Rule 2106 of New York’s Civil Practice Law and Rules lets any person submit a signed affirmation, under penalty of perjury, in place of a notarized affidavit in a New York civil case. Since January 1, 2024, this option is open to everyone, not just attorneys and a few licensed professionals. As long as the document uses the statutory language and is signed and dated, it carries the same force and effect as a traditional sworn affidavit.1New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules Law R2106 – Affirmation of Truth of Statement
Who Can Sign an Affirmation Now
Before the 2024 amendment, CPLR 2106 was narrow. Only attorneys who were not parties, New York-authorized physicians, osteopaths, and dentists could sign affirmations, with a 2014 change adding people located outside the United States. Everyone else needed a notary.
The current statute reads that “any person wherever made” can subscribe and affirm a written statement under the penalties of perjury.1New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules Law R2106 – Affirmation of Truth of Statement Profession and location no longer matter. For self-represented litigants and ordinary witnesses, that removes the old scramble to find a notary during business hours just to get a statement in front of a judge.
What an Affirmation Can Replace
The statute lists the sworn documents an affirmation can stand in for in a New York civil action:1New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules Law R2106 – Affirmation of Truth of Statement
- Affidavits filed in a civil action.
- Verifications of pleadings, including complaints and answers.
- Responses to notices to admit.
- Answers to interrogatories.
- Bills of particulars.
- Certificates and any other sworn statement.
That last category is a catch-all, and together the list covers most of the sworn paperwork you would ever file in a New York civil case. Some of these uses were ambiguous under earlier versions of the rule. They are not ambiguous now.
Where an Affirmation Will Not Work
CPLR 2106 carves out three situations where an affirmation cannot substitute for a sworn statement:
- Depositions. Testimony taken under oath during discovery still requires formal administration of the oath.
- Oaths of office. Swearing in for a government position follows its own procedures.
- Oaths required before a specified official other than a notary. If a statute directs that a particular oath be taken before a judge, clerk, or other designated officer, an affirmation under CPLR 2106 does not satisfy that requirement.1New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules Law R2106 – Affirmation of Truth of Statement
There is also a specific carve-out for matrimonial agreements. Nothing in CPLR 2106 eliminates any Domestic Relations Law requirement that matrimonial agreements be acknowledged in the form required for a deed.1New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules Law R2106 – Affirmation of Truth of Statement Prenuptial and postnuptial agreements still need the traditional notarized acknowledgment. Skip that step and rely on an affirmation alone, and the agreement may not hold up.
One more limit: the rule applies only to civil actions. Criminal proceedings fall under the Criminal Procedure Law and have their own verification requirements. Using a CPLR 2106 affirmation in a criminal case where an affidavit is required could get the document rejected.
The Required Language
CPLR 2106 prescribes a specific form. The statute says the affirmation must be in “substantially” the following form, which allows some flexibility in wording but not in substance:1New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules Law R2106 – Affirmation of Truth of Statement
I affirm this ___ day of ______, ____, under the penalties of perjury under the laws of New York, which may include a fine or imprisonment, that the foregoing is true, except as to matters alleged on information and belief and as to those matters I believe it to be true, and I understand that this document may be filed in an action or proceeding in a court of law.
Several pieces of that form do real work. The date anchors when the statement was made and needs to be filled in. The reference to “penalties of perjury under the laws of New York, which may include a fine or imprisonment” is what gives the document its legal weight; courts have rejected affirmations that omit or substantially alter that warning. The “information and belief” clause lets you distinguish between facts you know firsthand and facts you believe to be true based on what others have told you or on documents you have reviewed, the same distinction that applies in notarized affidavits.
Cutting the date, the perjury warning referencing New York law, the acknowledgment of a potential fine or imprisonment, or the signature is not a “substantial compliance” question. It is a deficiency that can sink the filing.
What a False Affirmation Costs
The perjury warning is not decorative. Under New York Penal Law, a false sworn statement that is material to the proceeding can be charged as perjury in the first degree, a class D felony carrying a potential prison sentence of up to seven years.2New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 210.15 – Perjury in the First Degree3New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 70.00 – Sentence of Imprisonment for Felony
Perjury in the second degree covers false statements in a subscribed written instrument, which includes an affirmation, where the statement is material and made with intent to mislead a public servant. That charge is a class E felony.4New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 210.10 – Perjury in the Second Degree A false affirmation is felony-level conduct, and the form itself puts the signer on notice.
CPLR 2106 vs. Federal Declarations
The 2024 expansion moved New York closer to what federal courts have allowed since 1976. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1746, any person can submit an unsworn declaration in place of a notarized affidavit in federal proceedings, provided the declaration includes a statement under penalty of perjury and is dated and signed. The federal statute does not limit this by profession or location.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1746 – Unsworn Declarations Under Penalty of Perjury
The wording is different, though. The federal form for declarations made within the United States reads: “I declare (or certify, verify, or state) under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on (date). (Signature).”5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1746 – Unsworn Declarations Under Penalty of Perjury The New York form specifically references “the laws of New York,” warns of fines or imprisonment, and includes the information-and-belief language. Use the federal form in federal court and the CPLR 2106 form in New York state court. If a case runs in federal court sitting in New York on diversity jurisdiction, sworn statements still follow 28 U.S.C. § 1746, because that is the federal procedural rule. CPLR 2106 governs only in New York state courts.
Signing and Filing
The mechanics are simple. Draft your statement, add the statutory affirmation language at the end, fill in the date, and sign. No notary. No witness. Your signature subjects everything above it to the penalties of perjury.
Whether an ink signature or an electronic signature is used depends on the court and the filing method. Most New York courts participate in the New York State Courts Electronic Filing system (NYSCEF); in courts where NYSCEF is mandatory, you upload the signed affirmation as a PDF and the system timestamps it as filed. In courts that still accept paper, you can deliver the document to the clerk’s office or send it by mail.
Keep a copy of the filed affirmation with proof of filing, whether that is the NYSCEF confirmation receipt or a date-stamped paper copy. If a question ever comes up about whether the document was properly submitted, that proof is what settles it.