# Exemplification — the triple seal Source: https://www.jhenrylaw.com/mechanism/exemplification-the-triple-seal/ Author: John P. Henry, John Henry & Associates, PLLC Reviewed: 2026-08-02 **U.S. Const. art. IV, § 1; 28 U.S.C. § 1738** ## 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. > [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 ## 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 1. 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. 2. 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. 3. 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. 4. Check the judgment is final and not dormant in Texas before you spend the money. A dormant judgment cannot be enforced anywhere. 5. 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 accepted in Lafayette Parish and became the predicate for the order making the judgment executory. ## The order Order to Make Judgment Executory — United Biologics, LLC d/b/a United Allergy Services v. Moss Street Medical Clinic, Inc., 15th Judicial District Court, Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, Cause No. 20154623L, signed 2016. ``` CAUSE NO. 20154623L UNITED BIOLOGICS, LLC d/b/a UNITED ALLERGY SERVICES, Plaintiff v. MOSS STREET MEDICAL CLINIC, INC., Defendant IN THE DISTRICT COURT 15TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT LAFAYETTE PARISH, LOUISIANA ORDER TO MAKE JUDGMENT EXECUTORY On September 18, 2015, Plaintiff, United Biologics, LLC d/b/a United Allergy Services filed its Petition to Make Foreign Judgment Executory. Notice was mailed to Defendant, Moss Street Medical Clinic, Inc. by certified mail, return receipt requested, on September 28, 2015 by Lafayette Parish Clerk of Court, and return receipt was received by the Clerk of Court on October 12, 2015, bearing signature. Twenty days have passed since notice was given to the Defendant, and no response or pleadings have been filed by Defendant. THE ABOVE AND FOREGOING CONSIDERED, Let the Judgment in the above numbered and styled cause be filed and recorded herein and let said Judgment become executory. This the ____ day of __________, 2016. _______________________________ PRESIDING JUDGE ``` ## 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. --- This page is an advertisement. Case results depend on the specific facts of each matter and do not predict a similar result in any other. Nothing here is legal advice.