How to Swear an Affidavit for a BC Court Case: Exhibits, Oaths and Affirmations

If you are a party in a BC family or civil case, sooner or later you will need to put evidence before the court in an affidavit. The court will not simply accept a signed letter: the affidavit has to be in the right form and sworn or affirmed before a commissioner.

This guide covers what the Supreme Court rules require, how to prepare exhibits, and what happens at a commissioning appointment, so your affidavit is ready to file.

What makes a court affidavit different

An affidavit is your written evidence, sworn or affirmed to be true. For general background, see our article on the difference between an affidavit and a statutory declaration. An affidavit for a BC Supreme Court case has to meet specific rules: Rule 22-2 of the Supreme Court Civil Rules for civil cases, and Rule 10-4 of the Supreme Court Family Rules for family cases. The two rules are almost word for word the same. Provincial Court files have their own rules and forms, so check the requirements for your court.

Under both Supreme Court rules, an affidavit:

• Speaks in the first person. It shows your name, address and occupation.
• Says if you are a party. If you are a party, or a party's lawyer, agent, director, officer or employee, the affidavit must say so.
• Uses numbered paragraphs. The paragraphs are numbered consecutively, and the affidavit may use the court's form (Form 109 in civil cases, Form F30 in family cases).
• Is labelled in the upper right corner. The first page shows your name, the number of this affidavit among those you have made in the case (first, second and so on), and the date it was made.
• Is filed. An affidavit used in the case must be filed with the court.

What goes in, and what stays out

An affidavit may state only what you could say as a witness at trial: facts you know first-hand. There is a limited exception. In an application that does not seek a final order (in family cases, nor a change to a final order), or with the court's permission, you may include information you were told and believe, if you say who the information came from. Opinions, arguments and repeated gossip without a source are common problems, and the other side may object to them.

Exhibits: marking, attaching and numbering

Documents you rely on, such as emails, photos, bank statements or letters, go in as exhibits. The rules set out exactly how:

• Each exhibit gets a certificate. The person who commissions your affidavit signs a certificate on each exhibit reading, in substance, "This is Exhibit … referred to in the affidavit of … sworn (or affirmed) before me on …". Exhibits are usually lettered A, B, C.
• Short documents are attached. A document exhibit of 10 pages or less must be attached to the affidavit and to every copy you serve.
• Long documents are not filed. A document exhibit over 10 pages need not be filed with the affidavit, but it must be available for the court and for the other parties to inspect. Exhibits that are not documents (a USB drive, an object) are never filed; they are made available the same way.
• Pages are numbered across all exhibits. Every page of the documentary exhibits is numbered in one sequence, from the first page of the first exhibit to the last page of the last, including exhibits that are not attached.

Before your appointment, assemble the exhibits in order, number the pages, and make sure each one is referred to in a paragraph of the affidavit by its letter.

Swearing or affirming: your choice

You do not have to take a religious oath. Section 20 of the Evidence Act lets anyone make a solemn affirmation instead of an oath, and an affirmation in the prescribed form has the same force and effect as an oath. The court forms say "sworn (or affirmed)" for this reason. Tell the commissioner which you prefer; you do not have to explain why.

The affidavit is made when you swear or affirm it, sign it (or make your mark if you cannot sign), and the commissioner completes and signs the "sworn (or affirmed) before me" statement and marks each exhibit. The statement shows the commissioner's city or town and the date, with the commissioner's printed name or stamp.

Who can commission it, and how the appointment works

Under section 60 of the Evidence Act, practising lawyers and notaries public in BC are commissioners for taking affidavits because of their office. At the appointment, expect the commissioner to:

• check your photo identification;
• confirm you have read the affidavit and that it is true;
• administer the oath or affirmation and watch you sign; and
• sign the statement, mark the exhibits and initial any handwritten changes.

That last point matters. Any alteration to an affidavit must be initialled by the commissioner; an affidavit with uninitialled changes cannot be used without the court's permission. Make corrections before the appointment where you can, and do not sign in advance.

If you cannot read the affidavit, the commissioner must certify that it was read to you and that you appeared to understand it. If you do not understand English, a competent interpreter must interpret it and certify that on the affidavit.

Swearing by video

Both rules allow an affidavit to be sworn or affirmed by video conference. If you do this, the affidavit's last numbered paragraph must say that you were not physically present before the commissioner but appeared by video conference. Our article on remote commissioning in BC explains how those appointments are set up.

Family cases: financial statements and income documents

In Supreme Court family cases involving child support, Rule 5-1 of the Family Rules requires each party who must provide income information to file Part 1 of a Form F8 financial statement with their income documents, such as tax returns and notices of assessment. Other claims can require more of the form. Each page of the income documents to be used in court must be numbered in sequence. Check the signing block on the form you are completing, and bring the documents in order to your appointment so the commissioner can deal with everything at once.

Have an affidavit ready to sign? Book a commissioning appointment

Our notary services can commission your affidavit, mark your exhibits and administer the oath or affirmation. If you need advice on the case itself, our litigation and family lawyers can help.

Call 604-259-2844 or send us a message to arrange a consultation at our Vancouver office.