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Rule 805 Hearsay within hearsay

Article VIII. Hearsay

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Rule Text

Hearsay within hearsay is not excluded under the hearsay rule if each part of the combined statements conforms with an exception to the hearsay rule provided in these rules or otherwise by law.

Plain-English Summary (for reference only — not a substitute for the rule text above)

This summary is not the rule. The rule text controls.

Sometimes a statement contains another statement inside it, like a witness saying "My neighbor told me that her doctor said I broke my arm." This creates layers of hearsay, since you have one out-of-court statement tucked inside another.

This rule says that layered hearsay can still be allowed in court, but only if every single layer fits its own exception to the hearsay rule. It's not enough for just one part to qualify. Each statement in the chain has to independently meet the requirements for an exception, or the whole thing gets blocked.

Think of it like a chain with multiple links. The evidence is only as strong as its weakest link. If any single statement in the chain does not fit an exception, the whole statement cannot be used as evidence, even if the other parts would normally be allowed.

Committee Notes

Advisory Commission Comments.

The rule provides that out-of-court statement containing several levels of hearsay and multiple declarants is nonetheless admissible if a hearsay exception applies to each declarant's statement. Also, while not covered here, a particular declarant's statement in the chain may be admissible as nonhearsay.

Often hospital records contain a nurse's notation that a patient said something to the nurse. In that instance a court must deal with two hearsay declarations. The nurse's notation is admissible as a business record to the extent of showing what words were spoken. The patient's statement may then be admissible under the admissions exception to the declarations of physical condition exception.

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Last updated: August 2026

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