What is a jurat in an affidavit?

The jurat in an affidavit is the signature panel at the bottom of the text of the affidavit.

A jurat is also sometimes called a “jurat clause,” “jurat certificate,” “jurat form” or “jurat stamp.”

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The jurat contains spaces for both the person making the affidavit (known as the affiant) and the witness to place their signatures.

The jurat will also state whether the affidavit was sworn or affirmed, and will contain details of the witness (their name, address and qualification for example notary public) and the date and place that the affidavit was made.

Example jurat clause for an affidavit

This is an example of a jurat clause. It is only an example and should not be relied upon in any particular case. There are many different jurat clauses.

Remember that you must use the correct jurat clause for the jurisdiction and court in which you are making your affidavit.

State of Texas
County of [Name of county]

SWORN to and SUBSCRIBED before me, the undersigned authority, on the [insert] day of [insert month], [insert year] year, by [Insert full name of the affiant.]

[Signature of Notary]
________________________________________
Notary Public, State of Texas

[Notary’s stamp]

The legal definition of a jurat or jurat clause

In Black’s Law Dictionary (9th edn, 2009) a jurat is defined as a “certification added to an affidavit … stating when and before what authority the affidavit… was made”. The definition notes that a jurat typically indicates “that the officer administered an oath or affirmation to the signer, who swore to or affirmed the contents of the document”.

The above definition of a jurat clause was cited by the Texas Supreme Court in Mansions in Forest v. Montgomery County, 365 SW 3d 314 (Tex. 2012).

The Court also cited the following definition of jurat: “A jurat is a certification by an authorized officer, stating that the writing was sworn to before the officer. Perkins v. Crittenden, 462 S.W.2d 565, 568 (Tex. 1970)”.

What is the purpose of a jurat in an affidavit?

There are two important reasons for including this information in the jurat.

First, a reader of the affidavit can see from document whether the witness is qualified to administer the oath or affirmation.

Both the witness’s qualification and the place that the affidavit was made are included in the jurat because the witness’s power to administer the oath or affirmation may – and often will -have geographical limits.

At common law, an “affidavit” that is purportedly sworn or affirmed at a place before a witness who does not have the power to administer an oath or take an affirmation at that place will be invalid.

Secondly, the jurat enables a reader of the affidavit to contact the witness to ensure that, in fact, the affidavit was genuinely made.

Where there is doubt about this issue, a party to court proceedings can cross examine the witness as to whether, and the circumstances in which, an oath or affirmation was made and the affidavit was executed.

Similarly, the person making the affidavit can call the witness to give evidence that that affidavit was in fact validly made in circumstances where the jurat has been incompletely or defectively filled out.

Does the date always have to be included in the jurat for an affidavit?

An affidavit must always include the date on which it is sworn or affirmed. Often the date is included in both the jurat and at the beginning of the affidavit.

However the forms of affidavit used in some jurisdictions may include this information in only one of those places. This means you may see affidavits which don’t contain a date in the jurat because the date is instead elsewhere in the affidavit.

This is acceptable because it complies with the requirement that the affidavit be dated.

Always use the form of jurat that is prescribed in your jurisdiction if there is one.

Can the jurat appear on a page by itself?

In some jurisdictions there is a convention that the jurat of an affidavit should not appear on a page by itself.

This is a measure to ensure the integrity of the affidavit (ie to prevent the jurat being executed and then affixed to pages which had not been finalised when the jurat was signed).

If there is no room for the jurat at the bottom of the final page of an affidavit, the answer is simply to insert a page break before the final paragraph of text. Then the jurat and the final paragraph will appear together on the last page.

Signing on the bottom of the page that the jurat is on

When executing an affidavit, both the person making the affidavit and the witness ordinarily sign their full signatures on the bottom of each page to ensure the integrity of the affidavit.

However it is not necessary for them to do so on the last page of the affidavit. Instead they should sign in the jurat on that page.