Ark. Code Ann. § 16-46-101 (2020)
Recordation of certain certified copies — Photographic copies of business and public records
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- The clerk of any court of record may record any certified copy of any instrument by attaching the certified copy to his or her record book so as to make the copy be and become a part of the record to the extent that the copy cannot be detached, and the copy shall be legally recorded when the attachment has been made by the clerk. This subdivision (a)(1) shall apply to plats, blueprints, and photostatic copies only.
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- The county recorders, municipal clerks and recorders, clerks of courts of record, and any public officers whose duty it is to make public records are authorized to use and employ an approved system of photographic recording, photostatic recording, microfilm, microcard, miniature photographic recording, optical disc, or other process which accurately reproduces or forms a durable medium for reproducing the original when provided with equipment necessary for such method of recording.
- When any document is recorded by the means prescribed by subdivision (a)(2)(A) of this section, the original may be destroyed unless the document is over fifty (50) years old and handwritten or its preservation is otherwise required by law.
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- If any business, institution, member of a profession or calling, or any department or agency of government, in the regular course of business or activity has kept or recorded any memorandum, writing, entry, print, representation, or combination thereof, of any act, transaction, occurrence, or event, and in the regular course of business has caused any or all of the same to be recorded, copied, or reproduced by any photographic, photostatic, microfilm, microcard, miniature photographic, optical disk, or other process which accurately reproduces or forms a durable medium for so reproducing the original, the original may be destroyed in the regular course of business unless its preservation is required by law.
- The reproduction, when satisfactorily identified, is as admissible in evidence as the original itself in any judicial or administrative proceeding whether the original is in existence or not.
- An enlargement or facsimile of the reproduction is likewise admissible in evidence if the original reproduction is in existence and available for inspection under direction of the court.
- The introduction of a reproduced record, enlargement, or facsimile does not preclude admission of the original.
History. Acts 1929, No. 189, § 5; Pope's Dig., § 5669; 1953, No. 64, § 1; 1963, No. 235, § 1; A.S.A. 1947, §§ 16-117, 28-932; Acts 1993, No. 1150, § 1; 1995, No. 454, § 1; 1995, No. 566, § 1; 1997, No. 636, § 1.
Publisher's Notes. For Comments regarding the Uniform Photographic Copies of Business and Public Records as Evidence Act, see Commentaries Volume B.
Amendments. The 1993 amendment inserted “optical disk” in (b)(1).
The 1995 amendment by No. 454 added (a)(2)(B); and inserted “photostatic recording, microfilm, microcard, miniature photographic recording, optical disc, or other process which accurately reproduces or forms a durable medium for reproducing the original” in (a)(2)(A).
The 1995 amendment by No. 566 inserted “electronic imaging” in (b)(1).
The 1997 amendment inserted “municipal clerks and recorders” after “county recorders” in (a)(2)(A): and, in (a)(2)(B), inserted “the document is over fifty (50) years old and handwritten or” and inserted “otherwise.”
Cross References. Reproduction of records, § 14-2-201 et seq.
Research References
Ark. L. Rev.
Photographic Copies of Business and Public Records as Evidence, 7 Ark. L. Rev. 332.
The Best Evidence Rule — A Rule Requiring the Production of a Writing to Prove the Writing's Contents, 14 Ark. L. Rev. 153.
Documentary Evidence — Arkansas, 15 Ark. L. Rev. 79.
Legislation — No. 235 — Photographic Copies of Documents Held in a Custodial or Fiduciary Capacity Admissible as Evidence, 18 Ark. L. Rev. 125.
Contents of Writings, Recordings and Photographs, 27 Ark. L. Rev. 357.
Carroll, Uniform Laws in Arkansas, 52 Ark. L. Rev. 313.
U. Ark. Little Rock L.J.
Sullivan, The Need for a Business or Payroll Records Affidavit for Use in Child Support Matters, 11 U. Ark. Little Rock L.J. 651.
Case Notes
Docket Entries.
The docket entries of a justice of the peace are quasi-records and, when certified, are receivable in evidence. Gates v. Bennett, 33 Ark. 475 (1878).
Foundation.
There was no proper foundation made for the admission of a photostatic copy of a bill of lading, and under the best evidence rule or under the statutes the copy cannot be introduced until a proper foundation is made. Ebbert v. Hubbell Metals, Inc., 232 Ark. 971, 341 S.W.2d 768 (1961).
Where the microfilm copies of bank records were adequately identified by the bank's officer as being copies of records kept in the normal course of business, they were competent evidence. Reed v. State, 267 Ark. 1017, 593 S.W.2d 472 (Ct. App. 1980).
Cited: Walker v. State, 241 Ark. 300, 241 Ark. 663, 408 S.W.2d 905 (1966); Simolin v. Wilson, 253 Ark. 545, 487 S.W.2d 603 (1972).