In the law of evidence, an old document refers to both a means of authentication for documentary evidence and an exception to the hearsay rule. The former rules on documents may also refer to Federal Rule of Evidence 803 (16), which provides for an exception to hearsay when processing old documents. In order to benefit from this exception and therefore be admissible, the document in question must be certified by hearsay and drawn up before 1998. Many States have similar rules, but may limit the application of the doctrine to certain types of documents such as device instruments (mainly transfers, deeds and wills) and require that the documents be even older. With respect to certification, an “old document” is a document that can be considered authentic without a witness testifying to the circumstances of its creation, since its age indicates that it is unlikely to have been falsified in anticipation of the dispute in which it was introduced. Old documents are also an exception to the hearsay rule. FRE 803(16) applies this exception to all records older than twenty years. Due to their age, they may be presented as proof of the accuracy of the statements they contain. Many States also follow this rule, but here too they limit themselves to the documents that own it. By allowing an old document as evidence, it is only assumed that the document is what it claims to be, but there is no presumption as to the veracity of the content of the document. A jury can always decide that the author of the document lied or made a mistake when he wrote it. The old document rule is one of the methods available to authenticate evidence as part of the process under the Federal Rules of Evidence.

Powered by Black`s Law Dictionary, Free 2nd ed. and The Law Dictionary. Deeds, wills and other writings over thirty years of age are so called; They are deemed authentic without express proof if they come from proper preservation. In the law of evidence, a document that qualifies as an exception to the hearsay rule and is considered self-authenticating because it is older than a certain age (usually twenty years), in a condition that makes it free from any suspicion of authenticity, and that has been found in a place where such a writing would likely be preserved. Under the U.S. Federal Rules of Evidence (“FRE”), a document is considered authentic if it:.