Verifications, Affidavits, and Notaries in Georgia Family Court

What a verification is

A verification is a sworn statement attached to a pleading saying that the facts in it are true. In the self-help Complaint for Divorce with Minor Children published on georgiacourts.gov, for example, the verification says the person “on oath states that the facts set forth in this Complaint are true and correct to the best of his/her knowledge and belief,” and it is signed in the presence of a notary public.

Georgia law sets who can take that oath. Affidavits, petitions, answers, defenses, or other proceedings that must be verified or sworn to under oath are sufficient when sworn to before any notary public, magistrate, judge of any court, or other officer of the state or county where the oath is made who is authorized to administer oaths. An oath made outside Georgia has the same effect as one made before a Georgia officer. This does not apply to affidavits that a statute expressly requires to be made before some particular officer within the state (O.C.G.A. § 9-10-113).

Family law papers that are sworn or witnessed

• The Domestic Relations Financial Affidavit. Uniform Superior Court Rule 24.2 requires the affidavit to be under oath and in substantially the form set out in the rule, which ends with a jurat for a notary public. See the financial affidavit guide.
• A family violence petition. Ex parte relief and protective orders under the Family Violence Act are issued on a verified petition (O.C.G.A. §§ 19-13-3(b) and 19-13-4(a)). The statewide SC-26, Petition for Temporary Protective Order (revised 3/26) ends with a verification sworn before a notary public.
• Requests for extraordinary relief. Petitions for a restraining order, injunction, receiver, or other extraordinary equitable relief must be verified positively by the petitioner or supported by other satisfactory proofs (§ 9-10-110).
• Answers to verified pleadings. Where the plaintiff files a pleading with an affidavit that the facts stated are true to the best of his or her knowledge and belief, the defendant must verify any answer in the same way (§ 9-10-111).
• Acknowledgments of service. In domestic relations cases, all acknowledgments of service must be witnessed by an official attesting officer or the parties’ counsel, and a consent signed by both parties needs each signature witnessed the same way (Uniform Superior Court Rule 24.3).
• Affidavits at temporary hearings. Beyond the parties and one additional witness for each side, witnesses at a temporary hearing testify by deposition or affidavit unless the court orders otherwise, and any affidavit must be served on opposing counsel at least 24 hours before the hearing (Uniform Superior Court Rule 24.5(A)).

Unsworn declarations: a narrow rule

Georgia adopted the Uniform Unsworn Declarations Act in O.C.G.A. § 9-1-1, effective July 1, 2023. An “unsworn declaration” is a declaration in a signed record not given under oath but given under penalty of perjury. Where a Georgia law requires or permits a sworn declaration in a court proceeding, a qualifying unsworn declaration has the same effect (§ 9-1-1(d)(1)). The limits matter:

• Except as the section provides or as otherwise precluded by law, it applies to a declarant who, when making the declaration, is physically located outside the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and U.S. territories and possessions (§ 9-1-1(c)). By its terms it does not cover a declaration made by someone physically located inside the United States, including in Georgia.
• It does not apply to a deposition, an oath of office, an oath expressly required by statute to be given before a specified official other than a notary, an oath expressly required by statute to be made under § 9-10-113, and certain other listed instruments (§ 9-1-1(d)(2)).
• The declaration must be substantially in the form in § 9-1-1(f), which states that the declarant is physically located outside those boundaries and gives the date and place of signing.

Why accuracy matters

Georgia makes knowingly false sworn statements a crime:

• Perjury. A person under a lawful oath or affirmation, or who executes an unsworn declaration as defined in § 9-1-1, commits perjury when, in a judicial proceeding, he or she knowingly and willfully makes a false statement material to the issue or point in question (§ 16-10-70(a)).
• False swearing. A person under a lawful oath or affirmation, or who executes a document knowing that it purports to be an acknowledgment of a lawful oath or affirmation, commits false swearing when, in any matter other than a judicial proceeding, he or she knowingly and willfully makes a false statement (§ 16-10-71(a)).

Primary sources

Laws, rules and forms change. Check the current version at the source before you file.

• O.C.G.A. § 9-10-113, officers who may administer oaths
• O.C.G.A. § 9-10-110, verification of extraordinary relief
• O.C.G.A. § 9-10-111, verified answers
• O.C.G.A. § 9-1-1, Uniform Unsworn Declarations Act
• O.C.G.A. § 16-10-70, perjury
• O.C.G.A. § 16-10-71, false swearing
• O.C.G.A. § 19-13-3, family violence petitions
• O.C.G.A. § 19-13-4, protective orders
• Uniform Superior Court Rules 24.2 (financial affidavit), 24.3 (acknowledgments) and 24.5 (witnesses)
• SC-26, Petition for Temporary Protective Order
• Complaint for Divorce with Minor Children (AOC self-help form)