official record
Documented legal account
An official record is a document created or maintained by an institution—government, court, business, or organization—that serves as authoritative evidence of facts, events, or transactions.
Official records carry legal weight: The court ordered the conviction expunged from her official record.
They contrast with informal notes or personal accounts, implying authenticity and permanence.
- registryOfficial record of entries
- birth certificateOfficial record of arrival
- driver's licenseOfficial driving permit
- transcriptVerbatim written account
- vital recordsOfficial life event documentation
affidavit · sworn statement · permit · audit report · marriage certificate · public access · census · contract · death certificate · deed · financial statement · treaty · tax return · proclamation · archive · passport · court ruling · ledger
- recordsbirth records, Guinness, documents, world records, album
- sourcesbook, encyclopedia, source, journals, magazine
- court proceedingstrial, arraignment, verdict, hearing, testimony
- testimonyoral testimony, court testimony, sworn testimony, witness statements, sworn statements
- official documentsbirth certificate, marriage certificate, death certificate, passport, driver's license
- parliamentparliament, bills, votes, vote, debate
official recordhearsay
Unverified secondhand information
rumor · gossip · secondhand account · word of mouth · speculation
official recordoral tradition
Culture passed by speech
off-the-books · oral history · verbal testimony · folk memory · folk tradition