Types of affidavit

Affidavits come in many different types. Some of the most popular types of affidavits are explained below.

Please remember that, whatever the type of affidavit, it will still need to satisfy the definition of affidavit and comply with the appropriate drafting principles.

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Your affidavit should also use the correct form for that type of affidavit.

Some common types of affidavit are listed below.

Affidavit of service

An affidavit of service is an affidavit in which the person making the affidavits swears or affirms they have served documents on another person.

The documents are usually court documents and the affidavit of service is sworn to prove the service of the court documents.

For example, if a person who is sued does not turn up to court to defend the proceedings then the court may enter judgment for the plaintiff.

However the court will require proof that the defendant has been served with the court documents. This proof is usually supplied by tendering an affidavit of service to the court.

Depending on the jurisdiction and court rules, an affidavit of service may annex copies of the document(s) served or it may simply describe the document(s) by reference to the proceedings (eg “a copy of the statement of claim in the proceedings numbered 123 of 2012 between John Doe as plaintiff and Richard Smith as defendant”).

Affidavit of debt

An affidavit of debt is an affidavit sworn by a creditor to provide evidence of an unpaid debt owed to the creditor by an individual or company.

Affidavits of debt may be required in bankruptcy or liquidation proceedings, or in support of a statutory demand for money (which may result in winding up proceedings if the company does not pay the amount referred to in the affidavit of debt and demanded in the statutory demand).

Affidavit of domicile

The term “affidavit of domicile” is used in the field of wills and estates.

When someone dies, the executor of their estate will in some jurisdictions be required to make an affidavit that states the place where the dead person was living (ie domiciled) at the time of their death.

Affidavit of domicile and debt

An affidavit of domicile and debt is an affidavit of domicile (see above) in which the executor also states that all the debts, taxes and claims against the estate have been satisfied out of the estate.

The affidavit is made so that any property owned by the deceased can be transferred to descendants or to its new legal owner (such as a purchaser).

Affidavit of support / affidavit in support

The terms “affidavit of support” and “affidavit in support” are used interchangeably in legal proceedings to refer to an affidavit that provides the evidence in support of an application for particular orders.

The terms are usually used where the orders sought are interlocutory – that is they are orders sought in addition to, and usually prior to, the main orders sought in the proceeding.

For example, if a plaintiff sought an adjournment of proceedings for four weeks because a witness was ill, the affidavit of support / affidavit in support would provide the evidence of that illness to the court.

Affidavit in chief

An affidavit in chief is the main affidavit evidence in support of a party’s claim or defence in court proceedings. It should contain all the evidence required to make out the claim or defence.

A party may file many affidavits in chief in support of its case or defence. These may include multiple affidavits that are sworn or affirmed by the same deponent.

Affidavit in reply

As its name suggests, an affidavit in reply is an affidavit in which a party replies to the opponent’s affidavit(s) in chief.

Affidavits in reply may be required to be limited only to answering new matters raised by the opponent’s affidavits in chief.

It is not necessary for a deponent of an affidavit in reply to have themselves made an affidavit in chief but, if they have, the deponent should not repeat the matters that are in their affidavit in chief. Instead they should confine their reply to answering new matters raised by the opponent’s affidavits in chief.