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A scrivener's affidavit is a sworn statement clarifying a minor document error. It covers typos, misspelled names and similar clerical slips in a deed or contract. This page gives a fillable template, sample wording for each part and a worked example.
A scrivener's affidavit is a short sworn statement, usually signed by the person who prepared a document or by someone who knows the facts, that explains a clerical mistake in that document and gives the intended wording.
What the affidavit does to the original document varies by state. In Texas, a correction instrument replaces and is a substitute for the original instrument (Tex. Prop. Code § 5.030). Title examiners and anyone else who reads the original can then see what the parties meant. The same document is also called an affidavit of scrivener's error or a scrivener's error affidavit.
Forms differ from place to place, and some places prescribe their own wording, so ask the county office that holds the original document which form it takes. Most templates follow the same order: who prepared it, which document holds the mistake, the correction, the sworn statement and the signature.
A scrivener's error is a clerical or typographical mistake made while a document was written or copied, such as a misspelled name, two swapped digits or a missing word, that does not match what the parties agreed.
The word "scrivener" means a writer or clerk. The term points at the slip of the pen, never at the deal itself. Some searchers spell it "scribner's error"; the meaning is the same.
Typical scrivener's errors include:
Use a scrivener's affidavit when a signed document holds a small clerical mistake and a sworn explanation clears it up without changing any term the parties agreed to.
It fits cases like these:
A scrivener's affidavit is the wrong tool for a significant change. For instance, if parties to a contract write an incorrect term that influences the entire document, they should create an amendment or a new document and execute it.
Keep these points in mind:
For other sworn statements, see our affidavit forms.
A scrivener's affidavit example shows how one sworn sentence ties two versions of a name together, so anyone reading the property history knows both versions name the same person.
John Black transfers the title of a property to Mary Johnson. Later, Mary Johnson signs a deed that transfers the rights to the property from M. Johnson to Lisa Green.
Real estate title examiners might not be sure whether Mary Johnson and M. Johnson are the same person.
Mary Johnson then signs a scrivener's affidavit with this sentence: “M. Johnson and Mary Johnson are the same individual.” Once it is on file with the county, the affidavit gives a title examiner a sworn link between the two names. Whether that settles the title question is the examiner's or the title insurer's call. Check who may sign where the property lies before a party signs wording like this.
A scrivener's affidavit is a sworn statement about a clerical slip in the original document, while a corrective deed brings changes to the information already mentioned in the initial deed.
| Question | Scrivener's affidavit | Corrective deed |
|---|---|---|
| What it does | Corrects an error in the original wording | Changes the information in the deed |
| Effect on the original | Varies by state; in Texas a correction instrument replaces and is a substitute for the original instrument (Tex. Prop. Code § 5.030) | Gives way to the corrected wording |
| Best fit | A typo, a misspelled or shortened name, a missing word | A mistake that needs the deed's own text changed |
| Who prepares it | The affiant: usually the preparer or someone who knows the facts | See our corrective deed page |
In comparison with a corrective deed, a scrivener's affidavit has relatively limited use. It fits clerical slips, such as a misspelled name, rather than changes to who transfers, who receives or what passes.
The rules for correcting a recorded deed with a sworn statement vary by state, so read the law where the property lies before anyone signs. The table lists only the state whose code we read on its official site; other states are left out until we have checked their codes.
| State and statute | Who may sign | What it must state | After signing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas, Tex. Prop. Code § 5.028 | A person with personal knowledge of facts relevant to the correction, for a nonmaterial change from a clerical error (Tex. Prop. Code § 5.028) | The basis for the signer's personal knowledge of those facts (Tex. Prop. Code § 5.028) | Record it in each county where the original is recorded; if not every party to the original signed it, send each party a copy and notice by first class mail, e-mail or other reasonable means (Tex. Prop. Code § 5.028) |
Texas calls this document a correction instrument. Tex. Prop. Code § 5.028 covers nonmaterial changes from a clerical error, such as the spelling of a party's name, a lot or block number, or the recording data of a referenced instrument. Under Tex. Prop. Code § 5.030, a correction instrument replaces and is a substitute for the original instrument.
A material correction, such as adding land to or removing land from a conveyance, is signed by the parties to the original transaction or their heirs, successors or assigns, as applicable (Tex. Prop. Code § 5.029).
To fill out a scrivener's affidavit form, enter the preparer's details, identify the document and its mistake, write the correction, swear to it, then swear to it and sign it in the jurat block.
Work through the six parts below from top to bottom. Keep the original document in front of you while you fill in the form, so every name and number matches.
The preparer block sits in the top left corner of most forms and holds the name and address of the affiant, followed by the property identification number and the document number to correct.
In the first paragraph of the body, the affiant names their relationship to the document, such as drafting attorney, closing title company, grantor or grantee, then gives the document number and describes the mistake.
Sample wording:
“I, [Name of the affiant], the affiant and preparer of this Scrivener’s Affidavit, whose relationship to the above-referenced document number is [The affiant’s relation to the document], do hereby swear and affirm that Document Number: [The number of the document that is being changed], included the following mistake: [The type of mistake made in the document].”
The correction paragraph shows how the mistaken part reads once fixed, in full words, so a reader can set it beside the original line and compare the two.
“The mistake is hereby corrected as follows: [Way of fixing the mistake in the document].”
If the correction does not fit in the space on the form, continue on an extra page. Identify the original by its book and page or instrument number, and ask the county office that holds it whether it wants a copy attached.
The sworn statement is the last paragraph of the affidavit, where the affiant swears that the correction is true and matches what the parties who drafted the document intended.
The following wording might be used:
“Finally, I, [Name of the affiant], the affiant, do hereby swear to the above correction, and believe it to be the true and accurate intention(s) of the parties who drafted and recorded the referenced document.”
At the bottom of the document, the affiant should include their signature and date of the document.
Sign with the same name the preparer block gives, and write the date in full so nobody misreads it.
An affidavit is sworn, so its notary block is a jurat, in which the affiant swears or affirms before the notary; Florida's jurat form in Fla. Stat. § 117.05 reads "Sworn to (or affirmed) and subscribed before me ... by (name of person making statement)."
An acknowledgment is a different notary form under Fla. Stat. § 117.05; ask the county office that holds the deed whether it also wants one.
There should be a place for their stamp, signature, and date.
After signing, take the affidavit to the office that keeps land documents for the county where the property lies, often called the register of deeds or the county clerk, so it sits beside the deed it clarifies.
Ask that office for its current charges and its page format before you go.
Tip: Describe the mistake and the correction in short, plain sentences. A reader can then compare the affidavit with the original document at a glance.
The affiant signs it, usually the person who prepared the original document or someone who knows the facts, such as the drafting attorney, the closing title company, the grantor or the grantee.
Who may sign is not the same everywhere, so ask the county office that holds the original document before you sign.
Yes, you can fill in a scrivener's affidavit template yourself, using the parts and the sample wording on this page as a guide, but where only the preparer of the original may sign, the preparer signs it.
If the error sits in a deed, the drafting attorney or the title company can read your draft before you sign it.
Yes, this page is a scrivener's error affidavit template, with sample wording for each part of the form and a picture of each filled-in step under its heading.
Replace each part in square brackets with the details of your own document, for example the real name of the person signing in place of [Name of the affiant].
Keep the original next to you while you write, and compare every name, address, county, and number with it before anyone signs.
You can also call anyone involved in the original paperwork and ask them to read your draft.
General information, not legal or tax advice.
