A Florida affidavit form is a written statement of facts, signed under oath before a notary, that carries the same legal weight as live testimony. To use one correctly, you draft numbered factual paragraphs based on your own knowledge, sign in front of a Florida notary public, and then file the document wherever it’s needed. Florida also gives you a way to skip the notary in most situations, which is covered below.
What a Florida Affidavit Must Contain
Every affidavit, whether you pull a court-approved form off the Florida Courts website or draft your own, needs the same structural pieces.1Florida State Courts System. Family Law Forms
Start with the heading. A standard affidavit opens with “State of Florida, County of ___” to establish jurisdiction.215th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida. General Affidavit Form If the affidavit ties to a pending case, include the case number, the parties’ names, and the court division right below.
Then identify yourself. Write your full legal name and state that you are the affiant, meaning the person making the sworn statement.
Leave room at the bottom for two signature blocks: yours and the notary’s. The notary section, called a jurat, needs space for the venue, the date, the notary’s signature and printed name, and the notary’s official seal, which must include the notary’s commission number and expiration date.3Florida Senate. Florida Code Title X Chapter 117 Part I Section 117-05 – Use of Notary Commission
Writing the Body
Write in first person and break your statement into numbered paragraphs, one distinct point per paragraph. “I personally observed…” or “I have personal knowledge that…” are the standard openings.
Stick to facts you witnessed or know firsthand. This is where most people go wrong. Speculation, opinions, rumors, and conclusions about what the law means don’t belong in an affidavit. Writing “my neighbor told me the fence was moved” is hearsay. Writing “I saw the fence in a different position on March 15” is personal knowledge. Courts routinely strike paragraphs that stray into secondhand information or legal argument, so a bloated affidavit can end up doing less work than a short, tight one.
Getting the Affidavit Notarized
The affidavit has no legal force until you sign it in front of an authorized official who administers an oath. In Florida, that’s typically a notary public, though deputy clerks of court and certain judges can also administer oaths.
What to Bring
Do not sign in advance. The notary has to watch you sign. Bring a current government-issued photo ID. Florida law accepts any of the following if the document is current or was issued within the past five years and has a serial or identifying number:
- Florida driver’s license or ID card
- U.S. passport
- Foreign passport stamped by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
- Out-of-state driver’s license or ID card from another U.S. state, territory, Canada, or Mexico
- U.S. military ID from any branch of the armed forces
- Veterans health ID card issued by the VA
If the notary personally knows you, no ID is technically required, though most will ask anyway.3Florida Senate. Florida Code Title X Chapter 117 Part I Section 117-05 – Use of Notary Commission
What Happens at the Appointment
The notary will ask you to swear or affirm that the contents are true. You can pick either an oath, which invokes a higher authority, or an affirmation, which does not. Both carry identical legal weight. After you swear and sign, the notary fills in the jurat, notes how your identity was verified, signs, prints their name, and applies the seal.3Florida Senate. Florida Code Title X Chapter 117 Part I Section 117-05 – Use of Notary Commission
Fees and Remote Notarization
Florida caps in-person notary fees at $10 per notarial act and online notary fees at $25 per act.4Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes Title X Chapter 117 – Notaries Public Banks and some UPS locations charge less or waive the fee for customers.
Remote online notarization is available if you can’t get to a notary in person. The notary has to be physically in Florida, but you can be anywhere. The session runs over live audio-video, your identity is checked through a combination of ID presented on camera, credential analysis software, and knowledge-based authentication questions drawn from public records, and the whole session is recorded.5Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 117.265 – Online Notarization Procedures
Skipping the Notary With an Unsworn Declaration
Florida Statutes section 92.525 lets you verify most documents without a notary. Wherever a law, court rule, or agency rule requires a verified document, you can substitute a signed written declaration for a notarized oath. This covers affidavits, pleadings, applications, and most other documents that would otherwise need notarization.6Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 92.525 – Verification of Documents; Perjury by False Written Declaration, Penalty
To use it, print or type this statement at the end of the document, immediately above your signature:
“Under penalties of perjury, I declare that I have read the foregoing [name of document] and that the facts stated in it are true.”
Sign and date. No notary, no seal, no witness. The declaration has the same legal effect as a notarized affidavit, and lying in it is the same third-degree felony as perjury.6Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 92.525 – Verification of Documents; Perjury by False Written Declaration, Penalty
One caveat. Some court-approved forms, especially in family law, have a built-in notary block, and a judge may expect them notarized. If you’re using a standard court form, check whether the form itself requires a notary before substituting the declaration. For self-drafted affidavits and most agency submissions, the declaration works.
When You Need a Specific Court Form
A general affidavit works for many situations, but Florida requires specific forms in others.
Financial Affidavit
Any family law case involving money, meaning divorce, child support, alimony, or a modification of support, requires a Financial Affidavit. Florida uses two versions. If your gross annual income is under $50,000, you file the short form, Form 12.902(b).7Florida State Courts System. Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure Form 12.902(b) – Family Law Financial Affidavit (Short Form) If your gross income is $50,000 or more, you file the long form, Form 12.902(c).8Florida State Courts System. Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure Form 12.902(c) – Family Law Financial Affidavit (Long Form) Both require detailed disclosure of income, expenses, assets, and debts.
Affidavit of Diligent Search and Inquiry
When you need to serve someone but can’t locate them, the court won’t allow service by publication until you document what you did to find them. Form 12.913(b) sets out the required inquiries.9Florida State Courts System. Florida Family Law Form 12.913(b) – Affidavit of Diligent Search and Inquiry A halfhearted checklist won’t satisfy the court.
General Affidavit
For everything else, confirming a name change, verifying residency, supporting a motion, or providing a sworn statement to an agency, a general affidavit works. Several Florida circuit courts publish blank templates online.215th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida. General Affidavit Form
Filing the Finished Affidavit
Where the document goes depends on why you made it. If it supports a court case, file it with the Clerk of the Court in the county where the case is pending.10Florida Courts Help. Filing Your Forms If it’s for a government agency, title company, or private entity, submit it directly to whoever asked for it.
Self-represented filers can use the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal but aren’t required to. Paper filing in person or by mail still works. E-filing gives you an instant timestamped confirmation, which matters if a deadline is close.
If you file in person or by mail, ask the clerk for a file-stamped copy and keep it. That’s your proof of the filing date if timeliness ever becomes an issue.
Penalties for a False Affidavit
Florida treats false affidavits as crimes at every level. A false statement under oath in an official proceeding is perjury, a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison.11Florida Senate. Florida Code Title XLVI Chapter 837 Section 837-02 – Perjury in Official Proceedings The statute makes clear that the prosecution does not have to prove your false statement was material, and your belief that the lie didn’t matter is not a defense.
If the affidavit went to a government agency instead of a court, a separate statute applies. Knowingly making a false written statement to mislead a public official is a second-degree misdemeanor, carrying up to 60 days in jail.12Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 837.06 – False Official Statements A false unsworn declaration under section 92.525 is treated the same as perjury, meaning a third-degree felony.6Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 92.525 – Verification of Documents; Perjury by False Written Declaration, Penalty Whether the document is notarized, declared under penalty of perjury, or sent to an agency, Florida treats dishonesty in it as a crime.