Rule 902. Self-authentication (Effective August 1, 2019.)

(a) Extrinsic evidence of authenticity as a condition precedent to admissibility is not

required with respect to the following:

(1) Domestic public documents under seal. — A document bearing a seal

purporting to be that of the United States, or of any state, district, commonwealth,

territory, or insular possession thereof, or the Panama Canal Zone, or the Trust

Territory of the Pacific Islands, or of a political subdivision, department, officer, or

agency thereof, or an Indian tribe recognized by the United States, and a signature

purporting to be an attestation or execution;

(2) Domestic Public Documents Not Under Seal. — A document purporting to

bear the signature in his official capacity of an officer or employee of any entity

included in paragraph (1) hereof, 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) Foreign Public Documents. — 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 certifi-

cation 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 of 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

execution or attestation

or is in a chain of certificates of genuineness of 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. (See § 1-12-301 et seq.);

(4) Certified Copies of Public Records. — 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 rule or

complying with any act of congress or rule prescribed by the Supreme Court

pursuant to statutory authority;

(5) Official Publications. — Books, pamphlets, or other publications purporting

to be issued by public authority;

(6) Newspapers and Periodicals. — Printed materials purporting to be newspapers or periodicals;

(7) Trade Inscriptions and the Like. — Inscriptions, signs, tags, or labels

purporting to have been affixed in the course of business and indicating ownership,

control, or origin;

(8) Acknowledged Documents. — Documents accompanied by a certificate of

acknowledgment executed in the manner provided by law by a notary public or

other officer authorized by law to take acknowledgments;

(9) Commercial Paper and Related Documents. — Commercial paper, signatures

thereon, and documents relating thereto to the extent provided by general

commercial law;

ownership,

control, or origin;

(8) Acknowledged Documents. — Documents accompanied by a certificate of

acknowledgment executed in the manner provided by law by a notary public or

other officer authorized by law to take acknowledgments;

(9) Commercial Paper and Related Documents. — Commercial paper, signatures

thereon, and documents relating thereto to the extent provided by general

commercial law;

(10) Presumptions Under Acts of Congress or Statutes of Wyoming. — Any

signature, document, or other matter declared by act of congress or statutes of

Wyoming to be presumptively or prima facie genuine or authentic. (For public

service commission, see § 1-12-201. For other than public service commission, see

cross references to § 1-12-201.)

(11) Certified Domestic Records of a Regularly Conducted Activity. — The

original or a copy of a domestic record that meets the requirements of Rule 803(6),

as shown by a certification of the custodian or another qualified person that

complies with a state or federal statute, or a rule prescribed by the Wyoming

Supreme Court, that if falsely made would subject the maker to a criminal penalty.

Before the trial or hearing, the proponent must give an adverse party reasonable

written notice of the intent to offer the record — and must make the record and

certification available for inspection — so the party has a fair opportunity to

challenge them.

(12) Certified Foreign Records of a Regularly Conducted Activity. — In a civil

case, the original or a copy of a foreign record that meets the requirements of Rule

902(a)(11), modified as follows: the certification, rather than complying with a state

or federal statute or Wyoming Supreme Court rule, must be signed in a manner

that, if falsely made, would subject the maker to a criminal penalty in the country

where the certification is signed. The proponent must also meet the notice

requirements of Rule 902(a)(11).

eign record that meets the requirements of Rule

902(a)(11), modified as follows: the certification, rather than complying with a state

or federal statute or Wyoming Supreme Court rule, must be signed in a manner

that, if falsely made, would subject the maker to a criminal penalty in the country

where the certification is signed. The proponent must also meet the notice

requirements of Rule 902(a)(11).

(13) Certified Records Generated by an Electronic Process or System. — A record

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 Rule 902(a)(11) or (12). The proponent must also meet the notice

requirements of Rule 902(a)(11).

(14) Certified Data Copied from an Electronic Device, Storage Medium, or File.

— 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 Rule 902(a)(11) or (12).

The proponent also must meet the notice requirements of Rule 902(a)(11).

(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 subdivisions (a)(1) and (a)(2) of this rule in the case of a

domestic record, or complying with the requirements of subdivision (a)(3) 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, including records generated by an electronic process or

system and data copied from an electronic device.

(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.

(a)(3) 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, including records generated by an electronic process or

system and data copied from an electronic device.

(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.

(d) Seal dispensed with. — In the event any office or officer, authenticating any

documents under the provisions of this rule, has no official seal, and so certifies, then

authentication by seal is dispensed with.

(Amended December 6, 1994, effective February 28, 1995; amended May 20, 2019,

effective August 1, 2019.)