matter of record

matter of record (plural matters of record)

1. A fact or statement that is recorded in governmental records or in publications.
   • 1906, Andy Adams, The Story of a Poker Steer:

     When Dick Larkin asked to see his credentials, the inspector not only produced them, but gave the owner's name and the county in which the brand was a matter of record.

   • 1905, The Inland Architect and News Record, volume 45, page 65:

     It is a matter of record in history that asphalt was used in the construction of a highway in Peru, being built by prehistoric races.

   • 1920, “Memoirs of Capt. Andrew Talcott”, in Engineering News-record, volume 85, page 805:

     This has now been privately printed and deposited in several of the leading libraries as a matter of record.

   • 2004, John Ernest, Liberation Historiography: African American Writers and the Challenge of History, 1794-1861, page 1:

     Indeed, African American history, like all history, remains as much a matter of argument as a matter of record.

   • 2018 February 27, Derek Lowe, “Business and Markets: Where’s All That Money Going? (Pharma Edition)”, in Science Translational Medicine:

     My feelings about share buybacks in an R&D driven industry like this one have been a matter of record for some time, for all the good that does.

2. (law) A fact that is contained within court files or has otherwise been entered into evidence before the court.

• “matter of record”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.