Are Text Messages Hearsay? When Texts Can Be Used in Court
Reviewed by Jacob Reed, founder of Verity ·
Short answer
Often not, when they are the other side's. Under Federal Rule of Evidence 801(d)(2), a party's own statement offered against them is not hearsay, and most states follow a similar rule, so the other parent's texts can usually be used against them. Many messages aren't hearsay for another reason: a threat or an instruction isn't offered to prove that what it says is true. Your own texts offered for yourself, and texts from other people, are where hearsay questions come up. Whether a message comes in is the judge's call, and it still has to be shown to be genuine.
"Isn't that hearsay?" is one of the first things parents hear about their texts. Usually it is the wrong worry about the other side's messages, and the right one about everyone else's.
What hearsay means
Rule 801(c) defines hearsay as a statement made outside the current hearing that a party offers to prove that what it says is true. Hearsay is generally kept out unless a rule lets it in, because the person who said it isn't there to be questioned.
The other side's texts
Rule 801(d)(2) says a statement offered against an opposing party is not hearsay if the party made it, or if it is one the party showed they adopted or believed to be true. So when you offer the other parent's own messages against them, they are usually outside the hearsay rule. A reply that agrees with something, such as "yes, I did", can also count as adopting it.
Messages that aren't offered for their truth
Many texts matter because they were sent, not because what they say is true: a threat, an instruction ("don't bring her back"), or proof that someone was told something ("the dentist is Tuesday at 4"). Offered for that purpose, they often aren't hearsay at all.
Your own texts, and other people's
- Your own messages offered by you to prove they were true can raise a hearsay objection. They are often offered for another reason instead, such as showing what the other person was replying to.
- Texts from a friend, a relative or a new partner are statements of someone who isn't a party; expect hearsay questions. What children said is its own area; see "the kids said you…" and hearsay.
Hearsay isn't the only question
A text also has to be shown to be what you say it is, and the other side can ask for the rest of a conversation you quote. See authenticating text messages and the rule of completeness. Each state has its own rules of evidence, most modeled on the federal ones, and some family hearings are less formal; your lawyer, or the court's self-help center, can tell you which apply.
How a numbered record helps
Because so much turns on context (who said it, in reply to what, and what came after), the whole conversation in order is the strongest starting point. Verity reads your export in your browser, without uploading it, and numbers every message in date order, so each message can be found with everything around it. For presenting it yourself, see showing texts in court without a lawyer.
Rule cited
Read on November 3, 2026.
This is general information, not legal advice. Evidence rules differ by state and by the kind of hearing; ask a lawyer in your state about your messages.
Keep every message in its context
Drop in your export and read every message numbered in date order. It is read in your browser and is not uploaded.