Judicial notice is a court’s acceptance of a well-known and indisputable fact without requiring the party relying on the fact to prove it. The doctrine of judicial notice is one of common sense, and is based on the theory that where a fact is well-known in the community—or its existence is easily determined from sources that cannot be reasonably questioned—it would not be a good use of judicial time and resources to require formal proof of the fact in court. A court may take judicial notice of both facts and laws.

In Oklahoma, the concept of judicial notice aligns with the general principles found in both state statutes and federal law. Oklahoma courts may take judicial notice of facts that are not subject to reasonable dispute because they are either generally known within the territorial jurisdiction of the court or can be accurately and readily determined from sources whose accuracy cannot reasonably be questioned. This includes facts and laws. Oklahoma Evidence Code, specifically Title 12, Sections 2201 through 2205, governs the use of judicial notice in the state's courts. These sections outline the types of facts and laws that may be judicially noticed and the procedures for requesting and challenging judicial notice. The federal counterpart, found in the Federal Rules of Evidence, particularly Rule 201, also provides a framework for judicial notice that is similar to Oklahoma's provisions. An attorney may request that a court take judicial notice of certain facts or laws, and the court has discretion to do so without requiring formal proof, thereby streamlining the legal process.