3.3 Oaths and Affirmations

Definitions

Legal Equivalence

An oath and an affirmation are legally interchangeable in Hawaii. Both:

• Bind the affiant to tell the truth.
• Expose the affiant to perjury for a knowing falsehood.
• Are equally valid in court and before agencies.
• Must be accepted on equal footing by any document recipient.

A recipient cannot demand a religious oath. If the affiant prefers to affirm, that choice is the affiant's to make, and the notary must accommodate it. Pushing a reluctant affiant to "swear" is improper.

Choosing Oath vs. Affirmation

Administering the Pledge

The act must be spoken and answered — a silent nod is not enough. Raise your right hand with the affiant if that is customary.

Oath wording (example):

"Do you solemnly swear that the statements in this document are true, so help you God?"

Affirmation wording (example):

"Do you solemnly affirm, under penalty of perjury, that the statements in this document are true?"

The affiant must answer affirmatively — "I do" or "Yes." If the affiant cannot say yes truthfully, stop; you cannot complete the act.

Required Elements

Where Oaths/Affirmations Appear

• Inside a jurat (the sworn part of an affidavit).
• Swearing in witnesses and deponents for testimony.
• Affidavits, declarations, and sworn applications.
• Verifying the accuracy of figures in financial filings.

Worked Example

An affiant for an immigration affidavit says, "I don't swear for religious reasons." You do not refuse and you do not insist on "swear." You substitute the affirmation wording, obtain an audible "Yes," complete the jurat, and charge no more than the $5 statutory maximum for administering the oath/affirmation under HRS 456-17.

Perjury Consequences

A knowing false statement under oath or affirmation is perjury, exposing the affiant to criminal prosecution, fines, imprisonment, and civil liability. The notary is not liable for the affiant's lie, but is responsible for actually administering the pledge.

Common Traps

• Treating the oath as a formality and skipping the spoken exchange — the act is invalid without it.
• Telling an affiant that an affirmation is "weaker" — it is legally identical.
• Forgetting that a jurat always contains an oath/affirmation; an acknowledgment never does.

Oath/Affirmation as a Stand-Alone Act vs. Inside a Jurat

Administering an oath or affirmation is a complete notarial act on its own — for example, swearing in a witness before testimony, where there may be no document to sign at all. The same act also lives inside a jurat: when a notary takes an affidavit, the sworn-pledge step is an oath or affirmation. Recognizing this overlap clears up exam confusion. A jurat always contains an oath/affirmation; a stand-alone oath/affirmation need not be attached to a signed document.

Handling Special Situations

• Non-English speaker: the notary may administer the oath through the affiant's own understanding; what matters is that the affiant comprehends the binding nature of the pledge and answers affirmatively. A notary should not proceed if there is no shared ability to confirm understanding.
• Affiant who hesitates: if a person is unsure whether the statements are true, the notary stops; an oath cannot be administered to someone unwilling to vouch for the truth.
• Group swearing: multiple affiants may be sworn together if each can hear, understand, and individually answer "I do"/"Yes." Each is still identified and journaled separately.

Documenting the Act

Even when there is no document for the public, the notary records the oath or affirmation in the record book: the date, the affiant's name, the type of act, and the identification basis. For a stand-alone oath the notary may also issue a certificate of the oath, and the $5 statutory maximum under HRS 456-17 covers administering the oath including that certificate. Affixing the certificate of the oath to each duplicate original beyond four carries the $2.50 figure.

Worked Contrast

A litigant needs two things: (1) to be sworn as a witness for a recorded statement, and (2) to sign and swear an affidavit. The first is a stand-alone oath; the second is a jurat that contains an oath. Both use the same spoken pledge mechanics — appear, identify, audible "I do" — but only the second requires signing in the notary's presence. Keeping the mechanics identical while the packaging differs is the cleanest way to remember how this section connects to 3.4. The recurring exam trap is assuming an oath always requires a document; it does not — swearing in a witness is a valid notarial act with nothing to sign.