Evidence Code § 250: "Writing" Includes Text Messages

Evidence Code § 250 defines "writing" so broadly that every text message, chat message, email, voicemail transcript and social media post is a writing, which means the Evidence Code's rules for writings (authentication, the secondary evidence rule, and the presumptions for printouts) all apply to it.

The statute

"Writing" means handwriting, typewriting, printing, photostating, photographing, photocopying, transmitting by electronic mail or facsimile, and every other means of recording upon any tangible thing, any form of communication or representation, including letters, words, pictures, sounds, or symbols, or combinations thereof, and any record thereby created, regardless of the manner in which the record has been stored.

Cal. Evid. Code § 250 (as amended Stats. 2002, ch. 945).

What it means for text messages

The definition has three parts that matter. "Every other means of recording upon any tangible thing" covers a phone's storage, a server, and a screenshot alike. "Any form of communication or representation, including letters, words, pictures, sounds, or symbols" covers a text, an emoji, a voice message and a photo attachment. "Regardless of the manner in which the record has been stored" means it does not matter whether the message lives on the device, in iCloud, in a carrier's system or in a backup.

Because a text is a writing, three consequences follow. It must be authenticated before it is received (§1401). A screenshot, printout or export of it is secondary evidence of its content and is governed by §1521. And a printout of the phone's data carries the §1552 presumption of accuracy.

Related sections

§ 1400–1401 authentication · § 1521–1523 secondary evidence · § 1552–1553 printouts · Hub

Frequently asked questions

Is a text message a "writing" under California law?

Yes. Section 250 covers any means of recording any form of communication, regardless of how it is stored, so texts, iMessages, WhatsApp messages, emails and social media posts are all writings.

Is a voice message or a photo a writing?

Yes. The definition expressly includes "pictures, sounds, or symbols," so a voice memo, a photo attachment and an emoji are writings too.

Does it matter that the message is stored on a phone rather than on paper?

No. The definition applies "regardless of the manner in which the record has been stored."