How to Submit Text Messages as Evidence in Court

If you plan to use text messages or WhatsApp chats in court, simply printing screenshots is usually not enough. The goal is not just to submit messages, but to present them in a way that makes the timeline and context easy to follow and strengthens your evidence. If you are preparing evidence for a family law case, our guide on presenting digital evidence in family court covers additional considerations.

Here's how text messages are typically prepared and submitted.

Step 1: Preserve the full conversation

Before anything else:

• Keep the original messages on your device
• Do not edit or delete parts of the conversation
• Avoid cropping screenshots

If possible, export the full message history instead of relying on isolated screenshots. Preserving the complete conversation helps maintain context.

Step 2: Ensure key details are visible

Courts generally expect message evidence to clearly show:

• Who sent each message (name or phone number)
• The date and time of each message
• The correct chronological order
• Any relevant photos or attachments

Missing details can make the evidence harder to evaluate. See our guide on what format courts require for text messages for more on presentation standards.

Step 3: Present everything in a clean, readable format

For longer conversations, submitting dozens of screenshots can quickly become confusing. A clearer approach is to:

• Export the full chat history
• Keep messages in chronological order
• Ensure names or phone numbers and timestamps are visible
• Include images in the relevant place within the conversation
• Combine everything into one structured PDF document

Some people format this manually in Word or Google Docs. Others convert their WhatsApp chat to a court-ready PDF using tools like ChatToCourt, without manual formatting.

The purpose is not to change the content, but to present it clearly and completely so the court can easily follow the sequence of events.

Step 4: Confirm requirements with your lawyer

Procedural rules can vary by jurisdiction and case type. In divorce cases specifically, there may be additional considerations around how digital evidence is obtained — see our divorce evidence guide. Your lawyer can confirm how evidence should be submitted in your specific court.