Rule 902 - Self-Authentication Extrinsic evidence of authenticity as a condition precedent to admissibility is not required with respect to the following:
(1)Domestic Public Documents Under Seal. A document bearing a seal purporting to be that of the United States, or of any state, district, commonwealth, territory, or insular possession thereof, or the Panama Canal Zone, or the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, or of a political subdivision, department, officer, or agency thereof, and a signature purporting to be an attestation or execution.(2)Domestic Public Documents Not Under Seal. A document purporting to bear the signature in an official capacity of an officer or employee of any entity included in paragraph (1) hereof, having no seal, if a public officer having a seal and having official duties in the district or political subdivision of the officer or employee certifies under seal that the signer has the official capacity and the signature is genuine.(3)Foreign Public Documents. A document purporting:(a) To bear the seal of state of a nation recognized by the executive power of the United States; or(b) To be executed or attested in an official capacity by a person authorized by the laws of a foreign country to make the execution or attestation, and accompanied by a final certification as to the genuineness of the signature and official position (i) of the executing or attesting person, or (ii) of any foreign official whose certificate of genuineness of signature and official position relates to the execution or attestation or is in a chain of certificates of genuineness of signature and official position relating to the execution or attestation. A final certification may be made by a secretary of embassy or legation, consul general, vice consul, or consular agent of the United States, or a diplomatic or consular official of the foreign country assigned or accredited to the United States. If reasonable opportunity has been given to all parties to investigate the authenticity and accuracy of official documents, the court may, for good cause shown, order that they be treated as presumptively authentic without final certification or permit them to be evidenced by an attested summary with or without final certification.(4)Certified Copies of Public Records. A copy of an official record or report or entry therein, or of a document authorized by law to be recorded or filed and actually recorded or filed in a public office, including data compilations in any form, certified as correct by the custodian or other person authorized to make the certification, by certificate complying with paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of this rule or complying with any enactment of the Alaska Legislature or other rule prescribed by the Alaska Supreme Court.(5)Official Publications. Books, pamphlets, or other publications purporting to be issued by public authority.(6)Newspapers and Periodicals. Printed materials purporting to be newspapers or periodicals.(7)Trade Inscriptions and the Like. Inscriptions, signs, tags, or labels purporting to have been affixed in the course of business and indicating ownership, control or origin.(8)Acknowledged Documents. Documents accompanied by a certificate of acknowledgment executed in the manner provided by law by a notary public or other officer authorized by law to take acknowledgments.(9)Commercial Paper and Related Documents. Commercial paper, signatures therein, and documents relating thereto to the extent provided by general commercial law.(10)Presumptions Created by Law. Any signature, document, or other matter declared by enactment of the Alaska Legislature or rule prescribed by the Alaska Supreme Court to be presumptively or prima facie genuine or authentic.(11)Certified Records of Regularly Conducted Activity. The original or a duplicate of a record of regularly conducted activity, within the scope of Rule 803(6), which the custodian thereof or another qualified person certified under penalty of perjury (i) was made at or near the time of the occurrence of the matter set forth, by (or from information transmitted by) a person with knowledge of those matters, (ii) or kept in the course of regularly conducted activity and (iii) was made by the regularly conducted activity as a regular practice, unless the source of information or the method or circumstances of preparation indicate lack of trustworthiness. A party intending to rely on this paragraph must serve on other parties a notice of this intent and make available for copying relevant documents at least 20 days before the documents are to be introduced at a hearing unless the court shortens this time for good cause shown. The word "certifies" as used in this subsection means with respect to a domestic record, a written declaration under oath subject to the penalty of perjury and, with respect to a foreign record, a written declaration signed in a country which, if falsely made, would subject the maker to criminal penalty under the laws of the country. The certificate relating to a foreign record must be accompanied by a final certificate as to the genuineness of the signature and official position (i) of the person executing the certificate and (ii) of any foreign official who certifies the genuineness of signature and official position of the executing person, or is in a chain of certificates of genuineness of signature and official position of the executing person. A final certification may be made by a secretary of embassy or legation, consul general, consul, vice consul, or consular agent of the United States, or a diplomatic or consular official of the foreign country assigned or accredited to the United States.Added by SCO 364 effective 8/1/1979; amended by SCO 851 effective 1/15/1988; by SCO 1522 effective 10/15/2003; and by SCO 1716 effective 1/1/2010. Chapter 44 SLA 2009 (HB 102), effective January 1, 2010, enacted changes relating to the Uniform Commercial Code. According to section 9 of the Act, AS 45.01.307 has the effect of amending Alaska Rules of Evidence Rule 902 by establishing the authenticity and stated facts of certain documents.