Court proceedings, negotiations, and other legal matters use affidavits to testify the truthfulness of certain information.
If you’re looking to write an affidavit letter for family law, bankruptcy, civil, or criminal cases, this article walks you through everything you need to write an affidavit. Lawyers generally use e-notary software for the electronic notarization of legal documents.
An affidavit is a written, sworn statement used in court proceedings and other legal matters that has been witnessed and notarized by another party.
Depending on your location, you might need to have an authorized affidavit taker witness the creation of your affidavit in person. There are also different rules for what formats are accepted depending on your local courts and laws. Always check what the requirements are where you live before getting started.
The affiant prepares written affidavits for criminal or civil processing. These written statements include affiant identification, statement of fact, statement of attestation, and supporting documents.
Below are the six key sections you must include in an affidavit.
The reason you’re writing an affidavit will influence what format your affidavit looks like. There are a lot of reasons you might need to complete an affidavit.
This is just scratching the surface of the different types of affidavits. The law is complicated, and there are dozens of other scenarios where government agencies might ask you to complete an affidavit. It’s always best to consult a lawyer or law firm for legal advice during this process to ensure you’ve covered your bases.
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Because this is a legal document, there is a right way to write an affidavit. Any person can complete most affidavits, but they must be notarized before they are considered valid. Below is the basic six-step process you’ll need to take to complete your affidavit.
First, you’ll need to title your affidavit. The title of your affidavit just needs to tell the person reading it what your sworn statement is going to be about. Include both your name and the topic of the affidavit.
AFFIDAVIT OF RESIDENCE
AFFIDAVIT OF JANE DOE
If your affidavit is being submitted before a court, you’ll need to include the caption of the case in this section as well. Your case caption can be found on any related court documents. It will include the name of the court, county, and state, the names of all parties involved, and your case number.
The very next section of your affidavit is what’s known as a statement of identity. This is where you’ll include your personal information, including your name, age, occupation, place of residence, and any other information relevant to the situation or case.
For example, if you were writing an affidavit providing an alibi for someone accused of a crime, you would need to include your relationship with that person in your statement of identity.
This section is used to preface who you are in relation to the facts you’re about to outline. You don’t have to include your life story, but you do need to include any relevant information to the claims you’re making.
My name is Jane Smith. I am 40 years old, I work as a bank teller, and I currently reside at 140 Maple Lane, Huntsville, Alabama.
This section of your affidavit is used to swear that your telling of the facts is accurate to the best of your knowledge. A statement of truth is the equivalent of swearing under oath in a courtroom.
I, Jane Smith, swear that the information in my sworn statement is truthful to the best of my knowledge and understanding.
Your statement of truth must be in the first person and you need to identify yourself in it. Keep it short and sweet. You’re just acknowledging that you agree not to lie in your affidavit.
Once you have all of that out of the way, it’s time to state the facts. This section of the affidavit will likely be the longest. There is no certain length this section should be, it’s just important that it includes all the accurate information. Below are some tips you can use to complete this section.
Avoid injecting your personal opinion or observations into your affidavit. This isn’t the time for you to flex your storytelling skills. You need to keep the facts objective, clear, and concise.
For example, if you’re writing that you saw the accused near the scene of a crime, you would say:
I saw John Doe at 145 Maple Lane around 3 p.m. on the day of the crime.
You would not say:
I saw John Doe fleeing the scene of the crime on the afternoon Mrs. Jones was murdered. He looked nervous and guilty, like he’d done something wrong.
Your only job is to state the facts as you best remember them. Leave the interpretations to the lawyers. When you state these facts, you’ll need to provide details such as names, dates, times, and addresses.
Create an outline of everything you remember about the situation, and then determine which facts are relevant to your affidavit. Then, coherently arrange them. One of the best ways to arrange the facts about a situation is in chronological order.
For example, here’s how you might structure a statement:
Each fact should be its own separate paragraph, and you should reference any supporting documents as exhibits within the corresponding paragraph. Number the paragraphs so that it’s easy for the reader to follow.
Once you’ve recounted all the facts, you’ll close everything out with another statement of truth. All you need to include is a quick summary that everything you've outlined above is true to the best of your knowledge.
I, Jane Smith, once again swear that the information in my sworn statement above is a complete representation of the facts to the best of my knowledge.
This section doesn’t need to be longer than a few sentences. You can tweak the language a bit, but for the most part, you’ll want to keep it pretty similar to your statement of truth at the beginning of the affidavit.
The final step in completing your affidavit is signing it and having it notarized. You can complete most of your affidavit before having it notarized and witnessed, but don’t sign it until you’re in the presence of a licensed witness or notary. This part must be completed in the presence of a witness.
You’ll be doing more than signing on a single dotted line. You and the notary will need to sign:
If you’ve included exhibits in your affidavit, the notary will need to review and sign those as well. Be sure to bring any related documents to your meeting with the notary. Otherwise, you’ll have to come back and redo the entire process.
In order to have something notarized, you will need a form of official identification, such as a passport or a driver's license, proving that you are who you claim to be. While some states allow for a remote notary, others will require you to have your affidavit notarized in person. Check your state laws before you get your affidavit notarized.
Most of us are familiar with the concept of an affidavit through television and crime dramas, but the reality is that affidavits aren’t just used for detailing serious crimes. There are a lot of mundane reasons you might be asked to write and sign an affidavit. Some of these are:
An affidavit is a legal document used to collect the details about an event. No matter what your reason for filling one out is, you must be truthful. Knowingly lying on an affidavit is considered perjury, and you could face fines or even jail time.
And when it comes to completing an affidavit, it’s the only policy! It might seem intimidating to have to write a sworn legal statement but follow the steps in this guide, and you’ll be fine. Affidavits require varying levels of information and complexity based on the situation they’re being used for.
Don't hesitate to get help from legal services providers for completing an affidavit.
This article was originally published in 2019. It has been updated with new information.
Lauren Pope is a former content marketer at G2. You can find her work featured on CNBC, Yahoo! Finance, the G2 Learning Hub, and other sites. In her free time, Lauren enjoys watching true crime shows and singing karaoke. (she/her/hers)
