Mass. Gen. Laws » Part III Title II Chapter 233
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 233, § 79K (2026)

Duplicate of computer data file or program file; admissibility

✓ text as last checked Sept. 2026 (this copy records no edition or section history)
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Section 79K. A duplicate of a computer data file or program file shall be admissible in evidence as the original itself unless (1) a genuine question is raised as to the authenticity of the original or (2) in the circumstances it would be unfair to admit the duplicate in lieu of the original.

For the purposes of this section, if data is stored in a computer or similar device, any printout or other output readable by sight, shown to reflect the data accurately, shall be an original.

A ''duplicate of a computer data file or program file'' shall mean a file produced by the same impression as the original, or from the same matrix, or by mechanical or electronic recording, in the normal way such a duplicate is produced on a computer, or by other equivalent techniques that accurately reproduce the original.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 3 cases, 2013–2016 · leading case: Commonwealth v. Gilman, 54 N.E.3d 1120 (Mass. App. Ct. 2016).
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Commonwealth v. Gilman, 54 N.E.3d 1120 (Mass. App. Ct. 2016). “Moreover, G. L. c. 233, § 79K, inserted by St. 1994, c.”
Commonwealth v. Perez, 89 Mass. App. Ct. 51 (Mass. App. Ct. 2016). “See G. L. c. 233, § 79K. 11 The defendant argues that this issue was preserved by various objections that touched on the application of the business records statute.”
Commonwealth v. Salyer, 996 N.E.2d 488 (Mass. App. Ct. 2013). “671, 675-676 (2011), citing G. L. c. 233, § 79K. However, oral testimony designed to prove the contents of an electronic record is barred for the same reasons as those underlying the best evidence rule.”
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