Group 6: Trials · Last amended September 1, 1993 · Last verified July 13, 2026
In one sentenceRule 44 sets out how official records, domestic and foreign, get authenticated for use as evidence, through certified copies and custodial certificates, and how a party proves that no record of a given kind exists, without shutting the door on other lawful ways to prove official records.
(1)Domestic. An official record kept within the United States, or any state, district, or commonwealth, territory, or within a territory subject to the administrative or judicial jurisdiction of the United States, or an entry therein, when admissible for any purpose, may be evidenced by an official publication thereof or by a copy attested by the officer having the legal custody of the record, or by the officer’s deputy, and accompanied by a certificate that such officer has the custody. The certificate may be made by a judge of a court of record of the district or political subdivision in which the record is kept, authenticated by the seal of the court, or may be made by any public officer having a seal of office or official custody of the seal of the political subdivision and having official duties in the district or political subdivision in which the record is kept, authenticated by the seal of the officer’s office or the seal of the political subdivision.
(2)Foreign. A foreign official record, or an entry therein, when admissible for any purpose, may be evidenced by an official publication thereof; or a copy thereof, attested by a person authorized to make the attestation, and accompanied by a final certification as to the genuineness of the signature and official position (A) of the attesting person, or (B) of any foreign official whose certificate of genuineness of signature and official position relates to the attestation or is in a chain of certificates of genuineness of signature and official position relating to the 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 the documents, the court may, for good cause shown, either admit an attested copy without final certification or permit the foreign official record to be evidenced by an attested summary with or without a final certification. The final certification is unnecessary if the record and the attestation are certified as provided in a treaty or convention to which the United States and the foreign country in which the official record is located are parties.
(b)Lack of record. A written statement that after diligent search no record or entry of a specified tenor is found to exist in the records, designated by the statement, authenticated as provided in subsection (a)(1) of this rule in the case of a domestic record, or complying with the requirements of subsection (a)(2) of this rule for a summary in the case of a foreign record, is admissible as evidence that the records contain no such record or entry.
(c)Other proof. This rule does not prevent the proof of official records or of entry or lack of entry therein by any other method authorized by law.
Amendment History
Prior: RPPP Rule 44. Adopted May 5, 1967, amended June 28, 1967, effective July 1, 1967; amended, adopted June 5, 1985, effective Sept. 1, 1985; amended June 10, 1993, effective Sept. 1, 1993.
Plain-English Summary
Official records are usually kept by an office, not a witness who can take the stand, so Rule 44 sets a paper trail for proving what an official record says. For a domestic record, an official publication of the record works on its own, or a copy attested by the officer with legal custody, or that officer's deputy, works if it comes with a certificate confirming that custody. That certificate itself has a chain of authentication: it can come from a judge of a court of record in the district where the record is kept, sealed by that court, or from a public officer who holds an official seal and has duties in that same district, sealed by that officer's own office or the political subdivision.
Foreign official records follow a parallel but more elaborate path, reflecting that there is no domestic court readily positioned to vouch for a foreign custodian. An official publication of the foreign record suffices on its own, or an attested copy works if it carries a final certification of the genuineness of the attesting person's signature and official position, or a chain of such certifications running through a foreign official connected to the attestation. That final certification typically comes from a United States diplomatic or consular officer, or from a foreign diplomatic or consular official accredited to the United States. The court has some flexibility here: if every party has had a reasonable chance to check the record's authenticity and accuracy, the court can, for good cause, accept an attested copy without the final certification, or allow an attested summary in place of the full record. And where a treaty or convention between the United States and the foreign country already provides its own certification method, the final certification required by this rule is unnecessary.
The rule also lets a party prove a negative: a written statement that a diligent search turned up no record of a specified kind, authenticated the same way a domestic or foreign record would be, is itself admissible to show that the records contain no such entry. And none of this forecloses other lawful methods of proving an official record or the absence of one; the rule offers a reliable path, not the only one.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can a party authenticate a domestic official record for use in a Washington case?
By offering an official publication of the record, or a copy attested by the officer who has legal custody of it, or that officer's deputy, accompanied by a certificate confirming the officer's custody. The certificate itself can come from a judge of a court of record in the district, sealed by that court, or from a public officer holding an official seal with duties in that district.
What is required to authenticate a foreign official record?
An official publication of the record works on its own. Otherwise, an attested copy needs a final certification of the genuineness of the attesting person's signature and position, typically supplied by a United States consular or diplomatic officer, or by a foreign diplomatic or consular official accredited to the United States.
Can a court accept a foreign record without the full final certification?
Yes, for good cause, if every party has had a reasonable opportunity to investigate the record's authenticity and accuracy. The court may then admit an attested copy without final certification, or accept an attested summary of the record with or without that certification.
How does a party prove that no record of a certain kind exists?
With a written statement, authenticated the same way as an actual domestic or foreign record would be, saying that a diligent search found no record or entry of the specified kind. That statement is itself admissible as proof that the records contain no such entry.
Does Rule 44 require this authentication method, or are there other ways to prove an official record?
The rule does not require it exclusively. It expressly preserves any other method of proving an official record, or the lack of one, that is otherwise authorized by law.
Is a treaty-based certification still needed if a treaty already covers authentication?
No. If the record and its attestation are certified as provided in a treaty or convention between the United States and the foreign country where the record is located, the final certification this rule otherwise requires is unnecessary.
Source & verification. Rule text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Washington Superior Court Civil Rules, adopted by the
Supreme Court of Washington. Last verified July 13, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as:authentication of official recordsforeign record certificationcertified copy evidence Washingtonlack of record certificateCR 44