A dying declaration is a term used in the law of evidence in the United States to signify that testimony that would normally be barred as hearsay will be admitted as evidence in a court of law because:

1. it constituted the last words of a person who was dying, and
2. that person was aware that he or she was dying, and
3. that person made a statement that relates in some way to the cause of his or her death.

Under this narrow exception to the hearsay rule, such a statement will be admissible only if the person actually dies.

For example, suppose Rachel stabs Joey and then runs away, and a police office happens upon Joey as he lays in the gutter, bleeding to death. If Joey manages to sputter out with his last words, "Rachel stabbed me" (or even just ("Rachel did it"), the officer can testify to that in court. However, if Joey were to recover instead of dying, the officer would no longer be able to testify to the statement. It would then constitute hearsay, and not fall into the exception. Furthermore, the statement must relate to the cause of death. If Joey's last words are "Rachel killed Monica", that statement will not fall within the exception, and will be inadmissible.