Title 28Judiciary and Judicial ProcedureRelease 119-73

§1741 Foreign official documents

Title 28 › Part PART V— - PROCEDURE › Chapter CHAPTER 115— - EVIDENCE; DOCUMENTARY › § 1741

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Full Legal Text

Title 28, §1741

Judiciary and Judicial Procedure — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

An official record or document of a foreign country may be evidenced by a copy, summary, or excerpt authenticated as provided in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

1948 ActBased on title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed., § 695e (June 20, 1936, ch. 640, § 6, 49 Stat. 1563). Words “Nothing contained in this section shall be deemed to alter, amend, or repeal section 689 of this title,” at the end of section 695e of title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed., were omitted. Although significant in the original Act, such words are unnecessary in a revision wherein both sections in question, as revised, are enacted at the same time. See also Rule 44 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Section 695e–1 of title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed., providing for certification of Vatican City Documents will be incorporated in title 22, U.S.C., Foreign Relations and Intercourse. Changes were made in phraseology. 1949 ActThis section corrects a typographical error in section 1741 of title 28, U.S.C.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1964—Pub. L. 88–619 substituted “An official record or document of a foreign country may be evidenced by a copy, summary, or excerpt authenticated as provided in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure” for “A copy of any foreign document of record or on file in a public office of a foreign country or political subdivision thereof, certified by the lawful custodian thereof, shall be admissible in evidence when authenticated by a certificate of a consular officer of the United States resident in such foreign country, under the seal of his office, that the copy has been certified by the lawful custodian” in text, and “official documents” for “documents, generally; copies” in section catchline. 1949—Act May 24, 1949, corrected spelling of “admissible”.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

28 U.S.C. § 1741

Title 28Judiciary and Judicial Procedure

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73