Chapter 889 — DOCUMENTARY AND RECORD EVIDENCE

889.01 Publication by state as evidence of laws. Books, pamphlets and other documents purporting to be printed by the state as copies of its statutes, legislative acts and resolutions, senate and assembly journals or orders, rules, regulations or decisions of any of its boards, d…

889.02 Publication by other states and United States as evidence of laws and regulations. Books, pamphlets and other documents purporting to be printed by the United States or any state or territory thereof as copies of its statutes, congressional or legislative acts and resoluti…

889.03 Copies certified by state law librarian; fees. Matter contained in any book or pamphlet in the state law library, purporting to be a copy of the opinion of any court, or of any statute, law, act or resolution of any state, territory, the United States, or any foreign count…

889.04 County and municipal ordinances. Matter entered or recorded in any ordinance, record book, or other format authorized under ss. 59.23 (2) (b), 60.33 (1) and (2), 61.25 (3) and 62.09 (11) (c) or printed in any newspaper, book, pamphlet, or other form purporting to be so pub…

889.05 Common law of sister states. The unwritten or common law of any state or territory of the United States may be proved by parol evidence, and by the books of reports of cases adjudged in its courts.

889.06 Alien laws. Foreign laws may be proved by parol evidence; but if it shall appear that the law in question is contained in a written statute or code the court may reject any evidence of such law that is not accompanied by a copy thereof.

889.07 Court records and copies. The original records, papers and files in or concerning any action or proceeding of any nature or description in any court of the state, being produced by the legal custodian thereof, shall be receivable in evidence whenever relevant; and a certif…

889.08 Copies, how certified, presumptions. (1) Whenever a certified copy is allowed by law to be evidence, the copy shall be certified by the legal custodian of the original to have been compared by the custodian with the original, and to be a true copy thereof or a correct tran…

889.09 Certification of nonfiling. (1) Whenever any officer to whom the legal custody of any document belongs shall certify, under his or her official seal if he or she shall have any, that the officer has made diligent examination in his or her office for the document, and that …

889.10 Official certificates, etc. When a public officer is required or authorized by law to make a certificate or affidavit touching an act performed by the officer or to a fact ascertained by the officer in the course of the officer’s official duty and to file or deposit it in …

889.11 Reporter’s transcript as evidence. Any writing certified by the official reporter of any court to have been carefully compared by the reporter with the reporter’s minutes of testimony and proceedings taken on any trial or hearing in such court, and to be a true and correct…

889.13 Transcript of municipal court records. A certified transcript from the original records, papers and files in or concerning any action or proceeding in municipal court is not admissible in evidence outside of the county, unless there is affixed a certificate of the clerk of…

889.14 Proof of unrecorded proceedings before municipal judge. The proceedings in any cause had before a municipal judge, not reduced to writing by the municipal judge, nor being the contents of any paper or document produced before the municipal judge, and the contents of any su…

889.15 Proceedings of other courts as evidence. The records and judicial proceedings of any court of the United States, or of any state or territory or district thereof and of any foreign country, and copies thereof, shall be admissible in evidence in all cases in this state when…

889.16 Judgment of foreign justice. A certified copy of the record of the judicial proceedings of any foreign court not of record with a certificate of magistracy affixed, signed and sealed by the clerk of a court of record in the county or district where such proceedings were ha…

889.17 Conveyances and record thereof. Every instrument entitled by law to be recorded or filed in the office of a register of deeds, and the record thereof and a certified copy of any such record or of any such filed instrument, is admissible in evidence without further proof th…

889.18 Official records. (1) CHIROPRACTORS. The record by the county clerk of license or certificate under s. 446.02 shall not be evidence on behalf of the licensee or certificate holder without production of the license or certificate or competent evidence from the board or body…

889.19 Pedigree recitals in deeds and wills. Any deed, mortgage, land contract or other conveyance that has been duly recorded in the proper register’s office for 20 years, and any will that has been admitted to probate, containing a recital in respect to pedigree, blood relation…

889.23 Acknowledged writings, evidence. Every written instrument, except promissory notes and bills of exchange, and wills, may be proved or acknowledged in the manner now provided by law for taking the proof or acknowledgment of conveyances of real estate and when so proved and …

889.24 Conveyance, how proved. When any grantor shall die or depart from or reside out of this state, not having acknowledged the grantor’s conveyance, the due execution thereof may be proved by any competent subscribing witness thereto before any court of record; if all the subs…

889.241 How made when grantor refuses. If any grantor residing in this state refuses to acknowledge his or her conveyance, the grantee or any person claiming under the grantee may apply to the circuit judge in the county where the land lies or where the grantor or any subscribing…

889.242 How, when witnesses dead. If any grantor residing in this state refuses to acknowledge the grantor’s conveyance and all the subscribing witnesses thereto are dead or out of the state, it may be proved before any court of record by proving the handwriting of the grantor or…

889.243 Witnesses, how subpoenaed; neglect to appear. The court before whom any conveyance may be presented to be proved, as provided in ss. 889.24 to 889.243, may issue subpoenas to the subscribing witnesses or others, as required, to appear and testify touching the execution of…

889.28 Proof of age. The circuit court of any county may, upon application and satisfactory proof made, make a certificate specifying the age, place of birth and parentage of any resident of the county or of any person born in the county. Such certificate or a duplicate or a cert…

889.29 Photographic copies of business records as evidence. (1) If any business, institution, or member of a profession or calling in the regular course of business or activity has kept or recorded any memorandum, writing, entry, print, representation, or combination thereof, of …