Rhode Island General Laws Title 42. State Affairs and Government § 42-8.1-13. Legal status of reproductions

(a) When any copy or reproduction, furnished under the terms hereof, is authenticated by the official seal and certified by the state archivist, the copy or reproduction shall be admitted in evidence equally with the original from which it was made.

(b) The state archivist or any other public officer of the state or any city, municipality, district, or legal subdivision thereof may cause any or all public records, papers, or documents kept by him or her to be photographed, microphotographed, or reproduced on film or non-erasable optical disc or through other processes that accurately reproduce or form a durable medium for reproducing and preserving the original records. These reproduction processes shall comply with the standards approved for the reproduction of permanent records under § 38-3-5.1. These photographs, microphotographs, photographic films, optical discs, or other reproductions shall be deemed to be original records for all purposes including introduction in evidence in all courts or administrative agencies. A transcript, exemplification, or certified copy thereof, for all purposes recited in this section, shall be deemed to be a transcript, exemplification, or certified copy of the original.

(c) Whenever these photographs, microphotographs, or reproductions on film or non-erasable optical discs, or other reproductions properly certified, are placed in conveniently accessible files and provisions made for preserving, examining, and using the same, any public officer may cause the original records from which the reproductions have been made, or any part thereof, to be disposed of according to methods prescribed by §§ 38-1-10 and 38-3-6. These copies shall be certified by their custodian as true copies of the originals before the originals are destroyed or lost, and the copies so certified shall have the same force and effect as the originals, provided the copies meet the standards established under § 42-8-4. Copies of public records transferred from the office of their origin to the division, when certified by the state archivist or the deputy state archivist, shall have the same legal force and effect as if certified by the original custodian of the records.