Rule 902. Evidence That is Self-Authenticating

The following items of evidence are self-authenticating; they require no extrinsic evidence of authenticity in order to be admitted:

(1) Domestic public documents that are sealed and signed. A document that bears:

(A) A seal purporting to be that of the United States; any state, district, commonwealth, territory, or insular possession of the United States; the former Panama Canal Zone; the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands; a political subdivision of any of these entities; or a department, agency, or officer of any entity named above; and

(B) A signature purporting to be an execution or attestation.

(2) Domestic public documents that are not sealed but are signed and certified. A document that bears no seal if:

(A) It bears the signature of an officer or employee of an entity named in Rule 902(1)(A); and

(B) Another public officer who has a seal and official duties within that same entity certifies under seal—or its equivalent—that the signer has the official capacity and that the signature is genuine.

(3) Foreign public documents. A document that purports to be signed or attested by a person who is authorized by a foreign country's law to do so. The document must be accompanied by a final certification that certifies the genuineness of the signature and official position of the signer or attester—or of any foreign official whose certificate of genuineness relates to the signature or attestation or is in a chain of certificates of genuineness relating to the signature or attestation. The certification may be made by a secretary of a United States embassy or legation; by a consul general, vice consul, or consular agent of the United States; or by a diplomatic or consular official of the foreign country assigned or accredited to the United States. If all parties have been given a reasonable opportunity to investigate the document's authenticity and accuracy, the court may, for good cause, either:

(A) Order that it be treated as presumptively authentic without final certification; or

(B) Allow it to be evidenced by an attested summary with or without final certification.

(4) Certified copies of public records. A copy of an official record—or a copy of a document that was recorded or filed in a public office as authorized by law—if the copy is certified as correct by:

(A) The custodian or another person authorized to make the certification; or

(B) A certificate that complies with Rule 902(1), (2), or (3) or a federal or state statute.

(5) Official publications. A book, pamphlet, or other publication purporting to be issued by a public authority.

(6) Newspapers and periodicals. Printed material purporting to be a newspaper or periodical.

(7) Trade inscriptions and the like. An inscription, sign, tag, or label purporting to have been affixed in the course of business and indicating origin, ownership, or control.

(8) Acknowledged documents. A document accompanied by a certificate of acknowledgment that is lawfully executed by a notary public or another officer who is authorized to take acknowledgments.

(9) Commercial paper and related documents. Commercial paper, a signature on it, and related documents, to the extent allowed by general commercial law.

(10) Presumptions created by law. A signature, document, or anything else that a federal statute declares to be presumptively or prima facie genuine or authentic.

(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)(A)–(C), as shown by a certification of the custodian or another qualified person that complies with a statute or a rule prescribed by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. 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 that the party has a fair opportunity to object to the authenticity of the record or on the basis of hearsay. In the event of an adverse party's objection to a record offered under this paragraph, the court may in the interests of justice refuse to accept the certification under this paragraph and require the party offering the record to provide appropriate foundation by other evidence.

(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(11), modified as follows: the certification, rather than complying with a statute or Maine Supreme Judicial 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(11).

Committee Notes

Maine Restyling Note [November 2014] The restyled Rule preserves the substantive differences between the Maine and Federal Rules.

