Text Message Evidence Checklist: 8 Things to Check Before a Hearing
Reviewed by Jacob Reed, founder of Verity ·
Short answer
Before a custody or protective-order hearing, check eight things: a copy of the whole conversation saved off the phone, an export rather than only screenshots, both sides of the thread, nothing set to delete messages, a date and time on every message, every message numbered, no access for the other person to your phone or cloud, and that you can explain how you saved it. Print this page, or take the same checks online in two minutes.
Tick each box. Every one you can't tick links to the page that fixes it.
1. Is a copy of the whole conversation saved somewhere other than the phone it is on?
2. Do you have an export from the app itself, not only screenshots?
3. Does your copy have the whole conversation, your own replies included, not just the worst messages?
4. Have you checked that nothing deletes messages on its own, such as disappearing messages or a phone set to keep messages for only 30 days or a year?
If not: How long each app keeps messages
5. Does every message in your copy show its date and time?
6. Is every message numbered in date order, so you and your lawyer can point to one quickly?
If not: Number every message: free to read on screen, $19 as a printable list
7. Are your phone and cloud account (iCloud or Google) closed to the other person: no shared passcode or password, and no old device still signed in?
8. Could you explain, if asked, when and how you saved the messages and that your copy is complete?
Prefer to answer on screen? The free 2-minute check asks the same questions, shows what is left to fix, and can email you the list with one reminder before the hearing.
Why these eight
They come down to three things a court needs from a text record: your copy is safe and complete, each message has the details that place it (who, when, and a number to point to), and nobody else could have changed it. For the reasons behind each, see getting text messages ready for court and, if the hearing is days away, what to do this week.
Where does Verity fit?
Verity covers check 6: it numbers every message in date order, free to read on screen and $19 as a printable list, and its preview flags patterns such as threats and gaslighting. The reports ($99 Standard, $149 Detailed) quote each flagged message with its number.
This is general information, not legal advice. What a court will accept depends on your state and judge; your lawyer or the court's self-help center can tell you. If you are in danger, call 911; the National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-7233.
Check your texts in 2 minutes
The same eight questions, answered on screen. No file needed, and nothing is uploaded.