Statutory Declaration

What is a statutory declaration?

A statutory declaration is a list of facts that are written within a document and declared true to the best knowledge of a declarant. The signing of the statutory declaration means that the person making the declaration has sworn that the statements in the document are true. This can either be a sworn or affirmed as true in the presence of a person authorized in Canada to administer oaths like a lawyer, Justice of the Peace, or notaries.

Statutory Declaration

Statutory declarations are often confused with affidavits, and while both are very similar and have equal value, there is a slight difference between the two. A statutory declaration is simply a statement declaring that what has been written on paper as fact is true.

Statutory declarations are often used to confirm identity in cases where government-issued identification may not be available for some reason. They can also be used to prove the fact that a document had been lost or stolen. Another common application for these documents involves ownership of property.

Statutory declarations are also often used in Canada for the following purposes:

• when a person chooses to change their name and legally adopt a new name so it can appear on government-issued identification like passports and driver’s licenses
• used by financial institutions for the purposes of transferring money to individuals who are legally authorized (e.g. executors of a will) to handle the estate of a person who has died. Examples of this are executors of a will.
• used in business, for example, when the directors of a company are declaring bankruptcy.
• used in trade as proof of the nature of goods that are being exported or imported.
• patent applications.

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