On May 31, 2023, the New York Legislature passed a bill that would eliminate the requirement to notarize affidavits in civil lawsuits. A.B. 5772, 2023-2024 Leg. Assem. (N.Y. 2023) (“A5772”). Should Governor Hochul sign the bill into law, New York courts will admit into evidence the statement of any witness without requiring it to be notarized, so long as the witness affirms the truthfulness of their statement “under the penalties of perjury.”
The bill substantially changes how litigants can introduce witness testimony in New York, N.Y. C.P.L.R. §2106, bringing New York in line with federal courts and other jurisdictions that allow witnesses to offer sworn statements merely by declaring what they say is true “under penalty of perjury,” 28 U.S.C. §1746.
