No judgment rendered more than ten (10) years prior hereto against unknown heirs, executors, administrators, devisees, trustees or assigns of any deceased person or, in the alternative, against a person or his unknown heirs, executors, administrators, devisees and assigns, shall ever be construed or held to be either void or voidable on the ground of the alleged insufficiency of said affidavit, provided the requirements of 12 O.S. 1961, § 171, are met in such affidavit, either directly or by inference. All such judgments, if not otherwise defective, are hereby declared valid and legally effective and conclusive as of the date thereof. Provided, that nothing in this act shall be construed to affect any litigation now pending in any courts of the State of Oklahoma on the effective date of this act.
§ 171.1.Effect of Affidavit of Service
Chapter 6: Commencement of Actions · Last amended April 27, 1967 · Last verified August 3, 2026
In one sentenceSection 171.1 validates judgments over ten years old against unknown heirs or similar unnamed parties even if compliance with Section 171's affidavit requirements must be inferred rather than stated directly, without disturbing litigation already pending when the act took effect.
Full Text of § 171.1
Amendment History
Laws 1967, SB 329, c. 143, §1, emerg. eff. 4/27/1967.
Plain-English Summary
This is a curative statute aimed at a narrow category of collateral attack. If a judgment against unknown heirs, executors, administrators, devisees, trustees, or assigns of a deceased person — or against a person and that person's unknown heirs — is more than ten years old, Section 171.1 says it can't be voided or made voidable just because the supporting affidavit looked insufficient, so long as Section 171's requirements are met either directly or by inference from the affidavit.
The statute doesn't excuse a judgment that's otherwise defective; it only forecloses attacks based on the affidavit's alleged insufficiency. It also carves out an exception for litigation that was already pending when the 1967 act took effect, so it doesn't retroactively decide cases already in progress.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can an old Oklahoma judgment against unknown heirs be thrown out because the affidavit of service looks incomplete?
Not if the judgment is more than ten years old and Section 171's requirements are met either directly or by inference in the affidavit — Section 171.1 declares such judgments valid and conclusive.
Does this section fix every defect in an old judgment?
No. It only addresses a claim that the affidavit of service was insufficient; a judgment that's otherwise defective isn't saved by this section.
Does Section 171.1 affect lawsuits that were already in court when it passed?
No. The statute says nothing in the act affects litigation pending in Oklahoma courts on its effective date.
What is the Section 171 this statute keeps referring to?
Section 171.1 cross-references the affidavit requirements set out in 12 O.S. 1961, Section 171, for service on unknown heirs and similar parties in actions involving a deceased person's estate.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
Title 12 of the Oklahoma Statutes, enacted by the Oklahoma Legislature.
Last verified August 3, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: oklahoma unknown heirs affidavit validitycurative statute old judgment service defectaffidavit of service ten year rule oklahomajudgment against unknown heirs oklahoma