§ 40.555 Rule 1002. Requirement of original

If you want to prove what a document, recording, or photo actually says or shows, you generally need to bring the original version to court. Courts prefer originals because copies can be changed, edited, or misread, and using the real thing helps avoid disputes about accuracy.

That said, this isn't an absolute rule. Oregon law has other sections that explain when a copy is good enough instead of the original. So if the original is lost, destroyed, or hard to get, there may be a legal way to use a copy or other proof of what the original contained. But unless one of those exceptions applies, the original is what the court expects to see.