Louisiana Jurat and Affidavit Wording: Parish, Witnesses and Authentic Acts

This content is educational and informational, not legal advice. Louisiana is a civil-law jurisdiction and its rules differ substantially from other states. Requirements reflect the Louisiana Civil Code and Revised Statutes title 35, but the law can change. Confirm current requirements with the Louisiana Secretary of State or an attorney before relying on this.

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Fillable Louisiana jurat certificate

Enter the parish, the date, and the signer, and choose whether your document also calls for two witnesses. The certificate updates live with Louisiana wording and adds the witness lines when you need them.

What is the Louisiana jurat wording?

Louisiana affidavits use the sworn-and-subscribed formula, with the parish in place of a county and the notary's identification number below the signature.

Why is Louisiana different from every other state?

Because it is the only civil-law jurisdiction in the United States, a legacy of French and Spanish law rather than English common law. The practical consequences are large. Louisiana notaries hold lifetime commissions rather than four-year terms, and they may draft legal instruments, not merely witness signatures, which puts them closer to a European notary than to a notary in Texas or Ohio. Commissions are tied to a parish. None of that changes what a jurat does, but it changes almost everything around it.

When are two witnesses required in Louisiana?

For an act under private signature duly acknowledged, under Civil Code Article 1836. That article provides that a party may acknowledge an act under private signature by recognizing the signature as his own before a court, before a notary public, or before another officer authorized to perform that function, in the presence of two witnesses. Once acknowledged, the act is regarded prima facie as the true and genuine act of the party executing it and is admitted in evidence without further proof. Two witnesses are also the hallmark of an authentic act. A plain sworn affidavit taken on a jurat is a different act, so check what your document actually calls for before assembling witnesses.

Can an acknowledged act replace an authentic act?

No, and Article 1836 says so in a single sentence that catches out lawyers from other states: an act under private signature, though acknowledged, cannot substitute for an authentic act when the law prescribes such an act. In other words, doing the extra work of an acknowledgment with two witnesses does not upgrade a document into an authentic act. Where Louisiana law requires an authentic act, only an authentic act will do. That is the single most expensive misunderstanding in Louisiana document practice, and it is worth confirming with a Louisiana attorney before signing.

Does Louisiana accept out-of-state notarizations?

Yes, and unusually generously. Under Revised Statutes 35:5, oaths, acts, and acknowledgments taken, made, or executed by or before any person purporting to be a notary public duly appointed and qualified in another state, territory, or the District of Columbia have the same force and effect, without further proof of the signatures, as if taken before a Louisiana notary. The section is expressly remedial and retroactive, and it validates acts already made in compliance with it. So a properly executed Texas or Mississippi jurat does not need to be redone in Louisiana form.

What must appear on a Louisiana notarial document?

Names in full, together with the parties' permanent mailing addresses, under Revised Statutes 35:12, and those names may be stamped onto the document rather than handwritten. The requirement applies to filings with clerks of court and other Louisiana offices, which is why Louisiana instruments look denser than their out-of-state equivalents. The notary signs with a printed name alongside a notary identification number or bar roll number, since many Louisiana notaries are attorneys. Leaving the identification line blank is the small error that sends documents back from a clerk's office.

Published June 13, 2026 by the Trámites Notariales US editorial team. Sources: Louisiana Civil Code articles 1833 and 1836; Louisiana Revised Statutes 35:5 and 35:12 (Louisiana State Legislature); Louisiana Secretary of State notary resources. Confirm current requirements before relying on this.