Uniform Unsworn Declarations Act: Perjury Language and Filing

The Uniform Unsworn Declarations Act is a model state law that lets you make a legally binding written statement under penalty of perjury without going to a notary. Where a state has adopted it, a properly formatted declaration carries the same weight in state court and administrative proceedings as a sworn, notarized affidavit, and a false statement exposes you to the same perjury penalties as lying under oath. A parallel federal statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1746, has done the same work in federal proceedings since 1976.¹

Federal Statute or State Act: Which One Applies

Two separate frameworks govern unsworn declarations, and the one you use depends on where you are filing.

For any federal court or federal agency proceeding, 28 U.S.C. § 1746 controls regardless of which state you live in. It lets you substitute an unsworn declaration for any sworn statement required under federal law, with narrow exceptions discussed below.¹

For state court and state administrative proceedings, the Uniform Unsworn Declarations Act applies if your state has adopted it. The Uniform Law Commission published the current version in 2016, consolidating an earlier act that only covered declarations made abroad.² Not every state has enacted it, and adopting states can add their own exclusions. Check your state’s version before relying on a declaration in a state filing.

The practical effect of either law is the same. A court or agency reviewing your declaration treats it as though you raised your right hand before a notary and swore to every statement. The document carries full evidentiary weight, and you carry full perjury liability for anything false in it.

What a Valid Declaration Must Contain

A missing element can get a declaration thrown out. Every valid unsworn declaration includes:

Your full legal name, as it would appear on government-issued identification.
The date you signed.
Your location at signing. The state UUDA requires city, state or province, and country. The federal statute does not explicitly require a location, but including one is standard practice.
The required perjury statement in the exact form the governing statute prescribes.
Your signature, handwritten or electronic, placed immediately after the perjury statement.

The perjury statement has to appear after all your factual assertions so that it covers everything above it. If you put it in the middle of the document, anything below it is arguably not made under penalty of perjury.

Getting the Perjury Language Right

The exact wording of the perjury statement is the single most common point of failure. Federal and state proceedings require different phrasing, and courts do reject declarations that use the wrong version.

Federal Declarations Signed in the United States

Section 1746 requires language in substantially this form: “I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on [date].”¹

Federal Declarations Signed Outside the United States

The overseas version adds a jurisdictional reference: “I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on [date].” Dropping the “under the laws of the United States of America” phrase on an overseas declaration is a common mistake that can render the document defective.¹

State Declarations Under the UUDA

The model state language names the enacting state: “I declare under penalty of perjury under the law of [State] that the foregoing is true and correct.” Each adopting state substitutes its own name into the bracket. For a state court filing, use the version your state’s statute prescribes rather than the federal wording.

Documents a Declaration Cannot Replace

Unsworn declarations do not work for everything. Section 1746 carves out three categories:

Depositions, which require an officer to administer the oath during live testimony.
Oaths of office for public officials entering service.
Oaths that must be taken before a specific official other than a notary, such as a judge or clerk, where the governing statute names the official.¹

State versions of the UUDA often add exclusions. Common additions include real estate instruments that get recorded in public land records (deeds and mortgages), self-proving wills and codicils, and powers of attorney. These vary by state, so check your state’s statute before assuming a declaration will satisfy a particular requirement. Using one for an excluded document can get the document rejected or declared void.

Signing, Filing, and Keeping the Original

The declaration becomes legally binding when you sign it. Handwritten and electronic signatures are both accepted under the UUDA, provided the electronic signature complies with your state’s version of the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act or the federal E-SIGN Act. Typing your name into a signature field, signing with a stylus on a tablet, or applying a digital certificate all qualify, as long as you intend the action as your signature.

After signing, you typically attach the declaration as an exhibit to a motion, application, or other filing. For an electronic court filing, you upload a scanned copy of the signed document. In administrative settings, you may mail or hand-deliver it to the agency. Either way, the goal is getting the declaration into the official record for the decision-maker to review.

Keep the original. Many federal courts require you to retain the wet-ink document for years after a case concludes, with some specifying five years from discharge, dismissal, or final resolution of all appeals. Keeping only the signature page is not enough; you need the entire document with the original signature. If authenticity comes up years later, the original is your only defense.

Correcting a Declaration After Filing

If you discover an error in a declaration already on file, you do not cross out the mistake and initial it. You file a new declaration covering the corrected content, with all the same elements as the original: name, date, location, the proper perjury language, and signature. The replacement should identify clearly which portions of the earlier filing it amends. In bankruptcy, for example, Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 1008 requires every amended schedule to be accompanied by a fresh unsworn declaration or verification.

Filing an amendment does not erase the original. Both documents stay in the record. If the original contained a materially false statement, the amendment does not necessarily shield you from perjury liability for the earlier filing, especially if the falsehood was intentional.

Perjury Penalties for a False Declaration

A false unsworn declaration carries the same consequences as lying under oath. Under federal law, perjury is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.³ The maximum fine for an individual convicted of a federal felony is $250,000.⁴ State perjury penalties vary but most states treat perjury as a felony carrying multiple years of imprisonment.

The threshold for prosecution is that you “willfully” stated something “material” you did not believe to be true. An honest mistake about a date or a minor detail is not perjury. Deliberately fabricating evidence or lying about a fact that matters to the outcome is. The penalties apply identically whether the false statement appeared in a notarized affidavit or an unsworn declaration. That is the trade the act asks you to accept: the convenience of skipping the notary in exchange for the full weight of perjury law.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1746 – Unsworn Declarations Under Penalty of Perjury
2
Uniform Law Commission. Unsworn Declarations Act
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1621 – Perjury Generally
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3571 – Sentence of Fine