Proposed Federal Rule of Evidence 707

Where it actually stands

“On June 10, 2025, the Judicial Conference Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure (Standing Committee) approved publication of proposed amendments to the following: Appellate Rule 15; Bankruptcy Rule 2002, Official Forms 101 and 106C; Civil Rules 7.1, 26, 41, 45, and 81; Criminal Rule 17; and Evidence Rule 609 and new Rule 707. The comment period was open from Aug. 15, 2025 to Feb. 16, 2026.”

That sentence is from uscourts.gov, and the whole correction is in one word. The Standing Committee approved publication for comment. That is the second of six stages, not the last.

• 1Advisory Committee on Evidence Rules proposes.
• 2Standing Committee approves publication for comment. Done, 10 June 2025.
• 3Public comment. Closed 16 February 2026.
• 4Advisory Committee considers comments and decides whether to recommend final approval.
• 5Standing Committee, then the Judicial Conference, then the Supreme Court.
• 6Lies before Congress, then takes effect, ordinarily on 1 December.

What we could not verify

It has been reported that at its meeting on 3 and 4 June 2026 the Standing Committee did not recommend action and returned Rule 707 for revision and further study, alongside the deepfakes question, after the Advisory Committee recorded “greater overall concerns” on 7 May 2026. If so, the earliest realistic effective date moves to 1 December 2027.

We could not open the June 2026 agenda book or minutes, and we are not going to state as fact something we have not read. What we can state, because we checked it, is the narrower and more useful point: the rule is still listed as proposed, and it has not been approved by the Judicial Conference.

Why the error matters

Because people are planning around it. A firm that believes Rule 707 is adopted may be telling clients that machine-generated evidence is already subject to a federal reliability standard. It is not. Meanwhile the actual position is the more interesting one: the United States has no rule on deepfake or machine-generated evidence, while Qatar has had one since January 2026 and New South Wales has regulated AI in expert reports since February 2025.

The gap is not going to be filled by a federal rule before December 2027 at the earliest. It is being filled in the meantime by individual judges’ standing orders and by the sanctions record.

Sources

• United States Courts, Proposed Amendments Published for Public Comment, read 5 August 2026 and quoted above
• Records and Archives of the Rules Committees, agenda books
• The June 2026 Standing Committee outcome is reported, not verified. We could not open the agenda book or minutes.

Related

• Federal Rules of Evidence 901 and 902, which are in force
• Qatar, which does have a deepfake disclosure rule
• Australia, on AI in expert reports
• Every verified AI standing order

Checked 5 August 2026. Status verified at source; the June 2026 committee outcome is reported only, and flagged as such. Information, not legal advice.

Common questions

Has Federal Rule of Evidence 707 been approved?

No. As of 5 August 2026 the United States Courts' own page listing proposed amendments published for public comment still lists new Evidence Rule 707 among them, alongside Evidence Rule 609 and amendments to appellate, bankruptcy, civil and criminal rules. It records that the Standing Committee approved publication for comment on 10 June 2025 and that the comment period ran from 15 August 2025 to 16 February 2026. Approval for publication is not adoption.

What would Rule 707 do?

It addresses machine-generated evidence: output produced by a process or system, offered without a human expert witness, and would subject it to the reliability standards that apply to expert testimony. It has been considered alongside a separate question about deepfakes and fabricated evidence.

When could Rule 707 take effect?

Not before 1 December 2027 on the ordinary rules calendar, and only if it completes the remaining stages. A federal rule must be approved by the Advisory Committee, the Standing Committee, the Judicial Conference and the Supreme Court, and then lie before Congress. Any published date earlier than December 2027 should be treated as wrong.

Is there any rule on deepfake evidence in the United States?

Not yet at federal level. By contrast, Qatar's QICDRC Practice Direction No. 1 of 2026 has required since 6 January 2026 that visual or audio evidence generated or enhanced using multimedia AI be disclosed with its source, and provides that suspected undisclosed deepfakes may be excluded and investigated.