What Is an Affidavit? Philippine Format, Jurat, and Legal Effect

In short

Definition: A written statement of facts, made voluntarily, and confirmed by the oath or affirmation of the person making it before an officer authorised to administer oaths.
What makes it valid: Personal knowledge, a signature made before the officer, and a properly completed jurat.
Jurat or acknowledgment?: Affidavits take a jurat. Deeds and contracts take an acknowledgment.
Penalty for lying: Perjury under article 183 of the Revised Penal Code.

The definition, in plain terms

An affidavit is you, in writing, saying 'these are the facts, and I swear to them.' Three elements have to be present. First, it must state facts you know personally — not opinions, not legal arguments, not things somebody told you. Second, it must be voluntary. Third, you must swear to it in front of an officer authorised to administer oaths, who then completes a jurat.

Once notarised, an affidavit becomes a public document. That is a meaningful upgrade: a public document is admissible without further proof of its due execution, and it carries the presumption of regularity. It is also why an unnotarised affidavit is generally refused by the offices that ask for one — unsworn, it is just a letter.

The standard Philippine format

1
The venue and S.S. line
'REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES ) CITY/MUNICIPALITY OF ______ ) S.S.' The S.S. is scilicet — 'namely' — and it fixes the place where the oath is taken. It must match the notary's territorial commission.
2
The title
AFFIDAVIT, or the specific kind: AFFIDAVIT OF LOSS, AFFIDAVIT OF DISCREPANCY, JOINT AFFIDAVIT. Centred, in capitals.
3
The affiant's description
'I, [name], of legal age, [civil status], Filipino, and a resident of [address], after having been duly sworn in accordance with law, hereby depose and state that:' — name, age, civil status, citizenship and residence, in that order, is the conventional sequence.
4
The numbered statements
One fact per numbered paragraph, in chronological order where possible. The last paragraph traditionally states the purpose for which the affidavit is executed.
5
The IN WITNESS WHEREOF line and signature
The date and place of signing, then the signature over the printed name, with 'Affiant' beneath.
6
The jurat
'SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this ___ day of ______, 20__, at ______, affiant exhibiting to me [ID] as competent evidence of identity.' Then the notary's signature and details, and Doc. No. / Page No. / Book No. / Series of.

Jurat versus acknowledgment — the distinction that gets documents rejected

These are two different notarial acts and they are not interchangeable. A jurat is used when someone swears that the contents of a document are true: the person signs in the notary's presence and takes an oath. An acknowledgment is used when someone declares that they executed a document freely — typically a deed, contract, or power of attorney. The signature may have been made earlier; what the person acknowledges is that the act is theirs.

	Jurat	Acknowledgment
Used for	Affidavits, sworn statements, verifications	Deeds, contracts, powers of attorney, settlements
Signature	Must be signed in the notary's presence	May be signed earlier, then acknowledged
What is certified	That the person swore to the truth of the contents	That the person declared the act to be their free deed
Wording	SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me…	BEFORE ME… personally appeared… acknowledged that the same is his free and voluntary act and deed
Requires an oath	Yes	No

Who can administer an oath

A notary public commissioned by the Regional Trial Court for a particular city or province, within that territory only.
Judges and clerks of court, within their jurisdiction and for matters before them.
Prosecutors, for complaint-affidavits and counter-affidavits in preliminary investigations.
Philippine consular officers abroad, for documents executed by Filipinos overseas.
Certain government officers expressly authorised by law for documents in their office — for example, some administering officers for agency forms.

Competent evidence of identity

Under Rule II, section 12 of the 2004 Rules on Notarial Practice, the notary must be satisfied of your identity by at least one current government-issued identification document bearing your photograph and signature. Alternatively, identity can be established by the oath of one credible witness not privy to the instrument who personally knows you and is personally known to the notary, or of two credible witnesses who each have their own ID and who personally know you.

This is why a notary who notarises a paper document without seeing you is committing misconduct, and why documents notarised in absentia get challenged successfully in court. If someone offers to have your paper affidavit notarised without you appearing, decline.

There is one lawful route to appearing other than in person, and it is narrower than people assume. Under the Supreme Court's Rules on Electronic Notarization (A.M. No. 24-10-14-SC, 4 February 2025), an eligible electronic document in PDF or PDF/A may be notarised by an Electronic Notary Public, and remote electronic notarization lets the principal and any witnesses appear by videoconference through the authorised system. The rules do not reach paper documents with wet signatures, and they expressly exclude notarial wills and the taking of depositions. An affidavit that exists as a paper original still requires personal appearance.

Legal basis: 2004 Rules on Notarial Practice (A.M. No. 02-8-13-SC), Rule II secs. 1, 6 and 12, and Rule IV (powers and limitations of a notary public); Rules on Electronic Notarization (A.M. No. 24-10-14-SC, 4 February 2025), which cover electronic documents in PDF or PDF/A and exclude notarial wills, depositions and paper documents bearing wet signatures; Rules of Court, Rule 132 secs. 19–20 (public documents); Revised Penal Code art. 183 (perjury).

