ca-draft-declaration

Draft a California Declaration

Scaffold a declaration that complies with CCP § 2015.5, CRC 2.111, and California evidence rules. The declaration should be ready to fill in, sign, and file in support of a motion or other filing.

What this skill produces

A declaration with:

1. Caption (court header, parties, case number, document title: "DECLARATION OF [NAME] IN SUPPORT OF [MOTION TITLE]")
2. Numbered paragraphs of substantive content in the first person
3. Penalty-of-perjury attestation (CCP § 2015.5) at the close of the body, stating the place of execution
4. Date and place of execution
5. Signature block: full name + role
6. Exhibit List (if exhibits are attached)
7. Exhibit cover pages (labeled by letter: Exhibit A, Exhibit B, ...)

Declarations vs. affidavits in California

California uses "declarations" for most court filings. CCP § 2015.5 provides that a declaration under penalty of perjury subscribed in the form specified in the statute has the same force and effect as a sworn affidavit. A notarized affidavit is only required in a narrow set of circumstances (some probate filings, some federal forms). When in doubt in California state court, use the declaration form.

The CCP § 2015.5 form:

"I declare (or certify, verify, or state) under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing is true and correct."

California adds the "place of execution" requirement. Unlike federal declarations (28 USC § 1746), CCP § 2015.5 requires that the declarant state the place (city and state) where the declaration was signed. A declaration missing the place is technically defective and subject to objection.

Inputs to ask the user

• Caption: court / county / parties / case number
• Declarant name and role: who is signing? (party, witness, expert, counsel, etc.)
• Supporting motion: what motion or filing does this declaration support? (incorporated in the document title)
• Personal-knowledge facts: what facts does the declarant have personal knowledge of?
• Exhibits: list of documents to be attached; assigned letter labels (Exhibit A, B, C, ...)

Anatomy of a California declaration

Caption (top of page)

Per CRC 2.111 — attorney / pro se info in upper left; case information in upper right. See ca-statewide-format for the full caption format. The document title appears below the caption:

        DECLARATION OF JANE DOE IN SUPPORT OF
   DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO COMPEL FURTHER RESPONSES TO
     REQUESTS FOR PRODUCTION, SET ONE, UNDER CCP § 2031.310

Numbered paragraphs

Each paragraph contains one factual point. Number with bold Arabic numerals:

1.  Identity. I am the Defendant in the above-captioned
    action. I make this Declaration in support of my
    Motion to Compel Further Responses to Requests for
    Production, Set One, under CCP § 2031.310.

2.  Personal knowledge. Except where otherwise stated,
    the facts set forth in this Declaration are within my
    personal knowledge, and if called as a witness I could
    and would testify competently to those facts.

3.  Service of Requests for Production. On April 1, 2025,
    I served Requests for Production, Set One, Nos. 1–8,
    on Plaintiff's counsel via electronic service. A true
    and correct copy of those Requests is attached as
    Exhibit A.

4.  Plaintiff's Responses. On May 1, 2025, I received
    Plaintiff's Responses to my Requests for Production.
    Plaintiff interposed boilerplate objections to Requests
    Nos. 3, 5, and 6 and produced no responsive documents.
    A true and correct copy of Plaintiff's Responses is
    attached as Exhibit B.

5.  Meet-and-confer letter. On May 10, 2025, I sent
    Plaintiff's counsel a meet-and-confer letter under CCP
    §§ 2031.310(b) identifying the deficiencies in
    Plaintiff's responses and requesting supplementation.
    A true and correct copy of that letter is attached as
    Exhibit C.

6.  Telephone conference. On May 15, 2025, I spoke with
    Plaintiff's counsel by telephone for approximately 20
    minutes. We were unable to resolve the disputes
    regarding Requests Nos. 3, 5, and 6.

7.  Plaintiff's failure to supplement. As of the date of
    this Declaration, Plaintiff has not served supplemental
    responses or produced any documents responsive to
    Requests Nos. 3, 5, or 6.

8.  Prejudice from non-production. Without the documents
    requested in Requests Nos. 3, 5, and 6, I cannot
    evaluate whether Plaintiff has standing to bring this
    action or whether the alleged account exists.

