Rule 1002 Requirement of the Original

If you want to prove what a document, recording, or photo says, you generally need to bring the actual original to court. You can't just describe it or tell the court what it said. This is often called the "best evidence rule."

There are exceptions built into the evidence rules and other laws, so the original isn't always required. For example, copies are often allowed if the original was lost, destroyed, or is otherwise unavailable through no fault of the person trying to use it. Courts also allow copies in many everyday situations, as long as there's no real dispute about whether the copy accurately reflects the original.

The main point of this rule is to avoid mistakes or disputes about what a document, recording, or photo actually contained. Originals are more reliable than someone's memory or description of them. So when the exact content of a writing, recording, or photo matters to the case, the person trying to prove it usually needs to produce the real thing.