An affidavit of identity form is a legal document created for legal purposes. The person gets the title of “affiant” who have to sign this document. This document can also be used to verify the affiant’s legal signature. Therefore, a notary public has to sign, witness, and seal the document. The notarized affidavit of identity has identifiable and personal information regarding the affiant.
Table of Contents
- 1 What is an affidavit of identity form?
- 2 When do you require an affidavit of identity?
- 3 What to include in your affidavit of identity?
- 4 When you don’t have an affidavit of identity, then what happens?
- 5 How to get an affidavit?
- 6 What is a notarized certificate of identity?
- 7 What do you know about a letter of identification?
- 8 Is the affidavit of identity contain an expiration date?
- 9 Can you use a credible witness to vouch for you in case you have lost your driver’s license?
- 10 Conclusion:
What is an affidavit of identity form?
An affidavit of identity is a legal document and a sworn oath signed by the affiant. Affiant is a person whose identity gets verified by the affidavit for proof of identity. Never falsifying such a form as it is considered perjury which is a criminal offense. Furthermore, it has a warning statement that states the recipient has will and the authority to prosecute the affiant.
Also, there is a statement wherein affiant says that all of the information written is complete, accurate, and true to his knowledge. For the prevention of fraud, companies and individuals depend on these documents. In case, the affiant isn’t able to provide an ID with a photograph, they also consider this for their own protection. Here are some common purposes of an affidavit of identity form;
- The candidates who want to run for office as a part of their requirements of eligibility, governments may need this document from them.
- A financial document like bank may require an affidavit of identity form from their customers before they can open brokerage or bank accounts.
- When the litigants want to file a complaint or a deposition, then small claims court may require this document from them.
- Parents or legal guardians may need this document to parents or legal guardians may need this document.
In some cases, private companies, courts, and government agencies may ask the parents or legal guardians to submit this document to confirm the child or teenager’s identity. As adults, minor don’t have the same identifying documents such as a driver’s license or a passport. Thus, the minor’s parents or legal guardians have to make this document along with other documents for proof of identity.
When do you require an affidavit of identity?
There are certain situations wherein you require a notarized affidavit of identity. Following are the examples of these situations;
- For court proceedings
- For bank transactions
- In case, a sole proprietor does business by using a business name
- While running for office
- From the clients or customers, when the business owner requests for it
- If you are working with title companies
- For temporary guardianship, when you require to draft papers
- When making a power of attorney
What to include in your affidavit of identity?
There is no standard format for making an affidavit of identity form. If you require one, you can download the template online. It’s up to you whether you use it as it is or customize it according to your needs. You should make sure to include the following information in your document;
- The complete name, date of birth, and signature of the affiant.
- Any form of identification you depend upon
- The person who seeks identification, his signature.
- The notary public’s signature
- The seal of the notary public
When you don’t have an affidavit of identity, then what happens?
There are two main purpose of this form that are to verify the person’s identity and to verify his signature. Without having an affidavit of identity, the entity asking for it might not believe your identity claims. Here are some possible outcomes of not having this document;
- When you’re a victim of stolen identity, you can’t file a claim. In such a case, the agencies or creditors won’t believe your claim.
- In a given financial institution, you can’t prove that you are the true account holder. Banks and other financial institutions, in certain cases, to access your bank accounts, may require a notarized affidavit of identity along with a government-issued ID for you. This way, you and the bank gets secured from unauthorized access.
- In certain states, for electoral office, you can’t file to run. For the security and safety of the state’s citizens, this document is a part of the requirements of eligibility.
- You might not become part of court proceedings.
- In some types of business transactions, you can’t engage, particularly those which have a financial nature.
How to get an affidavit?
An affidavit is a legal document that has sworn statements and facts. Evidence in lawsuits most of the time come from the information contained in the affidavit. Under penalty of perjury, this document is carefully composed and sworn.
Moreover, you can make the affidavit yourself. After that, affix the signature of affiant in the presence of a notary public. Write down all of the statements in order to get the affidavit that you want the affiant to swear using the proper format. Then, to check their accuracy, have the affiant read all of the statements.
What is a notarized certificate of identity?
A certificate of identity is also referred as an “alien’s passport.” It is a type of travel document provided to non-citizens residing within the borders of a country. These non-citizens or “aliens” don’t have the right to get a passport from their own state of nationality that makes them stateless or refugees.
In addition to this, in some cases, states issue these certificates to their citizens rather than of a passport or in an emergency. For these certificates, the visa requirements required may vary to those required for standard passports. The person should include the following in this certificate;
- On the copy, print his name and affix his signature
- His occupation group or profession
- His contact information
- The certified date
What do you know about a letter of identification?
A document which is used to prove the identity of an individual is referred as a letter of identification. The main objective of this letter is to act as proof of someone’s identity. Its function is similar to the other identification forms like passports, ID cards, etc.
A letter of identification is issued in some countries while other countries may not consider this letter. However, they use it to attach with the other identity verification documents. In place of an official identity document, the passport is a more common form of identification than your driver’s license that is accepted. Although most countries accept your driver’s license, but this form of identification is easy to forget as well as they don’t expire.
If you are foreigner in a country then you always have to carry some form of identity document with you. It may be in the form of letter of identification, a passport or any other identification document. Keeping this document along with you proves helpful in case get into trouble or an accident.
Likewise other identification documents, this document also carries information all about you. The letter of identification contains your signatures which act as official evidence of your own signature. You must keep your identity documents in a save place as they are extremely important.
Is the affidavit of identity contain an expiration date?
No, it doesn’t have an expiration date. But, you may have to make more than one of these documents. This is because the different situations require different information for the body of the affidavit.
Can you use a credible witness to vouch for you in case you have lost your driver’s license?
No, in rare situations, you can only use credible witness verification. For example, you can use it when there is an absolute absence of any acceptable official form of identification. So, using a credible witness verification due to loss of your driver’s license is not a good enough reason. In your case, you just simply apply for a new driver’s license and after its issuance, you can use it as an acceptable form of identification.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, an affidavit of identity form is a legal document including sworn statements and facts and used to verify the person’s identity and his signature. There are different situations where you require this document. An institution or agency will inform beforehand when they require this document from you.
Grace Harry is an experienced freelance writer with an experience for 12+ years. She got her Master’s in Financial Management degree from the University of Dennison in 2007. She worked at California State Bank to help clients with their credit, investments, and bank accounts. She likes to assist people in reaching their financial goals when it comes to financial planning.