4.3 Oaths and Affirmations

Oath vs. Affirmation: Identical in Law

Under G.S. 10B-3, an oath and an affirmation are expressly legally equivalent. In each, a notary certifies that, at a single time and place, an individual (1) appeared in person, (2) was identified by personal knowledge or satisfactory evidence, and (3) made a vow of truthfulness or faithful performance on penalty of perjury. The vow carries the same criminal exposure either way: a false statement made under either is perjury (a felony under Chapter 14).

The only difference is religious reference:

A recurring exam scenario: a signer says, "I don't swear to God." The correct action is to offer an affirmation — not to refuse the act or insist on the religious form. Denying service over the religious wording is improper.

How the Notary Administers It

The vow must be a spoken, two-way exchange. The notary states the question; the principal audibly responds. A silent nod is insufficient.

• Oath: "Do you solemnly swear that the contents of this document are true, so help you God?" — Response: "I do."
• Affirmation: "Do you solemnly affirm, under penalty of perjury, that the contents of this document are true?" — Response: "I do."

The Jurat (G.S. 10B-43)

A jurat is the certificate completed after an oath or affirmation. Unlike an acknowledgment, a jurat requires two distinct things: the signer must (1) sign in the notary's presence and (2) take the oath/affirmation aloud. You cannot give a jurat for a previously signed document the way you can take an acknowledgment of one.

The G.S. 10B-43 statutory short form (substantial compliance suffices):

State of North Carolina
County of ____________________

Signed and sworn to (or affirmed) before me this day
by ____________________ (name of principal).

Date: __________   ____________________________ (Official Signature of Notary)
                   ____________________________ (Printed or typed name), Notary Public
(Official Seal)    My commission expires: ______________

Where Oaths and Affirmations Appear

Common Traps

1. Treating a deed like an affidavit. Deeds get an acknowledgment; affidavits get a jurat.
2. Skipping the spoken vow. A jurat is invalid if the notary merely stamps without administering the verbal oath/affirmation.
3. Refusing the affirmation option. The notary must offer a non-religious affirmation on request.
4. Accepting a prior signature for a jurat. The signer must sign in the notary's presence for a jurat.

Oath of Office vs. Document Oath

Do not confuse the two oath contexts a notary encounters. Before a notary may act at all, the notary personally takes an oath of office before the register of deeds (covered in the commissioning chapter). That is a one-time act the notary receives. By contrast, the oaths discussed here are oaths the notary administers to other people regarding documents. The exam may pair these to test whether you know the notary is both an oath-taker (at commissioning) and an oath-giver (in practice).

The "Penalty of Perjury" Anchor

What gives an oath or affirmation its legal teeth is the phrase "on penalty of perjury." It signals that a knowing false statement exposes the maker to criminal prosecution. This is why a jurat — unlike an acknowledgment — actually requires the maker to affirm the truth of the contents. The notary is not vouching that the statements are true; the notary is certifying that the maker swore they were true and understood the consequence of lying.

Practical Script Checklist

When completing a jurat, run this checklist: confirm identity; confirm the signer signs now, in your presence; speak the oath or affirmation aloud and obtain an audible "I do"; then complete the G.S. 10B-43 certificate, seal, and date. Skipping the spoken vow is the single most common jurat defect.

Documenting the Jurat Correctly

A properly completed jurat tells anyone reading the record three things: that a named person personally appeared, that the person signed in the notary's presence, and that the person swore or affirmed the contents on a stated date before a commissioned officer. Each blank in the G.S. 10B-43 form maps to one of those facts. Leaving the principal's name blank, or stamping without the spoken vow, breaks the chain and undermines the sworn document's reliability in court, where the jurat may be the foundation for admitting an affidavit into evidence.

Reading the Document Is the Signer's Job

For a jurat the maker is swearing that the contents are true, which means the maker must have read or had read to them what they are swearing to. The notary does not read the document aloud, vouch for its accuracy, or interpret it. If the maker has not read the affidavit, the notary should encourage them to do so before the vow, but the responsibility for the truth of the contents rests entirely with the maker who swears. This separation of duties — maker owns the truth, notary owns the act — is exactly why a false statement is the maker's perjury, never the notary's.