The exception admits a record if it was made at or near the time by someone with knowledge, kept in the course of a regularly conducted activity, and making the record was a regular practice. A custodian or other qualified witness must establish these elements, or a written certification may substitute.
The opponent may still exclude the record by showing the source or circumstances indicate a lack of trustworthiness.
Alternative Names:
Records of a Regularly Conducted Activity, Business Records Rule
Why it Matters?
This is the workhorse of civil evidence, carrying medical records, billing records, employment files, maintenance logs, and most business documents into evidence. The practical efficiency comes from certification, which avoids producing a live custodian for every record set. The recurring vulnerability is records prepared in anticipation of litigation rather than in the ordinary course, which fall outside the exception's rationale.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
Can business records be admitted without live testimony?
What defeats the exception?
