An affidavit is a common legal document used by people from family matters to applying for educational loans and in a variety of court proceedings.
Learn more about what is an affidavit, or affidavit certificate, how to get it, its purpose in court proceedings, and affidavit attestation.
Read More: Document Attestation
What is an Affidavit Certificate?
An affidavit is a sworn statement in writing that includes the true information. A sworn statement means that whatever you have claimed or said in the court is true to the best of your knowledge.
You can consider an affidavit as a written statement of your oath or affirmation in a court. An affidavit certificate is true; you make it voluntarily without any coercion.
Do not be confused between an affidavit or an affidavit certificate. It is because an affidavit certificate is a term used for an affidavit. Affidavits or affidavit certificates are the same and used for the same purpose.
Who can Apply for an Affidavit?
Affiant and deponent are two terms used for the applicant who applies for an affidavit. Here are some crucial factors to consider prior to applying for an affidavit.
- Affiant must be an adult.
- Affiant must understand the nature of the content sworn.
- Affiant must not be incapacitated.
Essential Features of an Affidavit
- An affidavit is a declaration made by a person, not by any company, association, or group.
- An affidavit certificate only includes a single fact.
- An affidavit includes content that is not based on assumptions.
- No affidavit is accepted in the court if it’s filled on behalf of other persons.
- Affidavits sworn on behalf of minor children or insane individuals are acceptable.
- Affidavits are sworn prior to the authorised officer or magistrate administering an oath.
- A name change affidavit created in India needs attestation, either from a Notary Public or an Executive or Judicial magistrate, before being present in the court.
- An affidavit for a lost or damaged passport is present in the court after attestation from a Judicial or Executive Magistrate.
Read More: Documents Required for a Fresh Passport
Contents of an Affidavit
An affidavit must include the content correct to the best of the deponent’s knowledge. The following are the other facts related to content in an affidavit.
- An affidavit must not promote assumptions and vague beliefs.
- An affidavit information source should be legal and specified.
- An affidavit must contain plain facts listed one after the other.
What is the Purpose of Affidavit?
- Affidavits are writing oaths of deponents.
- Generally, affidavits need for a lost or damaged passport , divorce proceedings, property disputes, and debt cases.
- Affidavits in the court presented for loss of certificates or original documents.
- Affidavits are vital documents used for changing the name of an individual.
Types of Affidavits Certificates Used in India
Here is the list of a few affidavits used in India.
- General Name Change Affidavit
- Change of Name After Marriage Affidavit
- Change of Name of Minor Affidavit
- One and the Same Person Affidavit
- Change of Signature Affidavit
- Address Proof Affidavit
- Proof of Date of Birth Affidavit
- Income Proof Affidavit
- Joint Affidavit for Registration of Marriage
- Affidavit for No-criminal record
- Affidavit for Claim Settlement in Bank
- Affidavit for Issue of Duplicate Educational Certificates
- First Child Affidavit
- Affidavit for Educational Loan
- Anti Ragging Affidavit
- Affidavit for a gap in education
- Affidavit for a gap in employment
- Passport Affidavits or Annexures
- LPG Annexures
What are the Consequences of Filing a False Affidavit?
Submitting a fake affidavit means the information through the certificate provided to the court is not true.
If an affiant has submitted a fake affidavit certificate to the court, the authority can charge the affiant under the Indian Penal Code for the offense of perjury.
Yes, the jury can take strict action against the affiant.
Submitting a fake affidavit, especially in the cases of marriage, divorce, name change, bank, passport, and property related, can put you in prison.
Affidavit Attestation in India
Attestation is mandatory to use your documents issued in your home country to a foreign country. Attestation is a stamp placed on your legal documents from the three different departments according to the category of your document. There are three types of documents, educational, personal, and commercial.
Attestation stamps on an affidavit are placed by the authorized authority at regional level or State Home Department of the affiant’s home country. There are three steps to complete an affidavit attestation process: state, MEA, and the embassy of the destination country of the applicant.
The State Home Department attestation on your affidavit certificate depends on your country of residence and the country where you are moving to for study, employment, or another purpose.
The MEA and foreign embassy attestation are mandatory after the State Home Department attestation to use your affidavit in a foreign country.
Inquiry for Affidavit Attestation
Superb Enterprise is officially approved by the Ministry of External Affairs, MEA, to accept a certificate from applicants for attestation.
