The contents of an official record or of a private record authorized to be recorded or filed in the public records and actually recorded or filed, if otherwise admissible, may be proved by a copy in perceivable form, certified as correct in accordance with Section 2902 of this title or testified to be correct by a witness who has compared it with the original. If a copy which complies with this section cannot be obtained by the exercise of reasonable diligence, other evidence of the contents may be admitted.
§ 3005.Public Records
Chapter 40: Oklahoma Evidence Code · Last amended November 1, 2002 · Last verified August 3, 2026
In one sentenceLets the contents of an official record, or of a private record authorized to be recorded or filed and in fact recorded or filed, be proved by a certified or witness-compared copy, and by other evidence of the contents if a compliant copy can't be obtained through reasonable diligence.
Full Text of § 3005
Amendment History
Laws 1978, SB 276, c. 285, § 1005, eff. 10/1/1978; Amended by Laws 2002, HB 1939, c. 468, §69, eff. 11/1/2002.
Plain-English Summary
Section 3005 gives public and recorded records their own path around the original-document requirement. If otherwise admissible, the contents of an official record, or a private record authorized to be recorded or filed and in fact recorded or filed, can be proved by a copy certified correct under Section 2902 or by a witness who compared the copy to the original and testifies it's correct. If reasonable diligence can't turn up a copy meeting those requirements, other evidence of the contents is admissible instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you need the actual original public record to prove its contents?
No, a certified copy, or a copy a witness verifies by comparison to the original, works instead.
What if you can't get a certified or verified copy of a public record?
If reasonable diligence fails to produce a compliant copy, other evidence of the contents becomes admissible.
Does this section cover private documents too?
Yes, as long as they're authorized to be recorded or filed in the public records and were in fact recorded or filed.
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: proving contents of public records oklahoma12 O.S. § 3005FRE 1005 oklahoma equivalentcertified copy of public record oklahoma evidence