A New York affidavit template has three working parts: a caption identifying the court and case, a body of numbered factual paragraphs written in the first person, and a signature block that is either sworn before a notary or, in most court filings, closed with an unsworn affirmation under CPLR 2106. Since January 2024, that affirmation option means most litigants can skip the notary entirely and still produce a document with full legal force.
Decide First Whether You Need a Notary at All
Before drafting anything, check whether your filing accepts an affirmation. Under CPLR 2106, any person may submit a written affirmation in place of a notarized affidavit, and it carries the same weight. This covers nearly every situation where a sworn statement is required in litigation: verifying a pleading, supporting or opposing a motion, responding to interrogatories, answering a notice to admit, and submitting a bill of particulars.1New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules Law R2106 – Affirmation of Truth of Statement
The statute carves out a few exceptions. Depositions, oaths of office, and oaths that must be taken before a specific person other than a notary still require the traditional sworn format. Matrimonial agreements must be acknowledged in the form used for recording a deed under the Domestic Relations Law.1New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules Law R2106 – Affirmation of Truth of Statement Non-court agencies that demand notarization by their own rules also fall outside CPLR 2106.
Everything else about the template is the same whether you use a jurat or an affirmation. Only the closing block changes.
Caption and Page Format
Every paper filed in a New York court opens with a caption identifying the court name, the venue (county), the case title with all parties named, the nature of the document, and the index number if one has been assigned.2New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules 2101 – Form of Papers
A working layout puts the venue block at the top left (“State of New York, County of [Name]”), the case caption below it with the parties listed (plaintiff against defendant, or petitioner against respondent), and the index number with a document label to the right of the caption. The label is descriptive: “Affidavit in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment,” “Affirmation in Opposition,” and so on. The clerk uses this header to route your document into the correct case folder, so precision matters.
CPLR 2101 also sets the physical rules. The paper must be durable and white, sized 11 by 8½ inches. Text must be legible, printed in black ink, and set in at least 10-point type (12-point for a summons). The document must be written in plain English.2New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules 2101 – Form of Papers Leave margins wide enough for court stamps. The Unified Court System publishes fillable forms and interactive programs for many case types, and starting from those is usually faster than building a document from scratch.3New York Courts. Forms
The Body: Introduction and Numbered Facts
After the caption, an opening paragraph identifies the affiant. Give your full legal name and residential address, and state your connection to the case: party, witness, or someone with specialized knowledge of the matter.
The substantive facts then follow in numbered paragraphs, one point per paragraph. Numbering is not decorative. It lets the judge, opposing counsel, and the affiant during any later examination point to a specific statement without confusion. Write in the first person throughout: “I saw,” “I received,” “I spoke with.”
Facts must come from personal knowledge or direct observation. If you include something you did not witness firsthand, flag it as made on “information and belief” and identify the source. Courts scrutinize hearsay in affidavits the same way they scrutinize it in live testimony, and vague sourcing invites challenge. On a summary judgment motion the bar is higher still: the affidavit must come from someone with knowledge of the facts and must lay out every material fact showing there is no genuine dispute.
Keep the language concrete. “The collision happened in the parking lot at 450 Main Street” reads better than “the incident occurred in the vicinity of the premises,” and it survives cross-examination better too.
The Closing Block: Affirmation Language or Notary Jurat
An affirmation under CPLR 2106 closes with a statement in substantially this form: “I affirm this [date] 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.” The signer signs directly below. There is no notary, no stamp, and the statute allows the affirmation to be made by any person wherever made.1New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules Law R2106 – Affirmation of Truth of Statement
A traditional affidavit closes with a jurat completed by a notary public or another officer authorized to administer oaths. The affiant appears before that officer, presents valid identification, takes a verbal oath that the written statement is true, and only then signs. The notary then dates and signs the jurat and applies an official stamp or seal.4New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules Law 2309 – Oaths and Affirmations Missing any step can render the affidavit a nullity, meaning the court treats it as if it were never filed.
Identification the Notary Will Accept
New York regulations set out what proves identity to a notary. The primary option is a current, valid government-issued photo ID showing your physical description and bearing your signature, such as a driver’s license or passport. If you don’t have one, the notary may accept at least two current documents from an institution, business, or government agency, each bearing your signature.5Legal Information Institute. 19 NYCRR 182.5 – Satisfactory Evidence of Identity
Notary Fees
Statutory notary fees are capped. Administering an oath or affirmation costs a maximum of $2. Taking and certifying an acknowledgment is $2 per person, and swearing each witness is another $2.6New York State Senate. New York Executive Law 136 – Notarial Fees Banks, shipping stores, and law offices sometimes add their own convenience charges on top, so ask about total cost before you sit down.
Remote Notarization
Executive Law 135-c authorizes notaries to notarize documents by live audio-video communication. The notary must be physically located in New York during the session, but the signer can be anywhere. The video must be live and secured against interception, and the notary verifies identity through at least two different authentication methods. A session conducted this way satisfies any New York law requiring the signer to appear personally before or be in the presence of a notary, and the notary must retain the audio-video recording for at least ten years. No notary is obligated to offer remote services.7New York State Senate. New York Executive Law 135-C – Electronic Notarization
Redact Confidential Information Before Filing
Uniform Rule 202.5(e) requires you to omit or redact certain personal information from anything you file with the court:
- Social Security and tax identification numbers, except for the last four digits.
- Full dates of birth; include only the year.
- Names of minor children; use initials only.
- Financial account numbers, except for the last four digits or letters.
Matrimonial actions, surrogate’s court proceedings, and mental hygiene proceedings under Article 81 are exempt.8New York State Unified Court System. Omission or Redaction of Confidential Personal Information If the unredacted information is essential, you can ask the court’s permission to file it separately in a confidential affidavit and submit a redacted version in the main filing.
Signing from Outside New York
CPLR 2309(c) treats an oath taken in another state as if it were taken in New York, provided the affidavit carries the same certifications that would be needed to record a deed acknowledged out of state.4New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules Law 2309 – Oaths and Affirmations Historically that meant attaching a certificate of conformity confirming the out-of-state notary’s authority.
For most filings, using a CPLR 2106 affirmation is the simpler route. The affirmation requires no notary at all, so it doesn’t matter where you sign it, and no certificate of conformity is needed.1New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules Law R2106 – Affirmation of Truth of Statement
Affidavits of Service Still Need a Notary
One common affidavit type doesn’t get the CPLR 2106 shortcut in the same way in practice: the affidavit of service, which proves that legal papers were properly delivered to the opposing party. The person who served the papers (not a party) is the affiant, and the document is traditionally sworn to before a notary. It must include the date, place, and time of service and identifying details about the person served. If service happened through a substitute or by “nail and mail,” the affidavit must describe every prior attempt at personal delivery.9New York State Unified Court System. How to Serve Papers When Commencing an Action or Proceeding
What Happens If the Statements Are False
Signing an affidavit or affirmation puts the signer under the perjury statutes. Perjury in the first degree, which requires that the false statement be material to the proceeding, is a class D felony.10New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 210.15 – Perjury in the First Degree Perjury in the second degree is a class E felony.11New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 210.10 – Perjury in the Second Degree On the civil side, a court that finds a false affidavit will typically strike it and may sanction the party who filed it. The affirmation’s closing language spells this out for a reason: the penalties for lying are identical whether the document was notarized or not.