added by Stats.1953, c. 52, p. 713, § 14.)
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the West's Annotated California Codes / Thomson Reuters. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 29, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: court order reciting lost record substancereconstructed record legal effect california