§ 8.01-4.3.Unsworn declarations under penalty of perjury; penalty.
Chapter 1. General Provisions As to Civil Cases · Last amended 2005 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceSection 8.01-4.3 lets a matter otherwise requiring a sworn affidavit, verification, oath, or certificate be established instead by an unsworn written declaration subscribed as true under penalty of perjury and dated, though the substitute does not apply to depositions, oaths of office, or oaths required before a specific official other than a notary.
Full Text of § 8.01-4.3
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If a matter in any judicial proceeding or administrative hearing is required or permitted to be established by a sworn written declaration, verification, certificate, statement, oath, or affidavit, such matter may, with like force and effect,
be evidenced, by the unsworn written declaration, certificate, verification, or statement, which is subscribed by the maker as true under penalty of perjury, and dated, in substantially the following form:
"I declare (or certify, verify or state) under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct." This section shall not apply to a deposition, an oath of office, or an oath required to be taken before a specified official other than a notary public.
Plain-English Summary
Many judicial and administrative filings traditionally require a sworn statement — an affidavit, verification, certificate, or oath, typically administered before a notary. Section 8.01-4.3 allows a party to satisfy that kind of requirement without a notary, by submitting an unsworn written declaration, certificate, verification, or statement instead, so long as the person signing it subscribes it as true under penalty of perjury and dates it. Done that way, the unsworn declaration carries the same force and effect as the sworn version it replaces.
The section describes the substance the declaration must contain: an acknowledgment, in the maker’s own words along those lines, that the statement is declared, certified, verified, or stated as true and correct under penalty of perjury. It does not require any particular printed form beyond that substance.
The substitute has limits. It does not apply to a deposition, to an oath of office, or to an oath that is required to be taken before a specific official other than a notary public. For those situations, the traditional sworn procedure still applies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use an unsworn statement instead of a notarized affidavit in a Virginia proceeding?
Yes, in most situations. Section 8.01-4.3 allows an unsworn written declaration, subscribed as true under penalty of perjury and dated, to substitute for a sworn affidavit, verification, certificate, or oath, with the same force and effect.
What must the declaration say to qualify under this section?
It must be subscribed by the person making it as true under penalty of perjury, and dated, acknowledging that the statement declared, certified, verified, or stated is true and correct.
Does this section let me avoid being sworn for a deposition?
No. Section 8.01-4.3 expressly excludes depositions from its substitute procedure.
Does this apply to taking an oath of office?
No. Section 8.01-4.3 excludes oaths of office from the unsworn declaration substitute.
Does this section eliminate the need for a notary in every situation?
No. It does not apply where an oath is required to be taken before a specified official other than a notary public, so some oath requirements still call for that particular official.
Amendment History
2005, c. 423.
Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Code of Virginia, published by the
Code of Virginia, Virginia Division of Legislative Automated Systems. Last verified July 16, 2026.
· Official source
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