§ 90.955, Fla. Stat. — Public Records
Plain English
You can prove what an official government record says with a certified copy—authenticated under § 90.902—instead of hauling the original courthouse ledger or agency file into court. Federal, state, county, and city records all qualify, including data compilations. If you’ve tried in good faith and still can’t get a compliant certified copy, the rule lets you prove the contents some other way.
From the Courtroom
Public-records proof is the workhorse of trial. Deeds, judgments, recorded liens, agency files, inspection reports—certify them and they come in without putting a live records custodian on the stand. The fight is rarely whether the document exists; it’s whether the copy was properly authenticated and whether it’s relevant. Smart lawyers line up their certifications before trial, because scrambling for a records custodian mid-trial reads as unprepared in front of a jury.
Key Points & Authority
- Certified-copy route. Contents of an official record—or any document authorized to be recorded or filed and actually recorded or filed with a federal, state, county, or municipal agency—may be proved by a copy authenticated under § 90.902. Includes data compilations in any form.
- Diligence fallback. If reasonable diligence fails to produce a compliant copy, other evidence of the contents is admissible. § 90.955(2).
- Works hand-in-hand with self-authentication (§ 90.902) and the best-evidence rule (§ 90.952).
Federal Parallel
Florida § 90.955 tracks Federal Rule of Evidence 1005 (Copies of Public Records to Prove Content). Both let a certified or compared copy stand in for the original public record, with a diligence-based fallback to other evidence if a compliant copy can’t be obtained. Cross-reference is text-only until the Federal Rules of Evidence Rule Book is built.
About this rule walkthrough
Part of The Evidence Code, hosted by John M. Phillips — Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer, Court TV analyst, admitted in 8 states + 9 federal districts + SCOTUS.
Free consultation: (904) 444-4444 · About John Phillips
Educational only — not legal advice.
Rule Text (verbatim from the Florida Supreme Court)
90.955 Public records.—
(1) The contents of an official record or of a document authorized to be recorded or filed, and actually recorded or filed, with a governmental agency, either federal, state, county, or municipal, in a place where official records or documents are ordinarily filed, including data compilations in any form, may be proved by a copy authenticated as provided in s. 90.902, if otherwise admissible.
(2) If a party cannot obtain, by the exercise of reasonable diligence, a copy that complies with subsection (1), other evidence of the contents is admissible.
Educational reference. Educational summary of Florida statutory law, not legal advice.
What this rule means in plain English
You can prove what an official government record says with a certified copy—authenticated under § 90.902—instead of hauling the original courthouse ledger or agency file into court. Federal, state, county, and city records all qualify, including data compilations. If you’ve tried in good faith and still can’t get a compliant certified copy, the rule lets you prove the contents some other way.