How to Make an Exhibit List for Text Messages
Reviewed by Jacob Reed, founder of Verity ·
Short answer
An exhibit list is a one-page table of what you will show the judge: each exhibit's number or letter and a one-line description. For texts, describe each exhibit by who, what and when, with message numbers: "Texts with J. Smith, March 3–5, messages #1,204–#1,231". Courts set the details. Alaska's family court guide, for example, has the side that started the case number its exhibits and the other side letter them, a sticker on the first page of each, the exhibit list first in the packet, and four copies. Ask your court for its rules and its deadline for exchanging exhibits.
A good list lets the judge find any message in seconds. That is most of what it is for.
What it looks like
Courts often add columns for whether each exhibit was offered and admitted; leave those for the court to fill in. Alaska's guide says to fill in the exhibit number and a short description, and the court completes the rest.
How to split texts into exhibits
- Make the whole numbered conversation one exhibit, so the complete record is in front of the court.
- Then make short exhibits for each incident or topic, pointing to the same message numbers.
- Keep the numbering identical everywhere: the list, the exhibits and what you say in the hearing.
- Put a page number on each page of a long exhibit (Alaska's example: "Exhibit B, page 3").
Labels, copies and deadlines: Alaska's example
- The side that started the case labels exhibits with numbers (1, 2, 3); the other side uses letters (A, B, C).
- A sticker goes on the bottom right of each exhibit's first page, with the case number and exhibit number.
- The exhibit list comes first in the packet, followed by the exhibits in order; the guide asks for four copies.
- The judge's order (sometimes a pre-trial order) sets the deadline to exchange exhibits with the other side.
Your court's rules may differ in every one of these points; its clerk or self-help center can tell you. For organizing everything else, see how to organize a custody evidence binder and showing texts in court without a lawyer.
Getting the message numbers
Verity reads your export in your browser, without uploading it, and numbers every message in date order. The $19 numbered list prints them with dates and times, can be limited to the dates you choose while keeping the numbers of the whole conversation, and comes with a declaration page for the person who exported the messages.
Earlier in the case: preparing a client's texts before a deposition.
Page cited
Read on November 3, 2026.
This is general information, not legal advice. Exhibit rules differ by court; follow your court's rules and any order the judge gives.
Number the conversation first
Drop in your export and read every message numbered in date order. It is read in your browser and is not uploaded.