Documentary Evidence Law and Legal Definition
Documentary evidence is a form of evidence that is presented and allowed as evidence in a trial or hearing. It is distinguished from oral testimony and physical evidence. Photographs, tape recordings, films, and printed emails are all forms of documentary evidence. However, a piece of evidence is not documentary evidence if it is presented for any purpose other than the examination of the contents of the document. It is to be noted that documentary evidence is subject to the best evidence rule, which requires that the original document be produced unless there is a good reason not to do so.
