Affidavits for a Singapore Company: Who Swears for the Company, What Goes In and the Risk of a False Affidavit

Short answer: A company gives affidavit evidence through an individual, usually a director or employee who knows the facts. The deponent swears or affirms before a commissioner for oaths, in Form 31 under Order 15 of the Rules of Court 2021, exhibiting every document referred to. Intentionally false affidavit evidence in court proceedings carries up to 7 years’ jail and a fine.

An affidavit for a Singapore company is a sworn or affirmed written statement of evidence that a person makes on the company’s behalf in court proceedings. A company cannot hold a pen or take an oath, so the request usually lands on a director: “the lawyers need you to swear an affidavit for the company by Friday.” This guide covers who should make it, what goes in, exhibits, swearing, cost and the risk if it is wrong. If your company has only just been served with a claim, start with our first-steps guide on defending a civil claim against your company.

Raffles Corporate Services works with a panel of experienced Singapore law firms who offer cost-effective and efficient legal service and advice. This article is general information only and is not legal advice.

What is an affidavit for a company in Singapore, and when is one needed?

It is written evidence given by an individual, on the company’s side of a case, that has been sworn or affirmed as true. Courts use affidavits to decide most applications, and to receive each witness’s main evidence at trial.

Under Order 15, Rule 7(5) of the Rules of Court 2021, originating applications and summonses are decided on affidavit evidence and submissions, without oral evidence, unless the court directs otherwise: summary judgment, injunctions and winding up applications, for example. At trial of an originating claim, each witness’s evidence-in-chief is generally given by an affidavit of evidence-in-chief (AEIC), followed by cross-examination (Order 15, Rule 16(1)).

A company deals with three kinds of sworn paper. Keep them apart:

Statutory declarations are covered in our separate guide to the statutory declaration in Singapore. This article deals only with affidavits filed in court proceedings.

What is the legal basis for affidavits?

The procedure is in Division 2 of Order 15 of the Rules of Court 2021, with formatting detail in the courts’ practice directions. The duty to tell the truth comes from the oath or affirmation itself and is enforced by the Penal Code 1871.

Swearing and affirming have the same legal effect: a promise to tell the truth. Under the Singapore Courts’ guidance, Christian and Catholic deponents swear holding the Bible, and everyone else makes an affirmation.

Who can swear an affidavit for a company?

Any individual who is legally competent to give evidence and knows the facts (Order 15, Rule 20). There is no rule that it must be a director, but the best deponent is the person who dealt with the events first-hand.

The board manages the company’s business (Companies Act 1967, section 157A), so in practice the directors decide who gives evidence: the director who negotiated the deal, a finance manager for ledger figures, or a project manager for site events. Several people can each cover what they know; a joint affidavit is allowed only if all the facts affirmed are the same (Rule 21).

The Courts’ guidance asks deponents to state their address and occupation (in a business capacity, a work address, position and employer) and whether they are a party or employed by one. A director overseas can still give evidence: an affidavit may be affirmed outside Singapore (Rule 23), before a person authorised to administer oaths there (Rule 17).

Rule 20 does not require board approval for a director to give evidence. Many law firms nonetheless ask for a board resolution confirming that the company is defending or bringing the claim, has appointed the firm and authorises named officers to give instructions and evidence. It removes later arguments about whether the deponent speaks for the company. A director appearing for the company when it is charged with an offence is a different matter, handled by a letter of authorisation for a company representative.

What can go into the affidavit: personal knowledge or information and belief?

Facts the deponent knows personally carry the most weight. Anything learned from someone else or from documents should be identified with its source, and the deponent must not state a belief they do not hold.

• Only relevant facts. An affidavit must contain only relevant facts, and nothing vulgar, insulting or intended to belittle (Order 15, Rule 25).
• No legal argument. The Courts’ guidance says legal arguments should not be included in affidavits; your lawyer makes them in submissions.
• Name your sources. The Courts’ guidance is to identify your information sources and take great care before stating matters you believe or that others told you.
• Final applications are stricter. Unlike the old Rules of Court 2014, Order 15, Rule 25(1) does not distinguish interlocutory affidavits that may contain information and belief. In Re X Diamond Capital Pte Ltd [2023] SGHC 201 (unreported), the High Court held that evidence on information or belief is prima facie inadmissible where an originating application decides the parties’ rights with finality, and expunged an anonymous email as hearsay.
• AEICs must hold the whole story. An AEIC must contain all material facts, which cannot be departed from or supplemented in oral evidence unless they occurred after the affidavit was made, and only evidence admissible in law (Order 15, Rule 16(4) and (5)). To rely on a hearsay statement under section 32 of the Evidence Act 1893, the company must give notice to the other parties when the AEICs are served (Rule 16(7)).

Belief is not a safe harbour: under Explanation 2 to section 191 of the Penal Code, falsely stating a belief can itself be false evidence.

How is an affidavit for a company prepared and sworn, step by step?

Your solicitor drafts it from the deponent’s account and the company’s records; the deponent checks every line, then swears or affirms it before a commissioner for oaths, and the solicitor files it. Court proceedings are conducted by a Singapore Advocate and Solicitor acting for the company.

