The inconvenience of bringing public records into court, and their accessibility for comparison of copies, soon induced courts to adopt the practice of receiving duly exemplified copies thereof whenever it became necessary to prove them, and statutory enactments in the various states have prescribed the manner in which such copies may be obtained, certified and used. These statutes usually make the exemplified copy original evidence.

Duly certified copies of deeds required by law to be recorded may be received in evidence upon any showing which satisfies the mind of the court that the original deed is not within the power of the party to produce, and enactments in some of the states have made such certified copies receivable in evidence without producing the originals.