18 U.S.C. § 3505
Verified against govinfo.gov as of June 20, 2026View official text on govinfo.gov ↗
- (a)
- (1)In a criminal proceeding in a court of the United States, a foreign record of regularly conducted activity, or a copy of such record, shall not be excluded as evidence by the hearsay rule if a foreign certification attests that—unless the source of information or the method or circumstances of preparation indicate lack of trustworthiness.
- (A)such record was made, at or near the time of the occurrence of the matters set forth, by (or from information transmitted by) a person with knowledge of those matters;
- (B)such record was kept in the course of a regularly conducted business activity;
- (C)the business activity made such a record as a regular practice; and
- (D)if such record is not the original, such record is a duplicate of the original;
- (2)A foreign certification under this section shall authenticate such record or duplicate.
- (1)In a criminal proceeding in a court of the United States, a foreign record of regularly conducted activity, or a copy of such record, shall not be excluded as evidence by the hearsay rule if a foreign certification attests that—unless the source of information or the method or circumstances of preparation indicate lack of trustworthiness.
- (b)At the arraignment or as soon after the arraignment as practicable, a party intending to offer in evidence under this section a foreign record of regularly conducted activity shall provide written notice of that intention to each other party. A motion opposing admission in evidence of such record shall be made by the opposing party and determined by the court before trial. Failure by a party to file such motion before trial shall constitute a waiver of objection to such record or duplicate, but the court for cause shown may grant relief from the waiver.
- (c)As used in this section, the term—
- (1)“foreign record of regularly conducted activity” means a memorandum, report, record, or data compilation, in any form, of acts, events, conditions, opinions, or diagnoses, maintained in a foreign country;
- (2)“foreign certification” means a written declaration made and signed in a foreign country by the custodian of a foreign record of regularly conducted activity or another qualified person that, if falsely made, would subject the maker to criminal penalty under the laws of that country; and
- (3)“business” includes business, institution, association, profession, occupation, and calling of every kind, whether or not conducted for profit.