Business records affidavits and custodian declarations

1.What TapIn can certify

TapIn keeps records in the ordinary course of running the Service. For those records, a TapIn records custodian can declare, from the system’s own logs, that:

• a file was uploaded to a matter on a stated date and time by a stated account, and that the cryptographic hash (digital fingerprint) of the file as stored matches the file produced, so it has not changed since;
• an entry was made — a transaction imported from a connected account, an expense, a calendar event, a message, a note — on the stated dates by the stated account, as shown in the matter’s audit trail;
• a report or export was generated by the Service on a stated date from the data then stored in the matter, by the version of the Service then in operation;
• the sign-in and access log for an account or matter is as produced; and
• these records were kept in the regular course of operating the Service, by a process that records each event at or near the time it happened, and the system is relied on to produce an accurate record of those events.

2.What TapIn cannot certify

The certification is about TapIn’s records of what happened on TapIn. It is not about the truth of what the records say.

• A bank statement uploaded to TapIn is still the bank’s record. We can certify when it arrived and that it is unchanged. We cannot certify that it is a genuine statement or that its figures are correct; that comes from the bank, which has its own records-certification procedure, or from the party who received it.
• Figures that TapIn’s software read out of a document, categories it assigned, and text its AI features drafted are system-assisted output. We can certify that the output was produced by the Service on a date; we cannot certify that it is accurate. Exports label this output as such, and the underlying document is always produced beside it.
• Information a user typed in — a note, an expense description, a message — is that user’s statement. We certify when and by whom it was entered, not that it is true.
• Data from a connected financial account came from the institution through Plaid. We certify what we received and when; the institution remains the source.

Courts decide what weight to give any record. Nothing TapIn certifies is a legal conclusion, and a certification does not by itself make a record admissible (section 5).

3.Who may request one

• An account holder, for records of their own account and of the matters they hold a role on.
• A professional with a role on the matter, at the account holder’s direction or under the professional’s own authority on the matter.
• Anyone else only through legal process — see Subpoenas, court orders and records requests. A certification requested under a subpoena covers only the records produced under it.

4.The three forms

• Custodian declaration (standard). An unsworn written declaration signed by TapIn’s records custodian under penalty of perjury — under 28 U.S.C. § 1746 in federal court, or the equivalent your state allows — identifying the records by their manifest and stating the facts in section 1. Delivered as a signed PDF together with the records and manifest. This is the form Federal Rules of Evidence 902(11), 902(13) and 902(14) contemplate.
• Notarized affidavit. The same statements, sworn before a notary and sent as a signed original by mail, for courts or states that require an affidavit rather than a declaration.
• Custodian testimony. Where your court requires a live witness to lay the foundation for business records in a civil case, TapIn’s custodian can testify by remote deposition or, where ordered, at a hearing, at the fee in section 7. Please arrange testimony at least 21 days ahead.

5.How certification is used in court

These notes are for your attorney, who decides what your court requires.

• Federal courts. Rule 803(6) admits records of a regularly conducted activity when the foundation is shown by a certification under Rule 902(11). Rule 902(13) extends certification to records generated by an electronic process or system, and Rule 902(14) to data copied from a device, storage medium or file that is authenticated by a process of digital identification, such as comparing hash values. All three require reasonable written notice to the other parties before trial, with the record and certification made available for inspection. Giving that notice is the requesting party’s responsibility.
• State courts. Many states have adopted the federal certification rules in whole or in part; others still require a custodian’s testimony or a stipulation in civil cases. Louisiana, where TapIn is based, currently allows self-authentication by certification in criminal cases (Code of Evidence article 902(11)) and otherwise relies on the general business-records exception, so civil litigants there should plan for a stipulation or for custodian testimony.
• Stipulation. In most cases the fastest route is a stipulation between the parties that TapIn’s records are authentic business records, with the declaration attached. We encourage it.

6.How to request

Email privacy@tapinfamilylaw.com from the address on your account — professionals, from your firm address — with:

• the matter;
• the records to be certified — an export you have already made, or a description we can match (items and date range);
• the form you need: declaration, notarized affidavit or testimony;
• the court and case number, if any; and
• your deadline.

We confirm scope and fee within 3 business days and deliver within 10 business days of payment. Rush service may be available for an additional fee. Records are delivered as a PDF package with a manifest listing each item, its stored file name, the account that added it, its timestamps and its hash, and the declaration refers to that manifest. A sample declaration is available to counsel on request so you can confirm it meets your court’s requirements before you order.

7.Fees

Amounts are in U.S. dollars and are payable before delivery. Fees for records produced under legal process are on the legal-process page.

8.Contact

Records certification requests: privacy@tapinfamilylaw.com. For anything else: support@tapinfamilylaw.com.

This page describes our practice. It is not legal advice, and whether a record is admissible in your case is for your attorney and the court.