Our free affidavit form is a statement of facts sworn to by an affiant before a figure of public authority designated to administer an oath. These public authorities can be judges, justices of the peace, notaries public, officers of the law, senators, representatives and many other holders of public office.
Fill out and print a free affidavit form in just five minutes online.
Free affidavit forms can be signed by a notary public or any judicial officer that can administer oaths, making an affirmation that the person signing the free affidavit form was under oath when presenting it.
An Affiant is the Person Who Fills Out an Affidavit
The person filling out an affidavit form is called the affiant. The affiant takes an oath that the contents in the affidavit are – before God and to the best of their knowledge – true.
Our affidavit forms are used by the courts, governments and individuals fearing for their safety if their true identities are revealed in court. Free affidavit forms are written in the first or third person depending on who drafted the affidavit document.
Components of an Affidavit Form
There are many components that make up an affidavit form. These components include:
- The commencement area identifying the affiant.
- The individual subsections, numbered as mandated by law, each one making a separate claim.
- A statement of truth stating that everything is true, under penalty of perjury, fine, and imprisonment.
- An attestation clause, usually a jurat, at the end certifying the affiant made the oath and the date.
- The signatures of the author and witness.
Affidavit form documents are extremely valuable during the presentation of evidence in court, especially during matters when witnesses are unavailable to testify in person. Affidavit forms may preserve the testimony of individuals unable to appear in court due to unforeseen illnesses, serving time in jail or incarceration, moving to another state, death and many other reasons.
A Free Affidavit Form can be used in Place of Live Testimony
A judge will accept a free affidavit form document instead of the testimony of the witness. An affidavit form can also be used in place of a live testimony in many circumstances. For example, when a motion is filed, a supporting affidavit document may be filed with it.
A free affidavit form consists of facts regarding the issue at hand, with a section at the bottom for the affiant to swear truth to the statements made and affix a signature, which is then notarized in a jurat. A jurat is the bottom part of an affidavit where the officer certifies that the affidavit document was sworn before him.
Jurat notarizations are required for documents in which the signer must attest to the legitimacy of the affidavit, this includes free affidavit forms and pleadings in court. It is the actual certification on a free affidavit form declaring when, where and before whom the affidavit was sworn.