Mechanism 43
Exemplification — the triple seal
What kind of copy of a Texas judgment does another state require?
An exemplified one, not a certified one. Every domestication statute conditions filing on a judgment authenticated in accordance with the act of Congress, and the act of Congress requires three things: the clerk’s attestation, the seal of the court, and a certificate of a judge that the attestation is in proper form. A certified copy has two of the three.
By John P. Henry · U.S. Const. art. IV, § 1; 28 U.S.C. § 1738 · Reviewed 2026-08-02
The authority
[Records] shall be proved or admitted in other courts within the United States … by the attestation of the clerk and seal of the court annexed, if a seal exists, together with a certificate of a judge of the court that the said attestation is in proper form.28 U.S.C. § 1738
U.S. Const. art. IV, § 1; 28 U.S.C. § 1738
When it applies
Every judgment that is going to travel. It is a five-minute step at the clerk’s counter and it is the single most common reason a domestication gets struck.
How it is proved up
- Ask the clerk for an exemplified copy and use the word. Say it again if the counter offers you a certified one, because that is what they hand out by default.
- Count the certificates when it arrives. Clerk attests the record; judge certifies the clerk and that the attestation is in due and legal form; clerk certifies back that the judge is the judge of that court. In Texas practice you should see three, sometimes four.
- Order it while the judgment is fresh. A defect discovered after a limitations period has run in the receiving state is not a detour, it is the end.
- Check the judgment is final and not dormant in Texas before you spend the money. A dormant judgment cannot be enforced anywhere.
- Keep the original package intact. Receiving clerks reject photocopies of exemplifications, which defeats the purpose of the seals.
What defeats it
- A plain certified copy, which does not satisfy § 1738 and is subject to being struck on motion.
- A judgment that is interlocutory rather than final — sever it first.
- Dormancy.
- A receiving state with its own additional authentication requirements, which some have.
Where I have used it
A Bexar County default judgment exemplified in August 2015 for filing in Louisiana: the county clerk’s attestation and seal, the county judge’s certificate that the court is a court of record and the clerk’s attestation is in due and legal form, and the clerk’s certificate that the judge is the judge. That package was filed in Lafayette Parish — the file-stamped petition is in the file — and was the predicate for the ex parte application to make the judgment executory.
Questions
What is the difference between a certified and an exemplified copy?
A certified copy carries the clerk's attestation and the court's seal. An exemplified copy adds the third element 28 U.S.C. § 1738 requires — a judge's certificate that the clerk's attestation is in proper form — and, in Texas practice, a clerk's certificate that the signer is the judge.
Why does a judgment have to be exemplified to be domesticated?
Because state enforcement statutes condition filing on a judgment 'authenticated in accordance with the act of Congress', which is 28 U.S.C. § 1738. A copy that does not meet its three-part requirement is subject to being struck.
How do you get an exemplified copy of a Texas judgment?
Request one from the clerk of the court that rendered it, using the word 'exemplified'. The clerk routes it to a judge for the certificate, which is why it takes longer than a certified copy.