An affidavit of identity is a sworn statement, signed in front of a notary public, that confirms you are the specific person named in some other record. To complete and submit one, you gather your legal details, fill in every field to match your government-issued ID exactly, sign the document in front of a notary who administers an oath, and deliver the notarized original to whoever asked for it — a court, a title company, a bank, or a government agency.
When You’re Asked to Sign One
Most people encounter this form during a real estate closing, a probate matter, or a banking transaction where something about their identity needs extra proof beyond a driver’s license. A title company may want sworn confirmation that “Robert J. Smith” on an old deed and “Bob Smith” on the current ID are the same person. A probate court may ask an heir to confirm they are the “Jane Doe” named in a will. A bank may request one when you report a lost check, close a dormant account, or claim funds under a name that doesn’t match their records. Victims of identity theft sometimes sign one to reclaim accounts, and certain agencies require one when replacing a lost identification document.
The common thread is that a photo ID proves you are you, but it does not prove you are the specific person named in some other document. The affidavit bridges that gap under oath.
Information to Gather Before You Start
Forms vary in layout, but nearly all of them ask for the same core details. Pull these together before you sit down with the form:
- Your full legal name, exactly as it appears on your current government-issued ID. If you’re using the affidavit to reconcile different name variations across records, list every version.
- Date of birth.
- Social Security Number. Some forms accept an ITIN if you don’t have an SSN, but an ITIN is designed for federal tax purposes and may not satisfy every requester. Confirm beforehand.
- Current residential street address. Most forms will not accept a P.O. Box.
- A short statement of purpose explaining why you’re filing — for example, “to confirm I am the same person named as grantee on the deed recorded at Book 412, Page 37.”
Before writing anything down, compare each detail against your government-issued photo ID. A mismatch between the form and the ID is the fastest way to get a document rejected. If your name on the affidavit differs from the name on your ID by even a letter or a missing middle initial, you’ll need linking documentation — a marriage certificate, divorce decree, or court order showing the name change.1General Services Administration. Bring Required Documents
Blank forms are usually available directly from the entity requesting the affidavit: a court clerk, a title company, a bank, or a state agency website. Generic versions are available from online legal document services, but confirm with the requesting party that a generic form is acceptable. Some institutions require their own proprietary version.
If Your Name Appears Differently in Different Records
One of the most common reasons for signing this document is to prove that two or more name variations in official records all belong to the same person. Title companies call this a “one and the same” affidavit. You swear under oath that “Maria L. Garcia” on your birth certificate, “Maria Lopez-Garcia” on your marriage certificate, and “Maria Garcia-Lopez” on your driver’s license are all you.
List every name variation on the affidavit and identify which document each one comes from. Attach copies of the supporting records — birth certificate, marriage license, divorce decree, passport, or court order — so the receiving party can trace the chain. When a name change happened through a court order, the order itself is often sufficient and you may not need the affidavit at all. For informal name changes without a court order, the U.S. Department of State sets a stricter standard, requiring original or certified copies of at least three public documents showing use of the new name for five or more years, or two third-party affidavits in place of one of those documents.2U.S. Department of State. Affidavit Regarding a Change of Name
Getting It Notarized
The form is not a valid legal document until a notary witnesses your signature and administers an oath. Two details here matter more than people expect.
Ask for a Jurat, Not an Acknowledgment
Notaries perform two main types of acts. For an affidavit, you need a jurat. During a jurat, the notary administers a verbal oath, you swear out loud that the contents of the document are true, and you sign in front of the notary. The notary then completes a jurat certificate — look for the words “subscribed and sworn to before me” — and applies the official seal.
An acknowledgment is different. In an acknowledgment, you simply confirm that you signed the document voluntarily, and the signing can happen before you reach the notary. There’s no oath, and there’s no sworn attestation to the truth of the contents. If a notary offers you an acknowledgment certificate for an affidavit, ask for a jurat instead. Using the wrong certificate can invalidate the document.
