When drafting affidavits, some lawyers still add the phrase “Further Affiant Sayeth Naught” at the end of the text of the affidavit just before the jurat (where the affiant signs).
Literally translated, “Further Affiant Sayeth Naught” means “the affiant has nothing further to say.”
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Legal writers universally agree that the phrase is unnecessary , archaic and should not be added to the end of affidavits. It is perfectly clear that the affiant has nothing further to say by the end of their affidavit!
Yet some lawyers still persist in using this phrase or a version of it.
Variations on the same theme that have been spotted in affidavits include adding the word “your”, varying the spelling of “sayeth” or changing “naught” to “not”, for example: “Further your Affiant saith not” or “Further your Affiant sayeth not”.
Perhaps the gold medal goes to “Further than this your affiant sayeth not”, which stretches the phrase from four unnecessary words to seven.
In this post we explain why you should banish these four words from your affidavit drafting forever.
Why “Further Affiant Sayeth Naught” should not be used in affidavits
There is no legal or other reason to use Futher Affiant Sayeth Naught in an affidavit.
The phrase is cringe-inducing legalese and it makes no sense to use it. No court decisions support the use of “Further Affiant Sayeth Naught.”
It is just one of those terrible things that lawyers add to sound sophisticated, which almost always backfire.
Perhaps worst of all, the phrase ascribes to the affiant words that they would not themselves use, a practise which is against good affidavit drafting principles.
As for the history of the phrase, “further” and “affiant” have their natural meanings. Further meaning “more” and “affiant” meaning the person who swears or affirms the affidavit.
“Sayeth” is simply the verb “say” with the suffix -eth added to it (the use of the -eth suffix was popular in some parts of England at some time, but died out over 200 years ago).
As for “naught,” it is a pre-900 English word which is still occasionally used to mean “nothing.”
Further Affiant Sayeth Naught is peculiar to the USA
Despite the history of some words in the phrase, you will never see “Further Affiant Sayeth Naught” in an English affidavit (or anything equivalent, as the word “affiant” is replaced by deponent outside the USA).
In fact the only place we have seen it outside the US is in the Phillipines, where occasionally – very occasionally – it makes an appearance. We will spare you the tagalog translation!
Fortunately the “Further Affiant Sayeth Naught” habit is finally on the verge of extinction in America. However the phrase is still occasionally seen in affidavits and still can be found in precedents (including online forms which claim they are up to date)!
In conclusion, if you’re thinking of ending an affidavit with “Further Affiant Sayeth Naught” the answer is simple: there is no need to add this phrase at the end of affidavits.
So please just don’t.
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