Law 906 of 2004: evidence and chain of custody (arts. 254–266 and 275–277)
- Law
The Code of Criminal Procedure sets how physical evidence is kept in custody and when an item of evidence is lawful and authentic.
What it is
Law 906 of 2004 is the Code of Criminal Procedure of the accusatory system. Its chapter on chain of custody (arts. 254 to 266) states its purpose, who is responsible, how the container is moved, what the expert does and who certifies it. Arts. 275 to 277 define physical evidence and when it is lawful and authentic. For the doctor, the key provision is art. 255: health staff who come into contact with such items are responsible for collecting, preserving and handing them to the authorities.
Key articles
- Art. 254: chain of custody covers identity, original condition, conditions of collection, preservation, packaging and shipment, places and dates, and the changes made by each custodian; it starts where the item is found and ends on the order of a competent authority.
- Art. 255: applying chain of custody is the duty of public servants and of private persons who, through their work (especially health staff), come into contact with the evidence.
- Arts. 257 to 259: whoever packaged and labelled the item keeps custody, takes it to the laboratory and hands it over against a receipt on the chain-of-custody form.
- Arts. 260 and 261: the expert records the condition of the container; each custodian is responsible for the item while holding it.
- Art. 263: the receiver first inspects the container and records its condition.
- Art. 264: whoever packages, labels, hands over or receives is identified by full name, ID number and job.
- Art. 265: the judicial police and the experts certify the chain of custody.
- Arts. 275 to 277: define physical evidence; its lawfulness depends on respecting the Constitution, treaties and the law; without chain of custody, the party presenting it must prove its authenticity.
What it covers
- Chapter V of Title I of Book II: chain of custody (arts. 254 to 266).
- Title II of Book II: physical evidence and information (arts. 275 onward).
- Related bodies: judicial police (the Fiscalía's CTI and the National Police, art. 201) and the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences as the technical-scientific body (art. 204).
- Art. 273: evidence is weighed by its lawfulness, authenticity, chain of custody and scientific acceptance.
Next step: what to do and document
- Treat everything you remove from a patient who is a crime victim as evidence: clothing, bullets, samples.
- Package, seal, label and fill in the form with your name, ID number and job (art. 264).
- When receiving or handing over a container, inspect it and record its condition (art. 263).
- Record in the clinical record what you handed over, to whom and when.
- If an item had no chain of custody, say so honestly: this does not void it by itself, but whoever presents it must prove its authenticity (art. 277).
Status and official text
- Law 906 of 2004 (Code of Criminal Procedure), in force; arts. 254 to 266 and 275 to 277 checked in the consolidated text.
- Art. 275 has a paragraph added by Law 1652 of 2013 (forensic interview of child and adolescent victims).
- Art. 201 was amended by Law 2205 of 2022; art. 268 was conditioned by the Constitutional Court in Ruling C-536 of 2008.
- A note in the Gestor Normativo states that the Fiscalía adopted the Chain of Custody System procedures manual by Resolution 0-6394 of 2004; check the current version of the manual with the Fiscalía.
- Official text checked on 2026-11-05 at funcionpublica.gov.co (Gestor Normativo).
Test yourself
Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.
Which articles of Law 906 of 2004 make up the chain-of-custody chapter?
Articles 254 to 266.
Where does chain of custody start and end under art. 254?
It starts where the items are discovered or found and ends on the order of a competent authority.
Who certifies the chain of custody under Law 906?
The judicial police and the experts (art. 265).
What happens to an item of evidence that was not kept under chain of custody?
Under art. 277, the burden of proving its authenticity falls on the party that presents it.
Connections
Educational content on forensic and legal medicine; not legal advice and no substitute for the technical guides of Colombia's National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences. Laws change: each page links the official text and says when it was last checked. For a real case, follow the guide in force and ask the competent authority.
Sources: Ley 906 de 2004, Código de Procedimiento Penal (Code of Criminal Procedure) (Función Pública, Gestor Normativo, 2004).
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