Evidence grades
Four grades, in words.
Every finding that rests on a document carries one. A grade says how well the finding is documented and which document to read next. It does not say who owns the interest.
What each grade means
Grade 1
Confirmed
The document that decides the point was read: a recorded instrument, an entered order, a signed agreement, or the agency record that reports the fact.
Next Name the holds and any last document.
Grade 2
Corroborated
Two sources from different parties agree. The deciding document is not in hand.
Next Find the deciding document.
Grade 3
Indexed
One place lists or states it: an index, a schedule, a filing or one party's own records. The deciding document has not been read.
Next Pull the document the listing points to.
Grade 4
Lead
A name or a reference only.
Next Find a second source.
From the sample report
One finding at each grade, from the made-up Sixmile estate.
| Item | Finding | Source | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| RE-01 | The ORRI was reserved as stated, proportionately reduced | Assignment, Vol. 812, Pg. 344 | Confirmed |
| RE-02 | Lease appears ended: no sand sold and no minimum royalty paid for the lease year that began 05/20/2024 | Lessor's affidavit, Inst. 2025-006102; agrees with the idle mine and the unpaid royalty | Corroborated |
| RE-03 | A notice from the optionee to the landowner was filed 02/24/2026 | County index, Inst. 2026-001421; image not online, copy ordered | Indexed |
| L-01 | A possible fourth interest: a crude purchaser paid the debtor in 2024 on something tied to no lease | One 2024 Form 1099 in the trust's sale file | Lead |
Sample. Made-up estate, names and records.
How grades are set
- Each finding is graded on its own, with its source and the date read.
- An interest takes the grade of the finding its status rests on. In the sample, the solar option is Indexed because whether it was extended rests on a notice not yet read.
- A finding that rests only on one party's own records, such as an estate's ledger, is Indexed at most. Sources count as independent when they come from different parties.
- A search that found nothing says "searched, none found" with the range searched, and is not graded.
The words we use
- Production found, latest month shown; or production not found.
- Lease appears ended; lease appears held; or unknown.
- Never "good", "dead" or "clear". A lease that appears ended can be held by a shut-in well; one that is unknown stays unknown until a document says otherwise.