Penalty-of-perjury attestation (CCP § 2015.5)

The attestation must appear at the close of the declaration body, before the signature:

I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the
State of California that the foregoing is true and correct.

This is the mandatory language under CCP § 2015.5. Variations such as "I hereby declare" or "The above is true and correct to the best of my knowledge" are insufficient — they omit the explicit "under the laws of the State of California" language that § 2015.5 requires for the declaration to be valid in California state court proceedings.

Date and place of execution

Executed on _______________, 20__, at [City], California.

Or, if executed outside California:

Executed on _______________, 20__, at [City], [State].

When executed outside California, the declaration remains valid under CCP § 2015.5(b) if it states the facts "are certified or declared to be true under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California." The declarant need not be physically in California.

Signature block

_________________________________________
JANE DOE
Defendant, In Pro Per
[Address]
[Phone]
[Email]

For counsel:

_________________________________________
JANE DOE
[State Bar No. XXXXXX]
Attorney for Defendant [Client Name]

Personal knowledge requirement

Cal. Evid. Code § 702: A witness may not testify to a fact without evidence that the witness has personal knowledge of that fact. Declarations are testimonial evidence; the same rule applies.

At the top of the body, include a personal-knowledge paragraph:

2.  Personal knowledge. Except where otherwise stated,
    the facts set forth in this Declaration are within
    my personal knowledge, and if called as a witness I
    could and would testify competently to those facts.

If the declarant is relying on documents or records rather than first-hand observation, say so in the paragraph:

9.  Review of records. The dates and dollar amounts
    stated in paragraphs 5–7 are derived from my review
    of [source — account statements, correspondence, etc.],
    which I personally reviewed on [date]. True and correct
    copies are attached as Exhibits D and E.

Opinion testimony limit

Cal. Evid. Code § 800: A lay witness may offer an opinion only if it is: (1) rationally based on the witness's perception, and (2) helpful to a clear understanding of the testimony or the determination of a fact in issue.

Keep declarant opinions limited to lay perceptions (e.g., "I observed that the caller identified herself as a 'Velocity' agent"). Avoid legal conclusions ("Plaintiff violated the FDCPA") — those belong in the motion, not the declaration.

Hearsay traps in declarations

Declarations must avoid inadmissible hearsay (Cal. Evid. Code § 1200). Common traps:

Trap	Fix
"I was told by [third party] that..."	Have the third party sign their own declaration; or establish a hearsay exception
"According to the contract, ..."	Authenticate the contract as an exhibit; testify that the attached exhibit is a true copy
"Records show that..."	Lay business-record foundation (Evid. Code §§ 1270–1272) or authenticate personally
Quoting a letter without attaching it	Attach the letter as an exhibit; authenticate in the body

Exhibits

California convention uses letter labels (Exhibit A, B, C, ...) — unlike Oregon (which uses numbers). Each exhibit:

• Is authenticated in the declaration paragraph introducing it: "A true and correct copy of [document] is attached hereto as Exhibit [A]."
• Has a cover page ("EXHIBIT A" centered in bold; short italic caption below)
• Appears in order at the end of the declaration after the signature block
• Is listed on an Exhibit List page between the signature block and the first exhibit cover page

                         EXHIBIT LIST

Exhibit A:   Defendant's Requests for Production, Set One,
             dated April 1, 2025

Exhibit B:   Plaintiff's Responses to Requests for
             Production, Set One, dated May 1, 2025

Exhibit C:   Defendant's meet-and-confer letter, dated
             May 10, 2025

See ca-statewide-format/references/exhibit-handling.md for the full exhibit-handling guide.

Declarations vs. motions — drawing the line

Declarations contain sworn facts. Motions contain argument.

A common mistake: argument disguised as fact.

Wrong (in the declaration):

Plaintiff is clearly a debt buyer that doesn't have proper chain of title and is trying to mislead the Court.

This is argument. It belongs in the Memorandum, not the declaration.

