3.2 Oaths, Affirmations, and Jurats

Authority to Swear Witnesses

Beyond acknowledgments, a New York notary may administer oaths and affirmations and take affidavits and depositions. Executive Law Section 135 lists these powers expressly. Where an acknowledgment confirms a signature, an oath or affirmation puts a person on the record as swearing that something is true — and exposes them to a perjury charge if it is not. This is a fundamentally different and weightier act, and the exam expects you to keep the two straight.

Oath vs. Affirmation

An oath is a solemn spoken pledge that appeals to a Supreme Being — the classic "so help me God." An affirmation is the secular equivalent: a person who "conscientiously declines" to swear (for religious or personal reasons) may instead affirm. New York law honors both, and crucially they have identical legal effect. A statement made under affirmation is just as binding, and just as punishable as perjury, as one made under oath.

Worked example: A witness tells you she cannot swear a religious oath. You say: "Do you solemnly, sincerely, and truly declare and affirm that the statements in this affidavit are true?" She answers "I do." That affirmation is fully valid — her statement is now made under penalty of perjury exactly as if she had sworn. Refusing to accommodate her and demanding "so help me God" would be improper.

How to Administer the Oath

An oath must be an active, spoken ceremony — silence does not create one. The accepted New York practice:

1. The affiant raises the right hand (traditional for an oath; optional for an affirmation).
2. You pose the question aloud: "Do you solemnly swear that the statements in this document are true, so help you God?" (or the affirmation wording above).
3. The affiant answers affirmatively — "I do" or "Yes."

No magic words are required, but there must be an unequivocal pledge that the affiant understands they are committing to the truth.

Affidavits and the Jurat

An affidavit is a written statement of facts that the maker — the affiant — swears or affirms to be true. The notarial certificate that completes an affidavit is the jurat. The word comes from Latin jurare, "to swear," and the operative phrase is "Sworn to (or affirmed) before me." A jurat tells anyone reading the document two things happened: the affiant signed in the notary's presence and took an oath or affirmation as to the truth of the contents.

Standard New York jurat:

State of New York   )
                    ) ss.:
County of ________  )

Sworn to (or affirmed) before me this ___ day of ________, ____.

___________________________
Notary Public

For a remotely conducted electronic notarization, the jurat must additionally state that the affiant appeared through communication technology.

Jurat vs. Acknowledgment — The Key Contrast

This comparison is the most commonly tested item in the whole notarial-acts area:

The two are not interchangeable. If a document says "Sworn to before me," you cannot simply take an acknowledgment — the signer must actually be sworn and must sign in front of you. Choosing the wrong act is a common cause of rejected or invalid notarizations.

Perjury — Why the Oath Matters

Because an oath or affirmation places the affiant under penalty of perjury, a knowingly false sworn statement is a crime in New York. The notary does not judge whether the statement is actually true, but must ensure the affiant understands the seriousness of swearing. A mumbled or skipped oath defeats the entire purpose of the jurat.

Recap: oaths and affirmations are equal in force; a jurat ('Sworn to before me') always demands both signing in your presence and an oath, which is what separates it from the no-oath, no-witnessing acknowledgment.