§ Rule 1005. Public records

Codes > Pennsylvania Statutes and Consolidated Statutes > Rules of > Article X > Rule 1005.

Rule 1005. Public records

The contents of an official record, or of a document authorized to be recorded or filed and actually recorded or filed, including data compilations in any form, if otherwise admissible, may be proved by a copy as provided by Pa.R.E. 901 or 902, by statute, or by testimony of a witness who has compared it with the original. If a copy which complies with the foregoing cannot be obtained by the exercise of reasonable diligence, then other evidence of the contents may be given.

Comment: The language of the first sentence of this rule differs somewhat from F.R.E. 1005 to conform more closely to Pa.R.E. 901 and 902. The changes are not intended to be substantive. This rule is consistent with Pennsylvania law. There are several statutes that provide that copies of various kinds of public documents and records are admissible. See Comments to Pa.R.E. 901 and 902.