28 U.S.C. § 1734

Court record lost or destroyed, generally

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(a) A lost or destroyed record of any proceeding in any court of the United States may be supplied on application of any interested party not at fault, by substituting a copy certified by the clerk of any court in which an authentic copy is lodged.(b) Where a certified copy is not available, any interested person not at fault may file in such court a verified application for an order establishing the lost or destroyed record.

Every other interested person shall be served personally with a copy of the application and with notice of hearing on a day stated, not less than sixty days after service. Service may be made on any nonresident of the district anywhere within the jurisdiction of the United States or in any foreign country.

Proof of service in a foreign country shall be certified by a minister or consul of the United States in such country, under his official seal.

If, after the hearing, the court is satisfied that the statements contained in the application are true, it shall enter an order reciting the substance and effect of the lost or destroyed record. Such order, subject to intervening rights of third persons, shall have the same effect as the original record.

(June 25, 1948, ch. 646, 62 Stat. 946.)Historical and Revision Notes

Based on title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed., §§ 681, 682, 683, and 684 (R.S. §§ 899, 900, 901, 902; Jan. 31, 1879, ch. 39, § 1, 20 Stat. 277).

Sections 681, 682, and 684 of title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed., contained repetitious language which was eliminated by the consolidation.

Section 683 of title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed., applied only to cases removed to the Supreme Court, and was revised so as to be applicable to cases transmitted to other courts not in existence in 1871 when the section was originally enacted.

Changes were made in phraseology.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 7 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1991–2025 · leading case: Business Guides, Inc. v. Chromatic Communications Enterprises, Inc.

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Business Guides, Inc. v. Chromatic Communications Enterprises, Inc. (1991) scotus · cites it 2× “65(b) (ex parte request for temporary restraining order); 28 U. S. C. § 1734 (b) (application for order establishing lost or destroyed record); § 2242 (application for writ of habeas corpus); see generally 5A Wright & Miller, supra, § 1339.”

In re Coffman (2014) ca11 · cites it 6× “PRYOR, Circuit Judge: This petition requires us to decide whether a federal prisoner may apply for “an order establishing” a “lost or destroyed record of [a] proceeding in [a] court,” 28 U.S.C. § 1734 , when the prisoner failed to allege any legal need for the record.”

In re Kelco Metals, Inc. (2015) ilnb “BCC did not seek to correct the record, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1734 , by supplying the court with a proper application to substitute a copy certified by the clerk of the court for a lost or destroyed record.”

Securities and Exchange Commission v. John E. Worthen (1996) ca9 “28 U.S.C. § 1734 (b). Notice to all other interested parties is required and if, after a hearing, “the court is satisfied that the statements contained in the application are true, it shall enter an order reciting the substance and effect of the lost or destroyed record.”

Rivers v. United States (1996) vawd · cites it 4× “Thereafter, Rivers filed a motion for a hearing to determine the content of these missing records, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1734 . Because the United States is a party to this § 2255 action, any determination regarding such a hearing must be made under 28 U.”

David Sebastian-Soler v. William Pelham Barr (2021) ca11 · cites it 5× “PER CURIAM: David Sebastian-Soler appeals following the dismissal of his complaint seeking certified copies of a 1984 administrative order (“AO 84-11”) by a district court, under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1734 and 1735, for failure to state a claim pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure…”

AKG v. Oklahoma State of (2025) okwd “Plaintiffs cite 28 U.S.C. § 1734 , which provides: “[a] lost or destroyed record of any proceeding in any court of the United States may be supplied on application of any interested party not at fault, by substituting a copy certified by the clerk of any court in which an…”

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