§ 9-1-1.Uniform Unsworn Declarations Act

Chapter 1. General Provisions · Last amended 2023 · Last verified July 17, 2026

In one sentenceO.C.G.A. § 9-1-1, the Uniform Unsworn Declarations Act, lets a person located outside the United States and its territories sign a written declaration under penalty of perjury in place of a notarized oath, giving that declaration the same legal effect as a sworn statement in Georgia court, administrative, and arbitration proceedings, subject to listed exceptions.

Full Text of § 9-1-1

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h)

(a) This Code section shall be known and may be cited as the “Uniform Unsworn Declarations Act.”

(b) As used in this Code section, the term:

(1) “Law” includes a statute, judicial decision or order, rule of court, executive order, and administrative rule, regulation, or order.

(2) “Record” means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form.

(3) “Sign” means, with present intent to authenticate or adopt a record:

(A) To execute or adopt a tangible symbol; or

(B) To attach to or logically associate with the record an electronic symbol, sound, or process.

(4) “Sworn declaration” means a declaration in a signed record given under oath. Such term includes a sworn statement, verification, certificate, and affidavit.

(5) “Unsworn declaration” means a declaration in a signed record not given under oath but given under penalty of perjury.

(c) Except as provided in subsection (d) of this Code section or otherwise precluded by law, this Code section shall apply to an unsworn declaration by a declarant who at the time of making the declaration is physically located outside the boundaries of the United States, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, and any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.

(d)

(1) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, if a law of this state requires or permits use of a sworn declaration in a court, administrative, or arbitral proceeding, an unsworn declaration meeting the requirements of this Code section has the same effect as a sworn declaration.

(2) This Code section shall not apply to:

(A) A deposition;

(B) An oath of office;

(D) An oath expressly required by statute to be made pursuant to the requirements of Code Section 9-10-113;

(E) An instrument expressly required by statute to comply with Code Section 44-2-15; or

(F) An oath required by Code Section 53-4-24.

(e) If a law of this state requires that a sworn declaration be presented in a particular medium, an unsworn declaration must be presented in the same medium.

(f) An unsworn declaration under this Code section shall be in a form and content substantially as follows: “I declare under penalty of perjury under the law of Georgia that the foregoing is true and correct, and that I am physically located outside the geographic boundaries of the United States, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, and any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.

Signed on the ____________ day of ________________, ____________ at ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________

(g) In applying and construing this Code section, consideration shall be given to the need to promote uniformity of the law with respect to its subject matter among states that enact it.

(h) This Code section modifies, limits, or supersedes the federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, 15 U.S.C. Section 7001, et seq., but does not modify, limit, or supersede Section 101(c) of such act, or authorize electronic delivery of any of the notices described in Section 103(b) of such act.

End

Plain-English Summary

Notaries are hard to find overseas, and military members, missionaries, students, and expatriates often need to swear to facts for a Georgia court case from thousands of miles away. This law gives them another path: a written statement signed under penalty of perjury, without a notary’s seal, that counts the same as a sworn declaration.

The section spells out its own vocabulary — what counts as a “record,” what it means to “sign,” and the difference between a sworn declaration (made under oath, like an affidavit) and an unsworn one (made under penalty of perjury instead). It applies only to declarants who are physically outside the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and other U.S. territories when they sign. A handful of proceedings stay off-limits no matter where the declarant sits: depositions, oaths of office, and a short list of oaths that other statutes tie to a specific official or a specific form.

To use the law, a person writes out the required language declaring under penalty of perjury that the statement is true and that they are located outside the listed territories, then signs and dates it. If the underlying law calls for the sworn version to be filed on paper, the unsworn version has to be presented on paper too — the medium has to match. The section also addresses its relationship to federal electronic-signature law, so a declaration signed electronically is not left in limbo.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who can use an unsworn declaration under O.C.G.A. § 9-1-1?

Anyone who, at the moment they sign, is physically outside the United States, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or another U.S. territory can use an unsworn declaration in place of a sworn one, unless another law precludes it or one of the section’s listed exceptions applies.

Does an unsworn declaration need a notary?

No. The point of the section is to let a declarant sign under penalty of perjury without swearing before a notary or other officer authorized to administer oaths.

What proceedings are excluded from the Uniform Unsworn Declarations Act?

Subsection (d)(2) excludes depositions, oaths of office, oaths a statute requires to be given before a specific official other than a notary public, oaths that must follow Code Section 9-10-113, instruments that must comply with Code Section 44-2-15, and oaths required under Code Section 53-4-24.

What language has to appear in an unsworn declaration?

Subsection (f) sets out required wording: a statement that the declarant declares under penalty of perjury under Georgia law that the foregoing is true and correct and that the declarant is physically located outside the United States and the listed territories, followed by a signature and date.

How does this law interact with federal electronic-signature rules?

Subsection (h) states that the section modifies, limits, or supersedes the federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, but it does not modify, limit, or supersede Section 101(c) of that act or authorize electronic delivery of the notices described in Section 103(b).

Amendment History

Code 1981, § 9-1-1, enacted by Ga. L. 2023, p. 120, § 1/HB 80, effective July 1, 2023.

Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, published by the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, Georgia Code Revision Commission. Last verified July 17, 2026. · Official source

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