How to prepare text messages for court
Text messages are often the best evidence a self-represented person has, and they are often presented badly: a phone held up to the judge, or a pile of unnumbered printouts. Preparing them properly is not complicated. It is a sequence, and the order matters.
Step 1. Preserve everything, today
- Do not delete the conversation, any part of it, or the contact. Deleting messages after a dispute has started can be treated as destroying evidence.
- Turn off auto-delete. On iPhone: Settings, Apps, Messages, Keep Messages, set to Forever. WhatsApp and Signal have disappearing-message timers per chat; turn them off.
- Back the phone up (iCloud, Google, or a computer) so a lost or broken phone does not take your evidence with it.
- Do not change phones or reset the phone before the case ends if you can avoid it.
Step 2. Decide which conversations and what period
Pick the conversations that actually bear on what the court has to decide, and a start and end date. Then include the whole stretch between those dates, not only the lines that help you. The other side has the same messages. If you leave out the unflattering parts, they will supply them, and the judge will wonder what else you left out.
Step 3. Capture them so dates, times and the sender are visible
For most people this means screenshots, taken carefully:
- Start at the oldest message you need and work forward. Let each screenshot overlap the previous one by a bubble or two so nothing can be said to be missing.
- Make sure the contact name or number at the top is visible in at least the first screenshot.
- On iPhone, drag the bubbles to the left to reveal the exact time of every message, and hold while you take the screenshot.
- Scroll until a date line (such as "Mon, Sep 8") is visible above the first message. Without it, nobody can tell what day the conversation happened.
- Do not crop, highlight or draw on the images.
Our phone-specific guides cover this in detail: iPhone, Android, WhatsApp. If you are unsure whether screenshots are the right method for your case, see the best way to get text messages for court.
Step 4. Turn them into something a judge can read
A judge will give your exhibits minutes. Make those minutes count:
- Put everything in order by when the messages were sent.
- Number the screenshots, and number the messages.
- Add a typed transcript: each message with who sent it, the date, the time, and which screenshot it came from. Keep the original screenshots attached behind it so any line can be checked.
- Put it in one PDF with page numbers.
This is the part Court Texts does for you. More on the method in how to organize screenshots for court.
Step 5. Be ready to say where they came from
Evidence has to be shown to be what you say it is. For your own text messages that is usually your own testimony or a signed declaration: this is my phone, this is the other person's number, I took these screenshots on this date, and they have not been altered. Write down now the date you took the screenshots and the phone you took them from. Keep the phone, with the conversation still on it, and bring it to the hearing in case the judge wants to compare. See how to authenticate text messages for court.
Step 6. Follow your court's exhibit rules and deadlines
This is where prepared people still lose their evidence. Courts commonly require that exhibits be labelled a particular way, filed or exchanged with the other side a set number of days before the hearing, and brought in a set number of copies. Some courts want exhibits uploaded to a portal; some will not look at a phone at all. The rules are in your court's local rules or on its self-help pages, and the clerk's office will tell you the procedure (they cannot give legal advice, but they can tell you deadlines and formats). Miss the exchange deadline and the judge can refuse to look at your messages, however good they are.
Step 7. Prepare to use them at the hearing
- Bring at least three printed copies: one for the judge, one for the other side, one for you. Bring the PDF on a device as well.
- In your written statement or your notes, refer to messages by number: "Exhibit 3, message 42". Do not read long stretches aloud. Point to the two or three messages that matter and say what they show.
- Expect the other side to say a message is out of context. Having the full conversation in the exhibit is your answer.
A realistic timeline
| When | What |
|---|---|
| Today | Turn off auto-delete, back up the phone, stop deleting anything |
| This week | Take the screenshots, note the date you took them, build the transcript PDF |
| As soon as you have a hearing date | Look up the exhibit rules and the exchange deadline; ask the clerk if unsure |
| Before the deadline | File or exchange the exhibit the way the court requires; keep proof that you did |
| Day before | Print copies, mark the key message numbers in your notes, charge the phone |
This page is general information, not legal advice. Rules of evidence and procedure differ by state and by court. If your case is complicated or a lot is at stake, a consultation with a lawyer or your court's self-help centre is worth the time.
Common questions
How far in advance do I need to give my text messages to the other side?
It depends on the court. Many courts set a deadline a number of days before the hearing for exchanging or filing exhibits, and some small-claims courts let you bring them on the day. Check your court's local rules or ask the clerk, and do it as early as you can.
Can I just show the judge my phone?
Some judges will look, many will not, and the court cannot keep your phone as part of the record. Bring printed, numbered copies and a PDF, and keep the phone with you in case the judge wants to compare.
Do I need to include the whole conversation?
Include the full stretch of conversation around the messages that matter, not only your side or the helpful lines. Selective excerpts invite an objection that the messages are out of context, and the other party can produce the rest.
What if the other person deleted their messages?
Your copy of the conversation is still evidence. Messages you received remain on your phone unless you delete them. Keep them, back up the phone, and capture them now.
Turn your screenshots into a transcript PDF for court →More guides: Print texts for court from an iPhone · Print texts for court from Android · Can screenshots be used in court? · How to organize screenshots for court · How to get a transcript of text messages · Print WhatsApp messages for court · How to authenticate text messages for court · Turn text messages into a PDF · Best way to get text messages for court