The ancient document rule is one of the methods available to authenticate evidence for trial under the Federal Rules of Evidence.
Under the rule, if a document is (1) more than 20 years old; (2) is regular on its face with no signs of obvious alterations; and (3) found in a place of natural custody, or in a place where it would be expected to be found, then the document is found to be prima facie authenticated and therefore admissible.
The ancient document rule may also refer to Federal Rule of Evidence 803 (16) which provides a hearsay exception when dealing with ancient documents. To qualify for this exception and thus be admissible, the hearsay-containing document in question must be authenticated and have been created before 1998.
[Last updated in June of 2022 by the Wex Definitions Team]
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