Guides

How to number exhibits for court

An exhibit is anything you ask the court to look at: a text, a photo, a letter, a recording. Numbering them lets everyone in the room find the same page.

Your court sets the rules

Courts write their own instructions for exhibits, so look for yours on your court’s website or ask the clerk. As an example of what they look like, here is one court’s, the Clackamas County Circuit Court in Oregon:¹

• Put “the exhibit number, case number, and page number” of each exhibit “in the lower, right-hand corner.”
• A petitioner starts with “Exhibit 1”. A respondent starts with “Exhibit 101”.
• Fill out an exhibit list and “give a brief description of the exhibits you’ve labeled.”
• Copies go to every party: “If you do not give a copy to every party, the judge may not be able to look at your exhibits during your hearing.”

That is one court in Oregon. Yours may use letters, a different starting number, or a deadline for sending them ahead.

The habits that work almost anywhere

• One number per item. A five-page text thread is one exhibit with five numbered pages.
• Date order. Number them in the order things happened, so the numbers tell the story.
• An index at the front. Number, date, what it is, where it came from.
• Never renumber after you share. Add new items at the end.
• Enough copies. Check how many your court wants, and keep your own set.