A Notary's guide to oaths and affirmations

An oath or affirmation is a solemn declaration with legal consequences that can be made before a Notary. If one of your customers wishes to take an oath or affirmation, here is what you need to know.

Difference between an oath and an affirmation

While both oaths and affirmations are notarial acts that compel a person to tell the truth, an oath is a solemn, spoken pledge to God or a Supreme Being, while an affirmation is a spoken pledge made on the signer’s personal honor with no reference to a higher power. Either is considered acceptable, and the choice is left to the signer.

Steps to administer an oath or affirmation

When administering an oath or affirmation, follow these steps:

1. Require the person taking the oath or affirmation to physically appear before you. Unless expressly authorized by law, oaths and affirmations may not be administered remotely.
2. Ask the person for acceptable proof of identification as prescribed by state law. An oath or affirmation may be part of the notarial act of a verification on oath or affirmation or jurat requiring the individual to sign the document containing the sworn statement. Proving identity is a requirement for these notarial acts.
3. Ask the person to raise their right hand or make another ceremonial gesture before responding, to emphasize the seriousness of the process. While these ceremonial formalities are seldom required by law, they have value in impressing upon your signer the significance of their actions. Some signers — and even some Notaries — make light of the situation, but it’s clearly not the best time to crack jokes. Be professional and a role model in administering oaths and affirmations at all times and your customer will respond in kind.

4. Administer the oath or affirmation by asking if the person swears or affirms the truthfulness of their statement. The wording may be formulated as a question or a statement depending on your state.

   California provides the following wording for an oath or affirmation in the form of questions:

   For an oath: “Do you solemnly state that the evidence you shall give in this issue (or matter) shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?”

   For an affirmation: “Do you solemnly state, under penalty of perjury, that the evidence that you shall give in this issue (or matter) shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?” (Code of Civil Procedure 2094[a]).

   Florida does not prescribe the form of the oath or affirmation, so you may pose the oath or affirmation as a question or a statement. If posed as a question, the appropriate wording for an oath for a jurat, verification or affidavit may be something like this: “Do you solemnly swear that the statements in this document are true to the best of your knowledge and belief, so help you God?”

   Minnesota provides an oath form for affiants that may be used by Notaries who notarize signatures on affidavits: “You do swear that the statements of this affidavit, by you subscribed, are true, so help you God.” (MS 358.07[10])

   For an affirmation, MS 358.08 allows the words “swear” and “so help you God” in the abovementioned oath to be replaced respectively with “affirm” and “and this you do under the penalties of perjury.”

   Texas provides the following oath or affirmation wording for a person taking public office in the form of a statement: “I _________ (affiant), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the duties of the office of ____________, of the State of Texas, and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States and of this State (so help me God).”

5. Require the person taking the oath or affirmation to answer “Yes” or “I do” if the oath or affirmation is a question, or have the person repeat the oath or affirmation after you, if the form is a statement. Because the signer’s answer puts them under penalty of perjury, it’s important that the signer's response be clearly understood by the Notary. Nodding, saying “uh-huh” or other ambiguous responses are not appropriate.

Tips for taking oaths and affirmations

• Never take shortcuts: If the document being notarized requires an oath or affirmation, you must verbally administer it — even if the signer attempts to rush you or avoid it entirely.
• Ask, don’t advise: If a signer is unclear about the difference between an oath and affirmation, you may provide the form for each, but you cannot legally advise the signer which one to make; it’s their choice.
• Honor Your Signer’s Choice: Since oaths and affirmations are equally legal and acceptable, the Notary should honor the signer’s choice and use the appropriate wording and gestures.
• Record It In Your Journal: Note every oath and affirmation you administer carefully in your journal. Once you recognize the basics and have several oaths and affirmations under your belt, administering them will be a cinch.

Related Articles:

Quiz: All about jurats

Notary essentials: The difference between acknowledgments and jurats

Additional Resources:

NNA Hotline