Advisers' Note to former M.R. Evid. 902 (February 2, 1976) This rule covers various kinds of evidence the authenticity of which is sufficiently apparent to allow their introduction without use of extrinsic evidence. Such evidence is said to be self-authenticating. The rule enumerates ten categories of this type, most of which reflect present practice. It is to be emphasized throughout this rule that admissibility is a separate question from authentication. Subdivision (1) deals with the self-authentication of domestic public documents under seal. This is a separate question from their admissibility in evidence as an exception to the hearsay rule, covered in Rule 803(8). Under present Maine law a public record kept in Maine may be proved by a copy attested by a person purporting to be the officer having legal custody thereof without further proof. A public record kept outside Maine but within the United States requires that the copy be accompanied by a certificate under seal by a specified public officer. M.R.C.P. 44(a), M.R. Crim. P. 27. This subdivision would eliminate the necessity of "double certification" if the record is "domestic" in the sense that it is kept within the United States as distinguished from a foreign country. It would make the procedure now available for Maine records equally applicable to those from other states. The justification is that the overwhelming majority of these records will be genuine and the rare forgery easily detected. If there is a genuine dispute, a challenge can of course be made, but otherwise a good deal of needless lawyers' work will be saved. Subdivision (2) deals with a purported official signature on a document not officially sealed. Here the safeguard of authentication by an officer who has a seal is provided because forgery is a more distinct possibility. The subdivision does not apply to notaries public, covered in subdivision (8). Subdivision (3) deals with the problem of subdivision (1) as applied to the public document of a foreign country. It is essentially the same as present Maine law as set forth in M.R.C.P. 44(a) and incorporated by reference in M.R.Crim.P. 27, but it applies to foreign "public documents" whereas the present Maine law is limited to "official records". Subdivision (4) provides for authentication of copies of public records or of documents recorded or filed pursuant to authorization by law or by certification of the custodian or other person authorized to make the certification (the custodian not necessarily being the authorized person). The certification itself qualifies as a public document and is admissible as authentic if it conforms to (1), (2), or (3) above. Subdivision (5) provides for self-authentication of books, pamphlets, or other publications purporting to be issued by public authority. These are most commonly statutes, court reports, rules, and regulations. This generalizes a rule covered by numerous statutes. For example, 1 M.R.S.A. §§ 361-363 self-authenticates the Maine Revised Statutes and their supplements if the book carries a printed certificate of the Secretary of State. Subdivision (6) allows self-authentication of printed materials purporting to be newspapers and periodicals. The Federal Advisory Committee said: "The likelihood of forgery of newspapers or periodicals is slight indeed." The Federal Committee may not have been exposed to the convincing-looking faked newspapers, complete with embarrassing headlines, that practical jokers can buy for a modest sum. But it is probably true that the risk of use of a faked paper in litigation is slight. Again, it must be emphasized that admissibility of the authenticated paper is a wholly separate matter from authentication. Subdivision (7) does away with the need of proof of authenticity of mercantile labels and the like purportedly affixed in the course of business and indicating ownership, control, or origin. This would definitely overturn the well known case of Keegan v. Green Giant Co., 150 Me. 283, 110 A.2d 599 (1954), which held that the label on a can of peas indicating that they came from the Jolly Green Giant was not sufficient authentication. The dissent in that case would thus become law. The continuing authority of Keegan was cast in doubt by State v. Rines, 269 A.2d 9, 14-15 (Me. 1970). Subdivision (8) provides for self-authentication of documents accompanied by a certificate of acknowledgment under the hand and seal of a notary public or other officer authorized to take acknowledgments. This may be somewhat broader than present Maine statutory law. Subdivision (9) governs questions of authenticity of commercial paper as provided by general commercial law. The general commercial law is in effect the Uniform Commercial Code. 11 M.R.S.A. §§ 1-202, 3-307, and 3-510 are the relevant authentication provisions of the Code. They deal respectively with documents authorized or required to be issued by a third party, signatures on a negotiable instrument, and protest and dishonor. Subdivision (10) deals with signatures, documents, or other matter declared by any state or federal statute to be presumptively genuine. There are many Maine statutes of this type. Examples are 22 M.R.S.A. §§ 1183, 1188 (certificate of examining physician admissible on appeal from denial of marriage license); 12 M.R.S.A. § 3404(4) (adoption of regulations of Commissioner of Sea and Shore Fisheries provable by certificate of appropriate official; 16 M.R.S.A. § 457 (copies of register or enrollment of vessel or other custom house records certified by consul, etc., admissible). Federal statutes include 26 U.S.C. § 6064 (signature on tax return prima facie genuine); 10 U.S.C. § 936 (signature without seal prima facie evidence of authenticity of acts of certain military personnel who are given notarial powers). [See the Advisory Committee Notes to Rule 803 for discussion of the July 1, 2002 amendment to Rule 902 adding sub §§ (11) and (12).]