Every person is competent to be a witness except as otherwise provided in this Code.
§ 2601.General Rule of Competency
Chapter 40: Oklahoma Evidence Code · Not amended since adoption on record · Last verified August 3, 2026
In one sentenceSection 2601 makes every person competent to be a witness unless another provision of the Oklahoma Evidence Code says otherwise, tracking the general competency rule in Federal Rule of Evidence 601.
Full Text of § 2601
Amendment History
Laws 1978, SB 276, c. 285, § 601, eff. 10/1/1978.
Plain-English Summary
Section 2601 states the baseline rule for who may testify: every person is competent as a witness. That presumption yields only where some other part of the Evidence Code creates a specific bar -- for example, the ban on a presiding judge testifying at their own trial in Section 2605, or on a sitting juror testifying before the jury deciding the case in Section 2606. The section itself sets no age or mental-capacity floor; a witness's particular limitations go to the specific rules the Code lists, not to a general competency threshold.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a minimum age to testify under Oklahoma law?
Section 2601 sets none. It presumes every person competent, subject only to specific bars found elsewhere in the Evidence Code.
What are examples of the "otherwise provided" exceptions this section refers to?
Section 2605's bar on the presiding judge testifying at that trial, and Section 2606's bar on a sitting juror testifying before that jury, are both exceptions the Code itself creates.
Does Section 2601 mirror the federal competency rule?
Yes. It tracks Federal Rule of Evidence 601's general presumption that every person is competent to testify.
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 witness competency ruleFRE 601 oklahomawho can testify oklahoma evidence code12 O.S. § 2601