Right (in the declaration):

7. Plaintiff's corporate filing. Based on my review of the California Secretary of State's business entity search (Exhibit D), Plaintiff [Name] is registered as a Delaware limited liability company with its principal place of business listed as [City]. Plaintiff's Complaint alleges it "acquired" my account through an "assignment" but Plaintiff has produced no assignment agreement in response to Requests for Production.

The facts are sworn; the characterization ("trying to mislead") is omitted. The Memorandum argues based on the sworn facts.

Cal. Evid. Code § 1271 — business records

For declarations supporting business records under Cal. Evid. Code § 1271 (the state analog to FRE 803(6)), the declarant should be a custodian or qualified witness attesting that:

1. The record was made in the regular course of a business
2. It was the regular course of that business to make such records
3. The record was made at or near the time of the acts or events it records
4. The sources of information and method of preparation were trustworthy

For a debt-buyer plaintiff's declaration attempting to authenticate the original creditor's records, this foundation typically fails because the debt buyer's custodian did not work for the original creditor when the records were made. See ca-consumer-debt/references/evidence-debt-buyer.md for foundational challenges.

Scenario-specific sample components

Motion to compel — declarant is moving party

Paragraphs should cover (in order):

• Identity and role (¶ 1)
• Personal knowledge statement (¶ 2)
• Service of discovery requests (¶ 3)
• Fact of responses (¶ 4)
• Each substantive objection and the meet-and-confer effort (¶¶ 5–7)
• Current status — no supplementation (¶ 8)
• Prejudice / need (¶ 9)
• Fee calculation (if requesting sanctions) (¶ 10)

Opposition to demurrer — declarant is opposing party

Rare for demurrer oppositions (which turn on the face of the pleading), but useful when the opposing party wants to include facts not in the complaint. Paragraphs:

• Identity (¶ 1)
• Facts supporting each cause of action challenged by the demurrer (¶¶ 3+), demonstrating they are pleadable with particularity

Summary judgment opposition — declarant creates triable issue

The SJ declaration is critical: it must create a genuine triable issue of material fact (CCP § 437c(p)). Each disputed fact in the Separate Statement of Disputed Facts should be supported by a specific declaration paragraph and exhibit.

Format:

5.  Account ownership. I reviewed the complaint. Plaintiff
    alleges it "acquired" my account (Complaint ¶ 6), but
    Plaintiff produced no assignment agreement, bill of sale,
    or forward-flow agreement in response to Requests for
    Production, Set One, Nos. 3, 5, and 6. (Exhibit B.)
    I am unable to verify that Plaintiff owns the account it
    claims.

This paragraph creates a triable issue of fact on standing.

Layered composition

This skill ALWAYS composes with:

• ca-statewide-format — caption, format, line numbers, signature block, exhibit conventions

It typically composes with:

• ca-pro-se — for pro se declarants; omit Bar No.; "In Pro Per" in signature block
• ca-draft-motion — the declaration usually accompanies a motion
• ca-lasc / ca-sfsc / ca-county-courts — the court header in the caption reflects the venue

Quality checks

Before filing:

• ca-quality-check — format pass (CRC 2.100–2.119)
• ca-fact-check — verifies that the declaration's facts are consistent with the motion and any exhibits

Common pitfalls

Pitfall	Consequence
Missing "under the laws of the State of California" in attestation	Declaration invalid under CCP § 2015.5
Missing place of execution	Technically defective; subject to objection
Argument mixed in with facts	Subject to motion to strike; weakens both motion and declaration
Legal conclusions	Inadmissible opinion; opposing counsel will object
Facts beyond personal knowledge without foundation	Cal. Evid. Code § 702 objection
Numbered exhibits (1, 2, 3)	Wrong convention for California state court (use letters: A, B, C)
No exhibit list	Disorganized record; judge can't navigate
Attestation at the top rather than at the close	§ 2015.5 requires attestation to follow the facts, not precede them

Cross-references

• ca-statewide-format/references/exhibit-handling.md — exhibit conventions
• ca-pro-se — pro-se drafting framework and pro se signature block
• ca-draft-motion — companion motion
• ca-law-references/references/evidence-rules.md — Cal. Evid. Code references

NOT LEGAL ADVICE. Generated content is a drafting aid; verify against current rules and case law before filing.