What to Bring
The notary has to verify your identity before they’ll notarize anything. Bring a current, unexpired, government-issued photo ID. These are universally accepted:
- State-issued driver’s license or ID card
- U.S. passport
- U.S. military ID
- Permanent resident card
Some states also allow foreign passports, Mexican or Canadian driver’s licenses, or corrections-issued inmate IDs. Call the notary ahead if you’re unsure whether your ID qualifies. A notary who can’t positively identify you will refuse to notarize, and you’ll have wasted a trip.
Notary fees for a jurat are set by state statute and generally run between $2 and $25 per signature. Many banks offer free notary services to their account holders.
Remote Online Notarization
If you can’t appear in person, most states now permit remote online notarization. The notarization happens over a live video call: you sign electronically, verify your identity through knowledge-based authentication questions and a digital ID check, and the notary applies an electronic seal. Confirm with the requesting party that they accept remotely notarized documents, because some courts and title companies still require ink signatures.
Protect Your Social Security Number
Because most identity affidavits include your full SSN, think about where the document ends up after you submit it. Court filings can become part of the public record.
Federal courts address this directly. Under Rule 5.2 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, any filing containing a Social Security number must include only the last four digits unless the court orders otherwise.3Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 5.2 – Privacy Protection for Filings Made With the Court The same rule applies to taxpayer identification numbers, birth dates (year only), and financial account numbers. Many state courts have adopted similar redaction requirements.
If the affidavit is going into a court file, ask the clerk whether you should redact your SSN to the last four digits on the public version. Some courts require both a redacted public version and an unredacted version filed under seal. For affidavits going to a bank or title company, the document typically stays in a private file and does not become a public record, but keep your own copy in a secure location either way.
Where to Submit It
Submission depends entirely on who asked for the affidavit. There is no single filing destination.
- For court filings, deliver the notarized original to the clerk of court. Some courts accept in-person delivery, mail, or electronic filing through a state e-filing system. Contact the clerk to confirm the accepted methods and any filing fee.
- For real estate transactions, the title company or closing attorney will tell you where to send the affidavit, and in many cases they collect it at the closing table. If the document needs to be recorded against the property title at the county recorder’s office, the title company usually handles that step and passes the recording fee along.
- For banks, some accept a scanned upload through a secure online portal; others require the original to be mailed or brought to a branch. Ask the representative who requested it.
- For government agencies, follow the submission instructions that came with the request. Many agencies issue a confirmation number or receipt once they log the document.
Keep at least one certified copy or high-quality photocopy of the signed, notarized affidavit for your records. If the original is lost in transit, having a copy saves you from starting the whole process over.
Fixing Mistakes
If you spot an error after the notary has completed the jurat, do not use correction fluid or tape. The proper way to fix a minor error in the notary’s certificate — such as a misspelled name in the jurat block — is to draw a single line through the incorrect text, write the correction nearby, and have the notary initial and date the change. If there isn’t room, the notary can attach a new certificate and cross out the original.
Errors in the body of the affidavit, the part you filled out, are a different matter. A notary cannot advise you on how to correct the substantive content. The cleanest fix is to complete a new affidavit from scratch and have it re-notarized. Some states, including California, do not permit corrections to a completed notarial act at all and require a fresh notarization with a new journal entry. Notary fees are modest, so re-executing is almost always faster and cheaper than patching a flawed document.
What Happens If You Get a Detail Wrong on Purpose
Because you sign this document under oath, lying on it is perjury. Under federal law, anyone who swears to a material fact they know to be false faces a fine, up to five years in prison, or both.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1621 – Perjury Generally State perjury statutes carry their own penalties, many of them equally severe. Beyond criminal exposure, a fraudulent affidavit can unravel the transaction it was meant to support, voiding a property transfer, triggering a lawsuit, or disqualifying an insurance claim.
Double-check every detail before you sign. If you’re uncertain about a fact — the exact recording number on a deed, for instance — look it up rather than guess. The notary verifies that you are the person signing and that you took the oath. The truthfulness of the content is entirely on you.