How do I print text messages from my iPhone for court?

There are three ways. For a few messages, take screenshots that show the date and time; this is often enough, but ask your lawyer. On a Mac with Messages in iCloud, scroll up until the whole conversation has loaded, then choose File, Print, and Save as PDF. For a long conversation, use an exporter that puts the date and time on every message and lists what was included. This guide isn't legal advice; your lawyer or the court clerk can tell you what format they want.

Can I print text messages for court without a Mac?

Yes, with screenshots on the iPhone, which suit a short conversation. For a long conversation, borrow a Mac and use an exporter that reads the iPhone over a cable, or ask your lawyer whether their firm can make the export for you.

Guide · Updated November 2026

By Nicolas Zawadzki, who makes Message Mammoth. The free methods below don't need it.

How to print text messages from your iPhone for court

There are three ways, two of them free. Which one fits depends on how many messages you need and how much the dates and completeness matter.

Short answer. For a few messages, dated screenshots are often enough; ask your lawyer. For a long conversation, or when the other side may question what's missing, give your lawyer a PDF with the date and time on every message, plus the same messages as a spreadsheet.

This guide isn't legal advice. Courts set their own rules for evidence; your lawyer or the court clerk can tell you what format they want.

1. Screenshots (free)

Works on any iPhone, with nothing to install.

Open the conversation in Messages. Tap the name at the top so the contact's name and number are visible in your first screenshot.
Swipe left on the conversation and hold: iPhone shows the time of every message on the right edge. Take each screenshot while holding, so the times appear.
Press the side button and volume up together (on an iPhone with a Home button, the side button and Home button). Scroll, repeat, and keep the order.
In Photos, select the screenshots in order, tap Share, then Print. To send them instead, share them to Mail or the Files app; keep the originals in Photos.

What goes wrong: dates only appear between groups of messages, so you have to make sure every screenshot includes one. A long thread means hundreds of images. Photos and reactions are small and easy to miss. And it's hard to show that nothing between two screenshots was left out.

2. Print from Messages on a Mac (free)

If your messages sync to your Mac through iCloud, you can print a conversation from there.

Open Messages on the Mac and select the conversation.
Scroll all the way up to the first message you need. Messages may print only what it has loaded, so this step matters.
Choose File, then Print. In the print dialog, open the PDF menu and choose Save as PDF.

What goes wrong: older messages can be left out if you don't scroll far enough, and nothing tells you. Times show only every so often. Bubbles can be cut across page breaks. There are no message numbers or counts, so a reader can't check that the print-out is complete.

3. Export a dated, numbered PDF

An exporter reads the Messages database directly, so it gets every message on the device in the range you choose and can write details out in full. This method needs a Mac; see no Mac? below if you don't have one.

With Message Mammoth on a Mac:

Choose This Mac's Messages (ready in seconds), or plug in your iPhone with a cable (usually 3 to 15 minutes for messages only, or 15 to 50 minutes when the whole backup is copied; the app shows progress).
Pick the conversation. Narrow it by dates, by person in a group, or by a word.
Turn on what you need: a cover page, a page stamp such as EXH-000001, a declaration page to sign.
Export. You get the PDF, a CSV spreadsheet of the same messages, and a SHA-256 manifest file listing each file's hash.

Each message gets a number, the full date and time with the time zone, the sender's name and number, and any photos, reactions, replies or edits written out. The cover page lists the filters you used and how many messages were included and left out.

Cost: free to preview everything and try full-featured exports of up to 20 messages in total, calls and group events included. $29.99 once for unlimited exports.

Download free for Mac

Which one to use

	Screenshots	Print from Mac	Dated PDF export
Cost	Free	Free	Free to preview; trial exports of 20 messages in total; $29.99 once for unlimited
Date and time on every message	Only while holding the swipe	No	Yes, with time zone
Shows if a message was later removed from the copy	No	No	Numbered messages and a printed count
Needs a Mac	No	Yes	Yes (yours or a borrowed one)
Photos and reactions	As small images	As shown on screen	Photos printed, reactions written out
Spreadsheet for your lawyer	No	No	Yes, CSV
Good for	A few messages	A short conversation	Long threads, disputes, anything contested

No Mac?

If you have an iPhone but no Mac, your options are:

Short conversation: use screenshots, method 1. Hold the swipe so times show.
Long conversation: borrow a Mac from a friend or family member for an hour. An exporter that reads the iPhone over a cable doesn't need your Apple Account on that Mac. With Message Mammoth, afterwards use Reset app, delete the export folder, and deactivate the license if you activated it there.
Ask your lawyer: some firms can make the export for you, or will accept screenshots for a short exchange.

Checklist before you hand them over

Things lawyers commonly ask for. Check with yours, since requirements differ.

Both people identified: names and phone numbers or email addresses
Date and time on every message, and which time zone
The whole conversation for the period, not only the messages that help you
Photos and attachments included, or listed if you can't include them
Nothing edited, cropped or annotated on the copies you hand over
The phone kept, unchanged, in case someone needs to see the originals
A note of how and when you made the copies; a declaration you sign can cover this

Keep the phone. Whatever method you use, don't delete the conversation or reset the phone after printing. If a copy is questioned, the original messages on the phone may be needed to check it.