A. Judicial notice shall be taken by the court of the common law, constitutions and public statutes in force in every state, territory and jurisdiction of the United States.
§ 2201.Judicial Notice of Law
Chapter 40: Oklahoma Evidence Code · Not amended since adoption on record · Last verified August 3, 2026
In one sentenceRequires courts to take judicial notice of the common law, constitutions, and public statutes of every U.S. state and territory, and allows notice of private acts, local ordinances, agency regulations, and foreign law.
Full Text of § 2201
B. Judicial notice may be taken by the court of:
1. Private acts and resolutions of the Congress of the United States and of the Legislature of this state, and duly enacted ordinances and duly published regulations of governmental subdivisions or agencies of this state or the United States; and
2. The laws of foreign countries.
C. The determination by judicial notice of the applicability and the tenor of any matter of common law, constitutional law or of any statute, private act, resolution, ordinance or regulation shall be a matter for the judge and not for the jury.
Amendment History
Laws 1978, SB 276, c. 285, § 201, eff. 10/1/1978.
Plain-English Summary
Courts must notice, without proof, the common law, constitutions, and public statutes in force anywhere in the United States. That's mandatory under subsection A. Subsection B extends discretionary notice further: private acts and resolutions of Congress and the Oklahoma Legislature, duly enacted local ordinances and published agency regulations, and the laws of foreign countries.
Subsection C keeps this whole inquiry away from the jury. Whether judicial notice applies, and what a noticed law says, is a matter for the judge to determine, not a fact for the jury to weigh.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a party have to prove what another state's law says?
No. Section 2201(A) requires the court to take judicial notice of the common law, constitutions, and public statutes in force in every state, territory, and jurisdiction of the United States.
Can an Oklahoma court take judicial notice of a foreign country's laws?
Yes, but it's discretionary -- subsection B allows, rather than requires, judicial notice of the laws of foreign countries.
Who decides what a judicially noticed law means, the judge or the jury?
The judge. Subsection C makes the applicability and meaning of a noticed law a matter for the judge, not the jury.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
Title 12 of the Oklahoma Statutes, enacted by the Oklahoma Legislature.
Last verified August 3, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: oklahoma judicial notice of law12 O.S. § 2201judicial notice of statutes oklahomajudicial notice of foreign law oklahoma