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hey there everyone welcome again to the legal seagull this is near learner editor-in-chief and I'm gonna be discussing today in this brief episode the difference between an affidavit and a declaration the terms are used interchangeably but there really is a minor difference between the two and I figured I'd share that with you today this could be a really nice sweet morsel of legal trivia to share at your next networking event or cocktail party this is the kind of stuff that'll make you the life of the party also if you're on a date and you're really looking to impress someone special just pull out this sweet little tidbit and share it with them and I guarantee you a life of happiness together I'm kidding of course I really wouldn't try it's not that interesting what is an affidavit ing to Black's Law Dictionary an affidavit is a voluntary declaration of facts written down and sworn to by the deck Laurent usually before an officer authorized to administer oaths such as a notary public now also in addition to notary publics in some states you have commissioners justices of the peace and in some states as well an attorney can act as a notary although here in California where I practice you don't automatically become a notary just by virtue of being a lawyer they still make you take the test so that kind of sucks another bit of vocabulary here is that a person who signs an affidavit is an affiant not an affidavit er that means nothing what is a declaration likewise just to keep things consistently I'm gonna use the definition contained in Black's Law Dictionary for declaration it's defined as a formal statement Proclamation or announcement especially one embodied in an instrument a person who makes a declaration is called a deck Laurent so if you make an affidavit you're an affiant if you make a declaration you're a Declan what are the similarities between FA davitz and declarations well as you heard from the definitions they're pretty similar you're making both under oath so there is a penalty of perjury that's applicable if you don't tell the truth so you have to tell the truth whether it's called an affidavit or a declaration the second is that both an affidavit and a declaration typically start when the affiant or the declar and make some statement in the beginning of the document as to who they are what their basis is of the knowledge they're about to make a declaration on or or or an affidavit and some sort of basis for what it is they're saying so for example let's say we had the accountant of the legal Siegel making some declaration for some reason he or she may start by saying I am a licensed CPA I have been an accountant for 20 years and for the last 10 years I've been the accountant for the legal Segal and I'm familiar with documents and with the completion of those and identifying signatures and based on that I declare that this and this and this because you want to have some sort of understanding of who the person is if someone is declaring something under oath there needs to be a factual basis both declarations and affidavits are at least supposed to be made with someone with knowledge of the facts contained in them although unfortunately sometimes attorneys try to get away with putting in declarations or affidavits of people who don't have first-hand knowledge but that's a different topic and like I said earlier these are often used whether it's a declaration or an affidavit in legal proceedings such as court proceedings and every courts different some courts require affidavits some courts require declarations some will permit either so you need to check to make sure but in essence these are the similarities what is the difference between affidavits and declarations well you may have guessed it or you may have heard it earlier in the definitions but it wasn't necessarily obvious unless you were paying a lot of attention and if you were good for you the main difference is that an affidavit on like a declaration is made before a notary public or before a commissioner of the court or someone who is authorized to administer an oath why do they do that I'm not entirely sure some people feel that you're less likely to tell a lie or lie in a document if you have to sign it in the presence of someone else like a notary public or a judge maybe that makes it a bit more official and so people are more likely to tell the truth I don't know if it's necessarily true in my years of practice I've seen people lie in all kinds of circumstances whether it's declarations or affidavits or court testimony so my personal leaf is if you're gonna lie if you're gonna violate your oath to the court then you're gonna do it regardless but that that is technically the main difference that an affidavit you have to go before a notary public or someone else and sign it a declaration on the other hand is not signed before someone else the deck Lawrence signs it but typically states will require or federal court as well or require some sort of language to the effect that it's under penalty of perjury so there it is now you know something that very few people know and you are going to be the life of the party go out there be amazing for more information for pro se and pro per parties and for attorneys on how to be your best advocate in court for free resources articles and videos check out the legal Siegel calm and follow us on Facebook Twitter Instagram also subscribe to the youtube channel by pressing the little red subscribe button on youtube videos when you're on the road and looking for something to listen to check out the legal Seagal podcast available on iTunes stitcher and everywhere else that podcasts are available until next time stay legal