§ 25-12,112.Admissibility of reproduced records in evidence; destruction of records; approval.

Section 25-12,112 addresses a practical problem: businesses, professionals, and government offices cannot keep every original paper record forever. It permits a business, institution, member of a profession or calling, or a government department or agency that has kept a memorandum, writing, entry, print, or similar record in the regular course of its activity to have that record photographed, microfilmed, or otherwise reproduced by a process that durably preserves it — including microcard, miniature photographic, and optical disk methods. Once that reproduction has been made in the regular course of business, the original may be destroyed.

That permission to destroy the original has limits. It does not apply to a record held in a custodial or fiduciary capacity, or one whose preservation is required by law. And where a government department or agency is involved, destruction requires the approval of the State Records Administrator. Those guardrails keep the destruction option tied to records kept as part of routine business activity, rather than records someone is obligated to keep intact.

The evidentiary payoff is the heart of the section: a reproduction made this way, once satisfactorily identified, is admissible in evidence to the same extent as the original itself, in any judicial or administrative proceeding, whether or not the original still exists. An enlargement or facsimile of the reproduction is likewise admissible if the reproduction itself still exists and is available for the court’s inspection. And offering a reproduction, enlargement, or facsimile does not shut the door on offering the original as well — the section adds an evidentiary option, it does not force a party to choose one form of proof over another.

This section works alongside section 25-12,113, which directs courts to interpret it consistently with how other states applying the same uniform act have read it, and section 25-12,114, which supplies the Act’s official name.