The confirmation rendered by an officer of a court that a certified copy of a judgment is what it purports to be, an accurate duplicate of the original judgment. In the law of evidence, the act of establishing a statute, record, or other document, or a certified copy of such an instrument as genuine and official so that it can be used in a lawsuit to prove an issue in dispute.

Self-authentication of particular categories of documents is provided by federal and state RULES OF EVIDENCE. A deed or conveyance that has been acknowledged by its signers before a NOTARY PUBLIC, a certified copy of a public record, or an official publication of the government are examples of self-authenticating documents.