Also known as:business entry rule · business records exception
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A hearsay exception permitting admission of a record of acts or events if the record was made at or near the time by someone with knowledge, kept in the course of a regularly conducted business activity, and made as a regular practice of that activity. The exception does not apply when the record was prepared primarily in anticipation of litigation rather than in the ordinary conduct of the enterprise.
Sources & Authorities
How it applies
Common Examples
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Railroad Accident Report Excluded
Boulder Construction's safety officer prepared an internal report after a crane collapse on a job site. The report described the sequence of events and was created according to the company's standard post-incident protocol. When a worker later sued, the company offered the report to show that the collapse resulted from the worker's own actions. The court excluded the report because its dominant purpose was to document facts for potential litigation rather than to support the company's ongoing construction operations.
Lab Report Offered in Criminal Trial
In a prosecution relying on DNA evidence, the state introduced a laboratory report through an expert who had not performed the testing. The defense objected that the report contained testimonial statements. The court analyzed whether the report qualified as a business record created in the ordinary course of the lab's work or instead served a primary litigation purpose that would trigger confrontation concerns.
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Cases
Dictionaries
Williams v. Illinois567 U.S. 50 (2012)
Common questions
Frequently Asked
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When does a regularly kept record lose the protection of the business-entry rule?+
A record loses the protection when it is prepared primarily in anticipation of litigation rather than as part of the regular conduct of the business. The primary-purpose inquiry focuses on whether the document serves the enterprise's ordinary operations or instead documents facts for use in court.
Supporting sources
Must the person who made the entry have personal knowledge of the facts recorded?+
The person who made the entry must have obtained the information either directly or from someone who had a business duty to report it. Information supplied by an outsider with no business duty to the enterprise does not satisfy the foundation requirements.
Supporting sources
Does the business-entry rule apply to police reports containing statements from third-party witnesses?+
No. Statements from third parties who have no business duty to report the information remain hearsay within hearsay and are not admissible under the business-entry rule even if the report itself is kept in the ordinary course of police business.
Supporting sources
567 U.S. 50 (2012)Evidence
…would entitle the defendant to Confrontation Clause protection. Cf. 2 Wigmore, Evidence §1527, at 1892 (in respect to the business records exception, “there must have been no motive to misrepresent”). Thus, the defendant would remain free to show the absence or inadequacy of the alternative reliability/honesty safeguards, thereby…