Short answer. You may use secondary evidence, but only after laying a foundation. Rule 130, Section 5 requires proof that the document was executed or existed and that it became unavailable without bad faith on your part; only then may you prove its contents by a copy, a recital in some authentic document, or witness testimony, in that order.
What the law says
the offeror, upon proof of its execution or existence and the cause of its unavailability without bad faith on his or her part, may prove its contents by a copy, or by recital of its contents in some authentic document, or by the testimony of witnesses in the order stated.
Rule 130, Section 5 — When original document is unavailable. Read the full provision →
First, lay the foundation
Losing the original does not lose the case, but the court will not simply take your word for what the paper said. Rule 130, Section 5 admits secondary evidence only upon proof of its execution or existence and the cause of its unavailability without bad faith on his or her part. That is a two-part showing: first, that the document really was executed or at least existed — through a signatory, a witness to the signing, or records referring to it — and second, how it came to be unavailable. Only after both are established does the court hear evidence of the contents themselves.
What counts as an unavailable original
The rule speaks of an original that has been lost or destroyed, or cannot be produced in court. It therefore covers more than physical loss: fire, flood, and misplacement, but also situations where the document still exists yet genuinely cannot be brought before the court. The disqualifier is fault. The unavailability must be without bad faith on the part of the person offering the substitute — a party who destroyed or suppressed the original to escape its terms cannot then ask the court to accept a friendlier reconstruction of it.
The three substitutes, in strict order
Contents may then be proved by a copy, or by recital of its contents in some authentic document, or by the testimony of witnesses in the order stated. The closing phrase matters: the substitutes are ranked, not interchangeable. A copy comes first — a photocopy, a duplicate, a retained counterpart. Failing that, a recital in some authentic document: another genuine instrument that restates the missing one's terms, such as a later document quoting or summarising it. Only when neither exists may the contents rest on the memory of witnesses, which is the weakest and most easily contested form.
What to gather before the hearing
Work down the ladder in the same order the rule does. Search seriously for any copy — the other party to the transaction, a notary, a bank, a broker or a government office may hold one, and the search itself is part of showing the loss was genuine. Identify any later document that recites the missing one's terms. Line up the people who can speak to execution and contents from personal knowledge: signatories, instrumental witnesses, the person who drafted it. Be ready to narrate when and how the original disappeared, because the foundation testimony about the loss is examined as closely as the contents evidence itself.