A domestic public document that bears no seal but has the signature of an officer and a certificate under seal that confirms the signer’s official capacity and the signature’s genuineness is self-authenticating under which rule?

• A. Rule 902. (2)
• B. Rule 902. (1)
• C. Rule 902. (3)
• D. Rule 902. (4)

Answer: (A)

Self-authentication is addressed by Rule 902, which covers certain documents that need no outside proof of authenticity. In this scenario, the document is a domestic public document that does not bear a seal, yet it carries the signature of a public officer and a certificate under seal that confirms the signer’s official capacity and the genuineness of the signature. That exact combination—domestic public document not under seal, but signed and certified—falls under the provision for documents that are self-authenticating without extrinsic evidence because they are signed and certified public records. Therefore it is self-authenticating under Rule 902(2). Not under seal would not fit 902(1), foreign documents would be 902(3), and certified copies of public records fit a different subcategory (902(4)).