Can a sworn declaration be notarized?

Say someone concocts a sworn declaration regarding income, and expects to use this as a means of either proving income to a seller/service, etc. Can the sworn declaration be notarized to make it valid? I mean, of course, more valid as in proving that the statement was signed by the person presenting it.

The question indicates some lack of clarity about legal terminology. Usually a sworn statement is called an "Affidavit" and the notary's role in it is to the administer the oath that makes it a sworn statement. The term "Declaration" usually refers to an unsworn statement made under penalty of perjury in the absence of a notary. Declarations may be used in lieu of Affidavits in the federal courts and the courts of select states such as Utah, in both cases by express statutory authorization. Both Affidavits and Declarations are hearsay and not generally admissible at trial in a court of law.

3 Answers 3

The point of notarizing a document is to provide official evidence that the person in question did sign the document: you establish your identity, and sign in the presence of a notary who then affixes their seal and signature saying "I saw him sign this". Whether or not the statements in the document are true is a separate matter: all that notarizing does is resolve the question whether it was X who signed the statement.

When testifying or providing a written factual claim in an official government matter, you may be required to, in some form, "swear" to the truth of a claim – you take an oath, required or authorized by law, and you have been apprised of the fact that lying on the statement is punishable. Only certain people can, by law, administer such an oath, and if the oath is in a written statement, it has to be an official form with appropriate perjury notifications. There may be a particular requirement to provide a "sworn statement", e.g. Minnesota has a family violence waiver law that requires such a statement. A "sworn statement" in that sense and as distinguished from an affidavit is not notarized. One may still submit an affidavit (not a "sworn statement"), if allowed, in an official matter: here are the Washington state rules for subscribing to an unsworn statement. State law may require an affidavit to be notarized (an example from Colorado). So: if by "sworn statement" you mean "affidavit", then notarization may be required by local law.