All certificates issued by the secretary of state in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, and all copies of documents filed in the secretary of state's office in accordance with the provisions of this chapter when certified by the secretary of state, shall be taken and received in all courts, public offices, and official bodies as prima facie evidence of the facts stated in them. A certificate by the secretary of state under the great seal of this state, as to the existence or nonexistence of the facts relating to corporations that would not appear from a certified copy of any of the preceding documents or certificates, shall be taken and received in all courts, public offices, and official bodies as prima facie evidence of the existence or nonexistence of the facts stated in them.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 7-6-100