Oaths and Affirmations

Georgia Notaries Public are authorized to administer oaths and affirmations in all matters incidental to their duties as commercial officers and all other oaths and affirmations which are not by law required to be administered by a particular officer. Some of the most common applications involve affidavits, verifications, depositions, commencements of terms in public offices, last wills and testaments.

So what is an oath?

An oath is a personal promise of truthfulness that rests upon the fear of divine punishment for a falsehood. An oath-taker expresses an acknowledgement that they are, in deed, bound in conscious to a supreme being for truthfulness in both verbal and written words.

In one example of document verification, one who takes an oath may be asked...

"Do you solemnly swear under the penalties of perjury that the information contained in this document or statement is the truth, so help you God?"

The oath-taker must communicate an answer to the notary, sometimes before witnesses, in the affirmative, whether by replying with "I do," "yes," even a nod.

What's an Affirmation?

Some prefer to be bound by their own conscious rather than to a supreme being. In those instances, an oath-taker for the same document verification would likely be asked...

"Do you affirm under the penalties of perjury that the information contained in this document or statement is the truth?"

The oath-taker still must communicate an answer in the affirmative.