§ 2015.5.Certification or declaration under penalty of perjury

Finding a notary, and getting a document notarized correctly, takes time that a signer does not always have. This section removes that obstacle for most purposes. Whenever California law, or a rule, regulation, order, or requirement made under it, calls for a matter to be supported, evidenced, established, or proved by a sworn statement, declaration, verification, certificate, oath, or affidavit, the signer can instead use an unsworn statement, declaration, verification, or certificate that recites it is certified or declared true under penalty of perjury. Three things fall outside this substitute: a deposition, an oath of office, and an oath that must be taken before a specific official other than a notary public.

The section specifies the exact form the substitute declaration must take, and it comes in two versions depending on where the document is signed. If the declarant signs within California, the declaration states the date and place of execution along with the certification that it is true and correct under penalty of perjury. If the declarant signs anywhere, inside or outside California, the declaration instead states the date of execution and recites that it is certified or declared true under the laws of the State of California. Either version must be subscribed by the person making it, and that person remains fully exposed to perjury liability for a false statement, exactly as if the statement had been sworn before a notary.

This is the mechanism behind the familiar closing language on nearly every California court filing: a declaration under penalty of perjury in place of a notarized verification. Section 2015.6 supplies a parallel affirmation for a different category, the oath required of someone appointed to specific fiduciary duties, which is why this section carves that category out here rather than overlapping with it.