What is a 28 U.S.C. § 1746 declaration?
A section 1746 declaration is a signed, dated statement made "under penalty of perjury" that can stand in for a sworn affidavit in many federal-law settings, without a notary. The statute gives two forms: one for signing inside the United States and one for signing outside it.
What it is
Section 1746 of Title 28 of the United States Code lets a person make a written statement "under penalty of perjury" instead of swearing it before a notary or other officer, in many situations where federal law, or a rule or requirement made under it, would otherwise call for a sworn declaration, affidavit or similar. If the statement is signed and dated in substantially the form the statute gives, it has the same force and effect as the sworn version. Congress enacted it in 1976 (Pub. L. 94-550).
The two forms, exactly as the statute gives them
The statute has two forms, depending on where the declaration is signed.
1. Signed outside the United States
"I declare (or certify, verify, or state) under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on (date). (Signature)"
2. Signed within the United States, its territories, possessions, or commonwealths
"I declare (or certify, verify, or state) under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on (date). (Signature)"
The statute requires the statement to be in writing, subscribed (signed) by the person, as true under penalty of perjury, and dated, in substantially the form above. Put the declaration after the text it covers, since the wording says "the foregoing".
When it cannot be used
The statute itself excludes a deposition, an oath of office, and an oath required to be taken before a specified official other than a notary public. If a law or rule requires an oath before a particular official, a declaration under this section will not meet it.
State courts and other bodies vary
Section 1746 applies to matters under federal law and federal rules. State courts, agencies and other bodies follow their own rules; many states have their own unsworn-declaration statutes, with their own wording, and some documents still require a notary. Check the rules of the court or office you are filing with before you rely on this form.
Describing exhibits and hash values
A declaration is only as clear as what it says. If you attach records, say what each one is, how you obtained it and how you know it is a true copy. Number the exhibits, and describe each file by name, date and size. If you recorded a cryptographic hash value (such as SHA-256) of a file when you stored it, you can state the hash and the date you computed it, so that someone else can compute the hash again and compare. For example: "Exhibit 3 is a true copy of the email I received on 3 March 2026; its SHA-256 hash value, computed on 5 March 2026, is [value]." A matching hash shows that a file is identical to the one that was hashed. It does not by itself show who created the content or that the content is true.
Records of electronic information: FRE 902(13) and 902(14)
In federal court the Federal Rules of Evidence let some electronic evidence be authenticated by a written certification instead of live testimony. Rule 902(13) concerns records generated by an electronic process or system that produces an accurate result. Rule 902(14) concerns data copied from an electronic device, storage medium or file, shown to be identical to the original by a process of digital identification, which in practice is usually a hash value comparison. Both use the certification and notice procedure that applies to business records under Rule 902(11): the person who offers the evidence must give the other side reasonable written notice and make the record and certification available for inspection. They were added in 2017.
The certification must be made by a qualified person and meet the requirements of the rule, which are about authenticity, not about whether the evidence is relevant or admissible on other grounds. Many people lay out such a certification as a section 1746 declaration. Whether a particular court accepts it is up to that court.
A simple layout
- Title: the court and case name, or "Declaration of [your name]".
- Numbered paragraphs: who you are, how you know the facts, and what happened, in order.
- A paragraph for each exhibit: what it is, where it came from, and its hash value if you have one.
- The declaration sentence in the correct form, "Executed on" the date, and your signature.
- Keep the signed original, with the exhibits it refers to.