Perjury: what it takes and what it costs

Article 183 of the Revised Penal Code punishes a person who knowingly makes untruthful statements under oath, on a material matter, before a competent officer, where the law requires an oath. All four elements must be present — which is why a false statement in a notarised affidavit submitted to an agency is squarely within it. The penalty is arresto mayor in its maximum period to prision correccional in its minimum period.

The practical exposure is broader than the criminal penalty. A false affidavit destroys your credibility in whatever proceeding it was filed in, can void the transaction it supported, and — where the document was used to obtain something of value — can support a separate estafa or falsification charge.

Affidavits and their relatives

Several documents look like affidavits and are governed by different rules. Knowing which one an office is asking for saves a rejected filing.

Document	What it is	Notarial act
Affidavit	A statement of facts sworn to by the affiant	Jurat
Verification	A sworn statement attached to a pleading, confirming that the allegations are true of the party's personal knowledge or authentic records	Jurat
Certification against forum shopping	A sworn statement, required with an initiatory pleading, that no similar case is pending elsewhere	Jurat
Complaint-affidavit	The sworn narration that starts a criminal complaint before the prosecutor	Jurat, often before the prosecutor
Counter-affidavit	The respondent's sworn answer during preliminary investigation	Jurat, before the prosecutor
Judicial affidavit	Direct testimony in question-and-answer form, filed before the hearing	Jurat plus the lawyer's attestation
Acknowledgment (on a deed)	A declaration that the signer executed the document freely	Acknowledgment, not a jurat
Secretary's certificate	A corporate officer's sworn statement of a board resolution	Jurat

Affidavits used in court: the Judicial Affidavit Rule

Affidavits do more than satisfy counters. In Philippine trial courts, the Judicial Affidavit Rule (A.M. No. 12-8-8-SC) replaced most direct testimony with affidavits: a party submits their witnesses' judicial affidavits before the hearing, and at trial the witness is presented for cross-examination rather than led through direct examination. That changes what a good affidavit looks like.

A judicial affidavit is in question-and-answer form, not narrative paragraphs, and it names the lawyer who conducted the examination and where it took place.
It must state that the witness was examined by the lawyer, that the answers are the witness's own, and it carries the lawyer's attestation.
Documentary exhibits are attached and marked, and the affidavit must identify them.
It must be filed and served on the adverse party within the period the Rule sets before the hearing.
Failure to submit on time can mean the witness is not allowed to testify at all.

Legal basis: A.M. No. 12-8-8-SC (Judicial Affidavit Rule). If your affidavit is going into a court case rather than to an agency counter, do not use a general affidavit template — the Rule prescribes its own form, and a lawyer should prepare it.

Language, translation and signing by mark

Nothing requires an affidavit to be in English. A sworn statement in Filipino, Cebuano or any language the affiant understands is valid, and where the affiant does not understand English, an English-only affidavit is arguably worse — the affiant is swearing to something they cannot read. In practice most agencies and courts expect English, so a common approach is to draft in English and have the notary confirm, on the record, that the contents were explained to the affiant in a language they understand.

Where the affiant cannot write, the 2004 Rules on Notarial Practice allow signing by a thumbmark or other mark, provided the notary follows the prescribed procedure: the mark is affixed in the presence of two disinterested and unaffected witnesses, who also sign, and the notary records the circumstance. A notary may also sign on behalf of a person who is physically unable to sign or make a mark, again under the conditions the Rules set. Do not improvise here — a defectively executed mark is a straightforward ground to attack the document.

Common mistakes that make an affidavit useless

Swearing to things you did not personally witness. 'I was informed that…' has no evidentiary value.
Arguing law instead of stating facts. An affidavit that says 'the respondent is guilty of estafa' says nothing a prosecutor can use; describe what the respondent did.
Signing before you get to the notary. The jurat certifies you signed in their presence.
A venue that does not match the notary's commission.
A blank Doc. No. / Page No. / Book No. — this means it was never entered in the notarial register, and agencies check.
Using a company ID, a photocopy, or an expired ID as the competent evidence of identity.
No purpose clause, so the receiving office cannot tell what it is meant to support.

Frequently asked questions

+Can I write my own affidavit, or does a lawyer have to draft it?

You can write your own. Philippine law does not require a lawyer to draft an affidavit — it requires that the facts be true, within your personal knowledge, and sworn before an officer authorised to administer oaths. A lawyer's help matters where the affidavit will be used in litigation.

+Is an unnotarised affidavit valid?

It is a written statement, but it is not a sworn one, and it does not have the character of a public document. Nearly every office that asks for an affidavit requires it notarised, and courts give unsworn statements little weight.

+How much does notarisation cost?

Typically about ₱100–₱300 for a simple affidavit, varying by city, by document length, and by the notary's discretion. Some notaries charge more for urgent or lengthy work. Confirm the fee before signing.

+Does an affidavit expire?

Legally, no. Practically, many agencies will not accept one executed more than three to six months earlier, because they want the sworn facts to be current.

+What is the difference between an affidavit and a sworn statement?

In Philippine usage they are the same thing. 'Sworn statement' is simply the plainer term, and offices use the two interchangeably.

+Can an affidavit be in Filipino?

Yes. Nothing requires English, and an affidavit in Filipino is valid. In practice most agencies and courts expect English, so a Filipino affidavit is sometimes accompanied by a translation.

Next step

How to get a document notarised in the Philippines

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