What is a Jurat? (And Why Your Affidavit Can Be Thrown Out Without One)

If you have ever been handed an affidavit by a lawyer, paralegal, or court clerk, you have probably noticed a small block of text at the bottom — something like "Sworn before me at the City of Toronto..." That block is called a jurat, and it is the single most common reason self-represented litigants have their affidavits rejected at the courthouse counter.

You can write a perfect, truthful, clearly argued affidavit. If the jurat is missing, malformed, or improperly completed, the court registrar will refuse to file it, a judge will give it no weight, and opposing counsel will happily move to strike it. This guide explains what a jurat is, why it matters, and how to get yours right the first time.

Important disclaimer: This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Affidavit requirements vary by province and by court. For advice specific to your situation, consult a licensed lawyer or paralegal. BeProSe is not a law firm.

What Is a Jurat?

A jurat (from the Latin juratum est — "it has been sworn") is the portion of an affidavit that records when, where, and before whom the document was sworn or affirmed. It is not the evidence itself — it is the proof that the evidence was given under oath.

Every Canadian affidavit has three structural parts:

The heading (title of proceeding) — the court, file number, and names of parties
The body — numbered paragraphs of the deponent's sworn statements
The jurat — the attestation clause at the bottom, signed by the deponent and the commissioner

The jurat typically contains, at minimum:

The place where the oath was taken (city and province)
The date the oath was taken
The deponent's signature
The commissioner's signature
The commissioner's printed name and title (or the expiry date of their appointment)

Without a properly completed jurat, a document is not an affidavit at all — it is just a signed statement. Courts treat the two very differently.

Why Courts Reject Affidavits Without a Proper Jurat

Judges and court staff enforce jurat requirements strictly for a simple reason: an affidavit is evidence. Evidence that was not properly sworn is not evidence at all. If a witness lies on an affidavit with a valid jurat, they can be charged with perjury under section 131 of the Criminal Code. If there is no valid jurat, there is no oath, and there is no perjury exposure — so the court has no way to rely on what the document says.

Common rejection reasons include:

The jurat is missing entirely
The date is blank or incomplete
The place (city and province) is blank
The commissioner signed but did not print their name or include their title
The commissioner's appointment has expired
The deponent signed the affidavit before appearing in front of the commissioner
The commissioner did not actually administer the oath (signing as a formality)
Corrections in the body were not initialed by both the deponent and the commissioner

That last point catches a lot of self-reps. If you notice a typo in paragraph 4 while sitting with the commissioner, do not cross it out and write over it afterward. Both of you need to initial the correction before the jurat is signed.

Standard Jurat Wording (By Province)

Jurat wording is set by provincial rules of court or by the statute governing affidavits in that province. The phrasing varies slightly but the substance is identical everywhere: place, date, deponent, commissioner.

Ontario

Ontario affidavits are governed by Rule 4.06 of the Rules of Civil Procedure (R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 194) and Form 4D. The standard jurat reads:

SWORN (or AFFIRMED) before me at the City of _____, in the Province of Ontario, this ___ day of _________, 20.

Commissioner for Taking Affidavits (or as may be)

Small Claims Court affidavits use Form 9B but the jurat is substantively the same.

British Columbia

BC affidavits are governed by Rule 22-2 of the Supreme Court Civil Rules. BC has slightly different language and uses Form 109:

SWORN (or AFFIRMED) before me at _____, British Columbia, on ________________, 20.

A Commissioner for taking Affidavits for British Columbia

BC is also one of the provinces that permits jurats executed remotely via video conference under Practice Direction 54 — a practice that expanded dramatically in 2020 and has been retained since.

Alberta

Alberta affidavits follow Rule 13.18 of the Alberta Rules of Court and are commissioned under the Commissioners for Oaths Act. Typical wording:

SWORN (or AFFIRMED) before me at the City of _____, in the Province of Alberta, on ________________, 20.

A Commissioner for Oaths in and for the Province of Alberta My appointment expires: _______________

Alberta is unusual in that commissioners' appointments expire, and the expiry date must appear in the jurat. If it does not — or if the commissioner lets their appointment lapse — the affidavit is defective.

Quebec

Quebec is the exception. Under the Code of Civil Procedure, sworn declarations are executed before a commissioner for oaths appointed under the Commissioners for Oaths Act (CQLR c. C-42), but Quebec civil procedure more often uses déclarations sous serment that follow a slightly different form. The jurat language is typically:

Assermenté(e) devant moi à _____, province de Québec, le ________________, 20.

Quebec also recognizes affidavits sworn before notaries, who are far more common there than elsewhere in Canada.

Other Provinces

Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, PEI, and the three territories all follow the same basic structure. Each has its own Commissioners for Oaths Act (or equivalent) and the jurat wording is set by the applicable rules of court. In general: place, date, deponent's signature, commissioner's signature, commissioner's title.

"Sworn" vs "Affirmed" — Does It Matter?

Yes, slightly. "Sworn" indicates the deponent took a religious oath (typically on a holy text). "Affirmed" indicates a solemn secular promise to tell the truth. Both have identical legal effect — both carry the same perjury consequences. Choose whichever reflects what you actually did. Most commissioners will ask.

The jurat should match the form of oath taken. If you affirmed, the jurat should say "AFFIRMED before me." A common error is using the default "SWORN" language when the deponent actually affirmed. This is usually a minor defect but can be corrected on the spot.

