Extrinsic evidence of authenticity as a condition precedent to admissibility is not required with respect to the following:
§ 2902.Self-Authentication
Chapter 40: Oklahoma Evidence Code · Last amended November 1, 2024 · Last verified August 3, 2026
In one sentenceLists categories of evidence -- sealed government documents, certified copies of official and business records, notarized records, newspapers, commercial paper, and certified electronic records and data -- that require no extrinsic evidence of authenticity before admission.
Full Text of § 2902
1. A document bearing a seal purporting to be that of the United States or of any state, district, commonwealth, territory or insular possession thereof, including the Panama Canal Zone, or the trust territory of the Pacific Islands, or of a political subdivision, department, office or agency thereof, and a signature purporting to be an attestation or execution;
2. A document purporting to bear the signature in his official capacity of an officer or employee of any entity included in paragraph 1 of this section, having no seal, if a public officer having a seal and having official duties in the district or political subdivision of the officer or employee certifies under seal that the signer has the official capacity and that the signature is genuine;
3. A document purporting to be executed or attested in his official capacity by a person authorized by the laws of a foreign country to make the execution or attestation, and accompanied by a final certification as to the genuineness of the signature and official position:
a. of the executing or attesting person, or
b. of any foreign official whose certificate of genuineness of signature and official position relates to the execution or attestation or is in a chain of certificates of genuineness or signature and official position relating to the execution or attestation. A final certification may be made by a secretary of embassy or legation, consul general, consul, vice consul or consular agent of the United States, or a diplomatic or consular official of the foreign country assigned or accredited to the United States. If reasonable opportunity has been given to all parties to investigate the authenticity and accuracy of official documents, the court may, for good cause shown, order that they be treated as presumptively authentic without final certification or permit them to be evidenced by an attested summary with or without final certification;
4. A copy of an official record or report or entry therein, or of a document authorized by law to be recorded or filed and actually recorded or filed in a public office, including data compilations in any form, certified as correct by the custodian or other person authorized to make the certification, by certificate complying with paragraph 1, 2 or 3 of this section or complying with any statute or by rules prescribed by the Supreme Court pursuant to statutory authority;
5. Books, pamphlets or other publications purporting to be issued by public authority;
6. Printed materials purporting to be newspapers or periodicals;
7. Inscriptions, signs, tags or labels purporting to have been affixed in the course of business and indicating ownership, control or origin;
8. Records accompanied by a certificate of acknowledgment under the hand and the seal of a notary public or other officer authorized by law to take acknowledgments;
9. Commercial paper, signatures thereon, and related records to the extent provided by general commercial law;
10. Any signature, record or other matter declared by act of the Legislature to be presumptively or prima facie genuine or authentic;
11. The original or a duplicate of a domestic record of acts, events, conditions, opinions, or diagnoses if:
a. the document is accompanied by a written declaration under oath of the custodian of the record, or other qualified individual that the record was made, at or near the time of the occurrence of the matters set forth by or from information transmitted by a person having knowledge of those matters; was kept in the course of the regularly conducted business activity; and was made pursuant to the regularly conducted activity,
b. the party intending to offer the record in evidence gives notice of that intention to all adverse parties and makes the record available for inspection sufficiently in advance of its offer to provide the adverse parties with a fair opportunity to challenge the record, and
c. notice is given to the proponent, sufficiently in advance of the offer to provide the proponent with a fair opportunity to meet the objection or obtain the testimony of a foundation witness, raising a genuine question as to the trustworthiness or authenticity of the record;
12. The original or a duplicate of a record from a foreign country of acts, events, conditions, opinions, or diagnoses if:
a. the document is accompanied by a written declaration under oath of the custodian of the record, or other qualified individual that the record was made, at or near the time of the occurrence of the matters set forth by or from information transmitted by a person having knowledge of those matters; was kept in the course of a regularly conducted business activity; and was made pursuant to the regularly conducted activity,
b. the party intending to offer the record in evidence gives notice of that intention to all adverse parties and makes the record available for inspection sufficiently in advance of its offer to provide the adverse parties with a fair opportunity to challenge the record, and
c. notice is given to the proponent, sufficiently in advance of the offer to provide the proponent with a fair opportunity to meet the objection or obtain the testimony of a foundation witness, raising a genuine question as to the trustworthiness or authenticity of the record;
13. Records generated by an electronic process or system that produces an accurate result, as shown by a certification of a qualified person that complies with the certification requirements of paragraph 11 or 12 of this section. The proponent shall also meet the notice requirements of paragraph 11 of this section; and
14. Data copied from an electronic device, storage medium, or file, if authenticated by a process of digital identification, as shown by a certification of a qualified person that complies with the certification requirements of paragraph 11 or 12 of this section. The proponent shall also meet the notice requirements of paragraph 11 of this section.
Amendment History
Amended by Laws 2024, c. 19, s. 1, eff. 11/1/2024. Laws 1978, SB 276, c. 285, § 902, eff. 10/1/1978; Amended by Laws 2002, HB 1939, c. 468, §63, eff. 11/1/2002.
Plain-English Summary
Section 2902 excuses certain evidence from the usual authentication burden entirely. Sealed documents from government entities, officer signatures certified by a sealed official, certified foreign public documents, certified copies of public or recorded documents, government publications, newspapers and periodicals, business inscriptions and labels, notarized records, and commercial paper under general commercial law all qualify without outside proof of authenticity.
The later paragraphs extend that self-authenticating status to business records -- domestic or foreign -- certified by a custodian's sworn declaration and preceded by notice to adverse parties giving them a fair chance to challenge the record. A 2024 amendment extended self-authentication to electronically stored information: paragraph 13 covers records generated by an electronic process or system shown to produce accurate results, and paragraph 14 covers data copied from an electronic device or storage medium, authenticated through digital identification, both certified the same way as paragraphs 11 and 12 and subject to the same notice requirement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a certified copy of a public record need a witness to testify to its authenticity?
No, a copy certified as correct by the custodian or another authorized person under this section is self-authenticating.
Can business records come in without a records custodian testifying live?
Yes, if accompanied by a written declaration under oath from the custodian or another qualified person meeting the requirements of paragraph 11 (domestic) or 12 (foreign), and if adverse parties get advance notice and a fair chance to challenge the record.
Are digital records treated differently from paper records here?
Paragraphs 13 and 14 specifically address records generated by an electronic process or system, and data copied from an electronic device or storage medium, each authenticated through certification and notice rather than live testimony.
Do newspapers count as self-authenticating?
Yes, printed materials purporting to be newspapers or periodicals are listed in paragraph 6.
What must a party do before offering a business record by certification instead of live testimony?
Give notice of that intention to all adverse parties and make the record available for inspection with enough advance time for a fair opportunity to challenge it.
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: self-authenticating documents oklahoma12 O.S. § 2902FRE 902 oklahoma equivalentcertified business records without custodian testimony oklahoma