An Affidavit is a formal statement made under oath. A statement made in an Affidavit must be true, based on the person creating the document’s knowledge and belief. To be valid, an Affidavit must be witnessed and signed by a person who can administer oaths, such as a Commissioner for Oaths or Notary Public.

A Statutory Declaration is a formal statement that a person declares is true to the best of their knowledge and belief. To be valid, a Statutory Declaration must be witnessed and signed by a person who can administer an affirmation, such as a Commissioner for Oaths or Notary Public.

Both an Affidavit and Statutory Declaration are used to provide true statements to support a claim made in a document, in court, to an institution, etc. For example, you may need it to verify your identity for an institution, like a bank, or describe the events that led to a motor vehicle accident for a court matter.

The main difference between these documents is that an Affidavit is typically used in court and a Statutory Declaration is not. A Statutory Declaration is common in forms, like a Canadian immigration form, and often used to validate information like your identity, address, marital status, and more.

If you are unsure about whether you should use an Affidavit or Statutory Declaration, use an Affidavit.

An Affidavit or Statutory Declaration is typically created by an affiant or declarant (both sometimes called a deponent), depending on the document:

• Affiant is generally used to describe the person who created an Affidavit
• Declarant is generally used to describe the person who created a Statutory Declaration

An Affidavit or Statutory Declaration may also mention a Commissioner for Oaths or Notary Public, which is a person who has been appointed by a province or territory to administer oaths and affirmations, certify legal documents, and more.

If your document (typically an Affidavit) is being used in court, it may also list a plaintiff and defendant. Depending on your situation and what information needs to be provided to the court by way of Affidavit, the affiant may be the plaintiff, defendant, or an outside party who is helping the plaintiff or defendant with their court claim.

Typically, an Affidavit or Statutory Declaration will include:

• The jurisdiction (i.e. the province or territory) the document will be used in
• Details about the person making the statement
• A statement of facts written in chronological order
• Information about the court (such as location and case number) the document will be used in, if it is being used in court (generally an Affidavit will be used for court matters as opposed to a Statutory Declaration)
• Information about the individuals or entities (like an organization or a corporation) who are parties to a court case, if the document is being used in court
• Signatures from the person who created the document (the affiant or declarant) and the person responsible for administering the oath or affirmation (a Notary Public, Commissioner for Oaths, etc.)
• The date the document was signed as well as the location it was signed in

Affidavits and statutory declarations are commonly used in situations when an individual needs to verify or present information that they know to be true based on the best of their knowledge and belief.

For instance, these documents are sometimes used when:

• Someone needs to verify information to be true (like their identity, address, or marital status)
• Someone needs to present evidence for a court case (like describing the events leading up to a separation)
• Someone needs to record information for an institution (like making a proper financial record for a business to provide to a bank)

Two parties sign an Affidavit or Statutory Declaration:

• An affiant or declarant (i.e. the person who created the document). This person must be a legal adult (meaning they are above the age of majority in the jurisdiction they live in) and of sound mind (meaning they are mentally capable of making their own decisions and signing a legal document for themselves).
• A Commissioner for Oaths or Notary Public. This person should be able to legitimately administer an Affidavit or Statutory Declaration. For a Commissioner for Oaths and some Notary Publics, this means their appointment is valid and not expired. Depending on where you’d like your document to be used (for instance, in a province or territory outside of where the document was signed), you may need a Notary Public to witness and sign as opposed to a Commissioner for Oaths.

The terms oath and affirmation are sometimes used interchangeably to describe a formal promise that confirms information to be true. The main difference is that generally an oath applies to an Affidavit and an affirmation applies to a Statutory Declaration.

Lying under oath or affirmation leads to the same consequence: perjury. This is a criminal offence that involves consciously making untrue statements under oath or affirmation and can result in fines or jail time.