Who Is a Commissioner for Oaths?

Not anyone can commission an affidavit. The commissioner must be someone authorized by law to administer oaths. This includes, depending on the province:

Lawyers (members of a provincial law society)
Licensed paralegals (in Ontario, the Law Society regulates these)
Notaries public
Justices of the peace
Commissioners for oaths appointed under the provincial statute
Court clerks (in many provinces, for affidavits filed in their court)
Certain government officials in their capacity (e.g., RCMP officers in some jurisdictions)

A commissioner is not permitted to commission their own affidavit, nor one in which they have a personal interest. A commissioner who is also a party to the proceeding cannot commission affidavits in that proceeding.

How to Get Your Affidavit Commissioned — For Free

Hiring a lawyer to commission a one-page affidavit can cost $40–$100. You rarely need to. Free or low-cost options include:

The court registry — in most provinces, court clerks will commission affidavits being filed in their court at no charge. Call ahead to confirm. Bring ID.
Your MPP or MLA's constituency office — many provincial representatives have staff appointed as commissioners and will commission documents for constituents for free.
Community legal clinics — Pro Bono Ontario, Access Pro Bono BC, and equivalent organizations in other provinces often provide commissioning services for people they are already helping.
Service Ontario / Service BC / Service Alberta — some locations offer commissioning; check your provincial government service page.
Your bank branch — many Canadian banks employ commissioners on staff (usually the branch manager). Policies vary by bank and branch. Call first.
Public libraries — a smaller number of libraries, particularly in Ontario, staff commissioners. This is not universal; check your local branch.
Insurance brokers and real estate offices — frequently have commissioners on staff for their ordinary business and will sometimes commission unrelated documents for a nominal fee.

If you pay, expect to pay a per-document fee (commonly $10–$25 in most provinces). Some provinces regulate the maximum fee commissioners can charge for swearing affidavits.

The Commissioning Process — What Actually Happens

The process takes about five minutes if you come prepared:

Bring unsigned affidavit. Do not sign it in advance. The commissioner must watch you sign.
Bring government-issued photo ID. The commissioner has to confirm you are who you say you are.
The commissioner reads (or asks you to confirm) the content. They will not verify the truthfulness of the facts — that is on you — but they will confirm you know what you are swearing to.
You take the oath or affirmation. The commissioner says something like "Do you solemnly swear that the contents of this affidavit are true, so help you God?" or "Do you solemnly affirm that the contents of this affidavit are true?" You answer "I do."
You sign the affidavit. The commissioner watches.
The commissioner signs the jurat and completes the place, date, and their title/appointment details.
Any exhibits are marked with an exhibit stamp (Exhibit "A", "B", etc.) and initialed by the commissioner.

The whole exchange is a legal ceremony. Skipping any step — especially signing in the commissioner's presence — creates a defect that opposing counsel will exploit.

Common Jurat Mistakes That Get Affidavits Rejected

From years of cases that made it to the courthouse counter and bounced back:

Blank date or place. The commissioner forgot to fill them in. Fix before leaving their office.
Missing initials on exhibits. Every exhibit needs a cover sheet or stamp initialed by the commissioner.
Deponent signed at home, then brought it in. The commissioner was not present for the oath. The affidavit is invalid. Redo it.
Commissioner's appointment has expired (common in Alberta). Check the expiry date before you sit down.
Wrong form of oath used. "Sworn" when you affirmed, or vice versa. Commissioner can strike and initial the correction.
Multiple pages not initialed. Most provinces require each page of the affidavit (not just the last) to be initialed by the deponent and commissioner.
Using white-out. Never. Strike through, initial both sides, and continue.
Electronic signatures where not permitted. Remote commissioning via video is allowed in some provinces under specific rules; a scanned signature on a paper affidavit is not the same thing.

Remote Commissioning (Video)

Since 2020, every province has allowed some form of remote commissioning of affidavits via video conference. The specifics vary.

Ontario: permitted under the Commissioners for Taking Affidavits Act as amended; both parties must be physically located in Ontario during the call, and the process must meet specific record-keeping requirements.
British Columbia: permitted under Supreme Court Practice Direction 54; the commissioner must be a BC commissioner.
Alberta: permitted under the Commissioners for Oaths Act and associated ministerial orders.
Quebec: permitted under specific Ministère de la Justice protocols.

If you are commissioning remotely, the jurat must state that the oath was administered via video conference (or similar language required by your province). A standard in-person jurat on a remotely-sworn affidavit is a defect.

Next Steps

If you need an affidavit for an Ontario LTB hearing, a small claims lawsuit, a motion, or any other Canadian court matter, the body of the affidavit matters just as much as the jurat. Writing it clearly — with numbered paragraphs, first-person statements of fact, and proper exhibit references — is what actually persuades the court.

BeProSe generates properly formatted Canadian affidavits with the correct jurat wording for your province, numbered exhibits, and the structural conventions your court expects. You fill in what happened. We handle the formatting. You then take it to a commissioner to swear — and the jurat is already laid out exactly the way it needs to be.

Your first court document is free. Generate a free affidavit to see how it works.

Whatever you do — even if you write it yourself on a blank page — do not skip the commissioning step. An unsworn document is not evidence. It is just a story.

BeProSe is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. Documents generated by BeProSe should be reviewed by a licensed lawyer or paralegal before filing. Last reviewed: April 2026.