Notarize an affidavit online
An affidavit is a written statement you swear or affirm to be true — for a court filing, an insurance claim, a name-change, a residency requirement, a lost document. Because the swearing has to happen in front of the notary, this is one document you cannot sign in advance: the oath and the signature both happen on the video call.
What the notarial act is
Affidavits take a jurat, not an acknowledgment: the notary administers an oath or affirmation, watches you sign, and completes a certificate saying you swore to the contents. Online, the oath happens on the recorded video session, which becomes part of the audit trail. If the receiving party gave you specific certificate wording, have it ready — the notary completes the certificate the document calls for.
Whether a particular office or recipient requires notarization — and in what form — is that office’s decision. We describe the process; the receiving party sets the requirement.
What you need before the session
- The completed affidavit, UNSIGNED — signing before the session defeats the jurat
- A current government photo ID
- Any exhibit the affidavit references, attached before the session
- The receiving party's certificate wording, if they specified one
How it works
- 1
Upload
Upload the unsigned document and tell us who signs.
- 2
Verify
Each signer verifies identity with a government photo ID, as state law provides.
- 3
Meet & sign
Meet a commissioned notary on a recorded video call and sign on camera.
- 4
Download or ship
Get the sealed PDF immediately — and we can overnight the original with tracking.
Availability depends on your state’s law — most states authorize online notarization, and our statute-cited comparison of all 51 jurisdictions shows each state’s rules. Notarizations are performed by independent commissioned notaries under the law of their commissioning state.
Common questions
Can I sign the affidavit before the video call?
No — and this is the single most common mistake. A jurat requires the notary to watch you sign after administering the oath. If the document arrives pre-signed, the notary will have you re-sign on camera above or beside the earlier signature, or ask for a clean copy.
Will a court take an online-notarized affidavit?
Courts and clerks set their own filing practices. Notarizations performed under a state's RON law are notarial acts of that state, and the sealed PDF carries a verifiable certificate — but whether any particular filing office wants electronic, paper, or certified copies is that office's call. When paper is wanted, we print and ship the original with tracking.
What's the difference between an affidavit and a sworn statement?
In everyday use the words overlap: both are written statements confirmed by oath or affirmation. What matters operationally is the same either way — the oath happens live before the notary, and the certificate the notary completes is a jurat. Our jurat vs. acknowledgment guide walks through the distinction.
Related
- Guide: jurat vs. acknowledgment
- Guide: how online notarization works
- RON laws by state — the statute-cited dataset
SignSealShip is a technology platform, not a law firm or a notary. Nothing here is legal advice, and no statement here means a document is valid or will be accepted — the receiving office decides its own requirements.