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18 USC § 3505 - Foreign records of regularly conducted ac­tivity

---
identifier: "/us/usc/t18/s3505"
source: "usc"
legal_status: "official_legal_evidence"
title: "18 USC § 3505 - Foreign records of regularly conducted ac­tivity"
title_number: 18
title_name: "CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE"
section_number: "3505"
section_name: "Foreign records of regularly conducted ac­tivity"
chapter_number: 223
chapter_name: "WITNESSES AND EVIDENCE"
part_number: "II"
part_name: "CRIMINAL PROCEDURE"
positive_law: true
currency: "119-84"
last_updated: "2026-04-21"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
source_credit: "(Added Pub. L. 98–473, title II, § 1217(a), Oct. 12, 1984, 98 Stat. 2165.)"
---

# § 3505. Foreign records of regularly conducted ac­tivity

**(a)**

**(1)** In a criminal proceeding in a court of the United States, a foreign record of regularly conducted activity, or a copy of such record, shall not be excluded as evidence by the hearsay rule if a foreign certification attests that—

unless the source of information or the method or circumstances of preparation indicate lack of trustworthiness.

**(A)** such record was made, at or near the time of the occurrence of the matters set forth, by (or from information transmitted by) a person with knowledge of those matters;

**(B)** such record was kept in the course of a regularly conducted business activity;

**(C)** the business activity made such a record as a regular practice; and

**(D)** if such record is not the original, such record is a duplicate of the original;

**(2)** A foreign certification under this section shall authenticate such record or duplicate.

**(b)** At the arraignment or as soon after the arraignment as practicable, a party intending to offer in evidence under this section a foreign record of regularly conducted activity shall provide written notice of that intention to each other party. A motion opposing admission in evidence of such record shall be made by the opposing party and determined by the court before trial. Failure by a party to file such motion before trial shall constitute a waiver of objection to such record or duplicate, but the court for cause shown may grant relief from the waiver.

**(c)** As used in this section, the term—

**(1)** “foreign record of regularly conducted activity” means a memorandum, report, record, or data compilation, in any form, of acts, events, conditions, opinions, or diagnoses, maintained in a foreign country;

**(2)** “foreign certification” means a written declaration made and signed in a foreign country by the custodian of a foreign record of regularly conducted activity or another qualified person that, if falsely made, would subject the maker to criminal penalty under the laws of that country; and

**(3)** “business” includes business, institution, association, profession, occupation, and calling of every kind, whether or not conducted for profit.

---

**Source Credit**: (Added Pub. L. 98–473, title II, § 1217(a), Oct. 12, 1984, 98 Stat. 2165.)

## Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

### Effective Date

> “This part [part K (§§ 1217–1220) of chapter XII of title II of
> 
> , enacting this section and sections 3292, 3506, and 3507 of this title and amending
> 
> ] and the amendments made by this part shall take effect thirty days after the date of the enactment of this Act [
> 
> ].”

, , , provided that: