Business Record Exception

A rule of evidence that allows routine entries made customarily in financial records, or business logs or files kept in the regular course of business, to be introduced as proof in a lawsuit when the person who made such notations is not available to testify.

This rule, also called the business entry rule, is an exception to the HEARSAY rule. Business records are considered to have a greater degree of reliability and trustworthiness than personal records because of the regular and systematic way in which they are kept and the reliance that a business places on them.

State and FEDERAL RULES OF EVIDENCE specify what records qualify for this exception to the hearsay rule.