An owner affidavit is a sworn statement a property owner signs at closing confirming facts about the property that a title search can’t verify on its own, such as unpaid contractors, hidden occupants, or boundary disputes with a neighbor. Title insurance companies rely on it to decide which standard exceptions to drop from the buyer’s and lender’s policies, which is why it’s one of the more consequential documents in a real estate transaction. By making your statements under oath, you personally back up claims that courthouse records can’t confirm.
When You’ll Be Asked to Sign One
The most common trigger is a sale. Before a title company issues its policies, it needs the seller to confirm facts that don’t appear in public records: a handshake agreement letting a neighbor use the driveway, a quiet boundary dispute, a contractor who finished work last month and hasn’t been paid. A records search won’t surface any of that.
Refinancing works the same way. When you replace a mortgage, the new lender wants a fresh title policy showing its lien in first position, and the title company needs your sworn confirmation that nothing has changed since the last policy issued. New construction and major renovations add a layer, because the title company wants assurance that every worker and supplier has been paid before potential lien claims can attach to the property.
What You’re Swearing To
Owner affidavits aren’t identical from one closing to the next, but most follow a similar template. The representations fall into a handful of categories, each targeting a risk the title company can’t verify through public records.
Liens, Judgments, and Debts Tied to You
You confirm whether unpaid debts could attach to the property: tax liens, court judgments, child support obligations, and active bankruptcy cases. If any exist, the title company will either require payoff at closing or exclude the item from coverage. Omitting one doesn’t make it go away; it means you’ve signed a false oath.
Occupants and Unrecorded Agreements
Title searches reveal recorded leases and easements but miss anything done with a handshake or a short-term agreement. You’ll be asked to list every person living on or using the property, including month-to-month tenants and anyone occupying under an unrecorded lease. The form also asks whether any tenant holds a right of first refusal or an option to purchase. Buyers and lenders care about this because an occupant with legal rights can complicate or block a sale.
Boundary Lines and Survey Problems
You’ll be asked whether you know of any boundary disputes, encroachments, or conflicting surveys. A fence crossing a property line, or a neighbor’s shed sitting partly on your lot, is exactly the kind of problem only the current owner would know about. Your answer determines whether the title company insures the boundaries shown on the survey or carves out an exception.
Recent Construction
If contractors, subcontractors, or material suppliers worked on the property recently, they may still have time to file a mechanic’s lien for unpaid bills. Filing deadlines vary by jurisdiction, ranging from around 45 days to as long as 240 days after work is finished. The affidavit asks you to identify recent work and confirm everyone has been paid. If anything is still outstanding, the title company typically holds back funds at closing to cover it.
Why the Affidavit Matters to Your Title Insurance
Every title policy starts with a list of standard exceptions, which are categories of risk the policy won’t cover. Common ones include rights of parties in possession, unrecorded easements, and boundary disputes. When you sign an affidavit confirming none of these problems exist, the title company removes those exceptions. The buyer and lender get broader coverage, which is the whole point of asking for the document.
The affidavit also covers the gap period. There’s always a window between closing and the moment the new deed is actually recorded at the county office, and in that window someone could theoretically file a lien or judgment that lands in the records before the deed does. Your sworn statement that no such claims are pending gives the title company enough comfort to release funds at closing rather than waiting for recording. If something does surface in the gap, your affidavit is the basis for the title company to come back to you.
Signing and Notarization
You usually won’t draft the affidavit. The closing attorney or title agent prepares it using a standard form, pre-filled from the title search and purchase contract. Your job is to review it carefully and flag anything wrong or incomplete. Check the spelling of your name against the deed, the property address, and the legal description. A mismatch between “Robert J. Smith” on the deed and “Bob Smith” on the affidavit can create a title defect requiring a corrective filing.
You’ll provide a taxpayer identification number so the title company can search for federal tax liens tied to you personally. Some forms ask about marital status, since a spouse may have legal rights in the property even if they aren’t on the deed. Bring a government-issued photo ID and recent tax or mortgage statements.
Because the affidavit is sworn testimony, you sign in front of a notary public who verifies your identity and administers an oath. The notary doesn’t evaluate whether your statements are true; they confirm you are who you claim to be and that you signed voluntarily. Remote online notarization is now available in 47 states and the District of Columbia, so if you’ve moved out of the area you may be able to sign over a secure video call.1National Association of Secretaries of State. Remote Electronic Notarization Check with your title company first, because not every underwriter accepts remote notarization for every transaction.
If an LLC, Trust, or Corporation Owns the Property
When an entity holds title, the person who signs must have actual authority to bind it, and they sign in their official capacity rather than as an individual. The signature block reads something like “Jane Doe, as Manager of 123 Main Street LLC.”
Expect the title company to ask for supporting documentation. For an LLC, that’s typically the operating agreement or a resolution showing the signer is authorized. For a trust, it’s a certificate of trust identifying the trustee and confirming they can convey real estate. A corporation usually provides a board resolution. Gather these early; missing paperwork delays closing.
The Separate FIRPTA Affidavit
If you’re selling U.S. real property, the buyer or closing agent is required to withhold 15% of the sale price and send it to the IRS unless you can prove you’re not a foreign person. The rule comes from the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act. To avoid withholding, you sign a separate document, often called a non-foreign affidavit or FIRPTA certificate, stating under penalty of perjury that you are a U.S. person and giving your name, taxpayer identification number, and home address.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 1445 – Withholding of Tax on Dispositions of United States Real Property Interests
There’s a full exemption when the buyer intends to use the property as a residence and the sale price is $300,000 or less.3Internal Revenue Service. FIRPTA Withholding Foreign sellers can apply for a withholding certificate on IRS Form 8288-B before closing to reduce or eliminate the amount withheld.4Internal Revenue Service. About Form 8288-B, Application for Withholding Certificate for Dispositions by Foreign Persons of U.S. Real Property Interests The FIRPTA affidavit is a different document from the standard owner affidavit, but both often appear in the same closing package and both carry perjury consequences.
What Happens If You Get It Wrong
Everything in the affidavit is sworn under oath, which means a deliberate lie is perjury. Under federal law, perjury carries up to five years in prison, a fine, or both.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1621 – Perjury Generally State perjury statutes impose their own penalties. The risk doesn’t stop at criminal charges. If the title company pays a claim because you failed to disclose a lien or a boundary dispute you knew about, it will come after you for reimbursement, and the affidavit is the contractual basis for that recovery.
Most problems aren’t outright fraud; they’re carelessness. A forgotten contractor invoice, a verbal fence agreement with a neighbor, an unmentioned pending divorce. Each can create a title defect that triggers a claim. Read every line before you sign, and if you’re unsure about any representation, tell the closing agent. A disclosed issue can be worked around. An undisclosed one becomes your personal liability.