1. The board agrees who will give evidence and, where the law firm wants one, passes a resolution authorising that person.
2. The company secretary or corporate service provider (CSP) pulls the corporate records the lawyers ask for: registers, minutes, resolutions and a current ACRA business profile.
3. The deponent gives the solicitor a full account and the documents they personally handled.
4. The solicitor drafts the affidavit in Form 31, in numbered paragraphs, and prepares the exhibits. For an AEIC in an originating claim, a colour photograph of the deponent, 35 mm by 45 mm and taken in the last 12 months, goes at the top left of the first page (Rule 19(2)).
5. The deponent checks the draft, corrects anything they cannot stand behind and confirms sources for second-hand facts.
6. The deponent attends the commissioner for oaths with identification and the unsigned affidavit, and swears or affirms and signs there. The commissioner signs the jurat and certifies each exhibit (Rule 27(5)).
7. The solicitor files the affidavit through the Electronic Filing Service and serves it on the other parties.

Who can act as the commissioner for oaths?

A lawyer, court interpreter, government official or other person authorised to administer oaths, appointed by the Board of Commissioners for Oaths and Notaries Public. It cannot be the company’s own lawyer or someone from the same firm. An affidavit may also be affirmed and signed remotely in Singapore through a live video link, if the technology meets the practice directions (Order 15, Rule 22); the courts’ e-commissioning service requires the deponent to be physically in Singapore and to have Singpass.

What documents and exhibits will the company need?

Every document the affidavit mentions must be annexed (Order 15, Rule 27(1)), so the paper trail has to be assembled before drafting, not after.

Under the Supreme Court Practice Directions 2021, each exhibit has a dividing sheet with the exhibit mark (usually the deponent’s initials, such as “TAK-1”) and the commissioner’s certificate. More than 10 documentary exhibits need a table of contents, and numbering runs on across a deponent’s later affidavits in the same action. Our guide to buying a business profile on Bizfile explains how to get the ACRA extract, and our overview of statutory registers covers the registers a company must keep.

How long does it take, and what does it cost?

Deadlines come from the court’s timetable; commissioning itself is quick and cheap. Most of the cost is solicitors’ drafting time.

The Courts’ commissioner for oaths services page lists the current fees. Private commissioners and solicitors set their own fees, so ask the law firm for a written estimate.

What does the company secretary prepare, and what does the solicitor do?

The company secretary or CSP supplies accurate corporate records and approvals. The Singapore Advocate and Solicitor advises on the evidence, drafts and files the affidavit, and appears in court.

Raffles Corporate Services does not give legal advice or act in court; a law firm from our panel handles the proceedings. If you are asked to swear something you are unsure about, speak to a lawyer before you sign. Where the other side wants your company’s records, see our guide to production of documents under Order 11.

What happens if a company affidavit is wrong or false?

An honest mistake should be corrected by a further affidavit as soon as it is found. A deliberately false affidavit exposes the deponent personally to prosecution, and can sink the company’s case.

• Before filing: an affirmed affidavit may be altered only if it is re-affirmed before a commissioner for oaths (Order 15, Rule 26(1)).
• After filing: the maker corrects mistakes by making another affidavit (Rule 26(2)). Do not quietly fix it in oral evidence; an AEIC’s material facts cannot be supplemented by new facts at trial unless they arose later (Rule 16(4)).
• Cross-examination: if the maker does not attend for cross-examination, their AEIC may not be used unless the parties agree (Rule 16(3)).
• Striking out: the court may strike out or redact an affidavit that is an abuse of process (Order 9, Rule 16(4)).
• Criminal liability: a statement under oath that the maker knows or believes to be false, or does not believe to be true, is false evidence (section 191), punishable with up to 7 years’ imprisonment and a fine in a judicial proceeding (section 193). Making a false record or document intended to appear in evidence is fabricating false evidence (section 192), with the same maximum.

The risk falls on the individual who swore. A director pressed to sign facts they cannot verify should ask for the paragraph to be rewritten or given to a better-placed witness. Affidavits need no ACRA lodgement, though a resulting court order, such as a winding up order, may.

What are the common mistakes?

Most problems come from rushing the draft or choosing the wrong deponent.

• A director swearing to events only a staff member witnessed, without naming the source.
• Referring to a contract or email without exhibiting it.
• Signing before the appointment, or editing pages after affirming.
• Exhibiting an out-of-date business profile that still names a former director.
• Choosing a deponent who will be unavailable for cross-examination at trial.

Frequently asked questions

Can the company secretary swear the affidavit instead of a director?

Yes, if the secretary is competent and knows the facts. The secretary is often the right person for facts about registers, resolutions and filings, but not for commercial events they did not witness.

Does the deponent need to be a Singapore resident?

No. An affidavit may be affirmed outside Singapore before a person authorised to administer oaths there (Order 15, Rules 17 and 23). The courts’ e-commissioning service, however, requires the deponent to be physically in Singapore.

What if the director does not read English well?

The affidavit is still in English. The commissioner for oaths must certify that it was read to the maker in a language they understand by a competent translator, and that they understood and confirmed it (Order 15, Rule 24).

Is a statutory declaration enough instead of an affidavit?

Not for evidence in court proceedings, which uses affidavits under Order 15. A statutory declaration is mainly used outside court, unless a particular rule asks for one.

Last reviewed: 6 November 2026. The Editorial Team, Raffles Corporate Services.