6.2 Administering Oaths and Affirmations

Oath vs. Affirmation-Same Force, Different Words

A signer says, "I won't say 'so help me God.'" You do not refuse service-you offer an affirmation. Another signer asks to "swear before God"; you give an oath. Both are legally identical promises; only the wording differs, and the choice is the signer's.

California treats them as equivalent so the act respects both freedom of religion and freedom from it. A signer whose faith forbids swearing, or who is non-religious, has a constitutional right to affirm with no loss of legal weight.

The Choice Belongs to the Signer

The notary must never impose a preference. Best practice is to ask plainly:

"I need to administer an oath or an affirmation. An oath is a religious promise; an affirmation is a non-religious promise. Both are equally binding. Which do you prefer?"

Standard scripts

Oath:

"Do you solemnly swear that the statements in this document are true and correct, so help you God?" - Signer: "I do."

Affirmation:

"Do you solemnly affirm, under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California, that the statements in this document are true and correct?" - Signer: "I do."

For a stand-alone oath of office or a witness oath you may swap in: "...that you will support the Constitution..." or "...that the testimony you give will be the truth." The structure-a verbal question answered "I do"-stays the same.

Verbal Administration and the Right-Hand Question

It must be spoken

The single most-missed procedural rule: an oath or affirmation must be administered aloud and answered aloud. Silently pointing to the oath language on a form is not a lawful oath, and a jurat built on it is defective.

Raising the right hand

Raising the right hand is customary, not required in California. A valid oath can be taken seated, standing, or with hands at the sides. You may invite the gesture for solemnity, but the signer may decline and the oath is still valid. Exam questions love to call this "required by law"-it is not.

Quick myth-check

• "An affirmation isn't really binding." False-identical force.
• "The notary picks the form." False-the signer picks.
• "You can administer it in writing only." False-it must be verbal.

Legal Consequences, Fees, and Other Oaths

Perjury applies to both forms

Lying under either an oath or an affirmation is perjury under California Penal Code section 118-a felony punishable by up to four years in state prison. The legal exposure is identical whether the signer swore or affirmed.

The notary never judges truth or falsity. You administer the promise; courts decide perjury.

Fee and journal

The maximum California fee for administering an oath or affirmation is $15 per person. When the oath is part of a jurat, the $15 jurat fee covers the act. Record an oath of office or a free-standing oath in your journal with date, the person's name and signature, the type of act, and the fee.

Oaths beyond jurats

Notaries administer oaths in several non-jurat settings:

In each of these, the same rules carry over: the person may elect an oath or affirmation, you administer it aloud, and a false statement is perjury. A credible-witness oath is itself a sworn statement-the witness swears they personally know the principal signer-so you administer it the same way you would any other oath.

A worked scenario

A process server brings a witness for a deposition and asks you to swear her in. You do not read the testimony or judge it. You ask, "Do you prefer an oath or an affirmation?" She chooses an affirmation. You say aloud, "Do you solemnly affirm, under penalty of perjury, that the testimony you are about to give will be the truth?" She answers "I do." You log the act, charge up to $15, and the reporter proceeds. If she later lies, the perjury exposure is hers under Penal Code section 118-your role ended at administering the affirmation.

Expect 2-3 exam items here: the signer's choice, equal legal force, the right-hand myth, the verbal-administration rule, and perjury under section 118 applying to both forms.