# attestation sur l'honneur



## ash_dav03

Comment dit-on une attestation sur l'honneur en anglais ?

Voici ma phrase

Nous avons besoin de la société une attestation sur l'honneur indiquant qu'ils sont bien producteurs et distributeurs de la série AA

We require a certificate ( ??)  ...


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## dewsy

attestation sur l'honneur = affidavit


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## ash_dav03

merci dewsy


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## timboleicester

...a sworn statement to the effect that they are indeed the producers......


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## ash_dav03

Please advise if my sentence is ok then

We require an affivadit from the company certifying that...


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## Grumumble

my v big dictionary says:
affidavit.
I have personally never heard this term (but I'm no lawyer), which seems to be the perfect equivalent.
A term i do know is: sworn statement


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## ash_dav03

merci a tous


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## joaopaolo

une attestation sur l’honneur de la société XYZ

This describes an energy efficiency assessment produced as part of the sale of a property.

Do we need the notion of "sworn" here, something like "sworn certificates"

Or is it simply saying that the firm "certifies" the document.

(France).


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## hoaryoldtranslator

sworn declaration/statement?


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## alisonp

I don't think "affidavit" is right, certainly: in the UK, at least, an affidavit is sworn before someone empowered to administer oaths.  I'm not sure what the English-language equivalent is: an _attestation sur l'honneur_ is a very serious thing, and legally binding (you can be fined/imprisoned for making a false one, because it's regarded as perjury, I understand).  It is *not* sworn in front of a solicitor, notary or similar, but is written and signed by the person making it, and contains full identification details (date of birth, address, full name etc.).  I'm not sure whether you can technically regard it as "sworn" if it's not made in front of someone and sworn on the appropriate religious book or equivalent, but I don't think that "signed declaration" is enough to cover it either.

I'd be very interested to hear from anyone who has a good suggestion for an English wording for this!


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## hoaryoldtranslator

I know in Britain you often see "Commissioner for oaths" on solicitors' nameplates. Might that be something to do with it?


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## alisonp

Not really, because there's no legal professional involved in producing one of these.


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## broglet

The two legal systems being different, a satisfactory translation is likely to be elusive. I would suggest 'signed statement'.


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## Assurancetourix

broglet said:


> The two legal systems being different, a satisfactory translation is likely to be elusive.



Absolutely, though for the reasons given by alisonp I think "signed declaration / statement" will often be an undertranslation.

Where it is important to make clear that the document is not merely to be signed but is to contain a formal declaration that its contents are true, I don't think there is a neat all-purpose equivalent.

In legal proceedings in England / Wales various documents have to contain a "statement of truth", which is a declaration made at the end of the document to the effect that its contents are true. I think that might work in some situations, but one of the problems with the drive to "plain English" in legal matters is that it can be unclear whether a term is being used in its ordinary sense or in a more specific legal sense. In many contexts the reader would be unlikely to realise that "statement of truth" had a particular meaning. In the past affidavits were more widely used and they contained a "jurat" at the end, which again was a formal confirmation of truth. However - as the word itself suggests - to refer to a jurat is to say that the document needs to be sworn as opposed to signed.

In most circumstances I think I would talk about a signed statement containing a formal declaration of truth, although that is going to get cumbersome if there are lots of repetitions.


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## Isa74

I have to translate "attestation sur l'honneur".
Contest : we ask our customers to send us documents. If they don't have these documents, they have to send us a "certificate of honor". Is it correct?
Thanks


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## broglet

bjr et bienvenue Isa74.  En anglais on dirait "a signed statement".


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## maurits

hello, i remember having filled in some forms recently in which i had "to declare on my honor" the thruth and being complete of my information and answers, and doing so by signing the form.
Mostly used by official instances for taxation purposes. 
I hope this helped.


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## vsop44

A sworn oath ?


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## maurits

i think it is close to on oath indeed because if the Instance finds information non concording to your declaration you're in trouble.


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## Bella1

I usually translate it as 'affidavit'


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## maurits

i had to look that (affidavit) up and found that it's latin and specific to England. i learned again , Thanks Bella.


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## wildan1

maurits said:


> i had to look that (affidavit) up and found that it's latin and specific to England. i learned again , Thanks Bella.


_Affidavit _is not specific to England (or even the UK)--it is also widely used in North America to mean _sworn statement. _

Je ne pense pas que ce soit équivalent à _attestation sur l'honneur_, car _an affidavit _est normalement légalisé devant un témoin (notarized). 

Je dirais _signed statement._


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## maurits

i found this explanation to affidavit (déclaration sous serment faite dans les pays de la Common Laws.Les parties l'invoquent dans les procès dans lequel le droit anglais est applicable.)  in french but off course what type of document is it?


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## Isa74

En fait, une attestation sur l'honneur est une "lettre" dans laquelle une personne certifie quelque chose et de ce fait s'engage. Attestation sur l'honneur is the "name" of this letter.

Maurits is right. But you can also just write a letter with this tittle "Attestation sur l'honneur" and then in the text "I declare......".

For instance, I work for a motorway group. If you have a truck and have to justify the number of axles this truck has (it is not written in the vehicle registration document) you can send this "attestion sur l'honneur" in which you will write "I declare on  my honor that my truck has 4 axles".


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## catay

maurits said:


> i think it is close to on oath indeed because if the Instance finds information non concording to your declaration you're in trouble.


"a signed declaration"  a little more formal than a "signed statement," but not requiring the signature of an official witness that an affidavit would require.

I have just noted that many European websites make reference to "a signed declaration of honour," perhaps not familiar to us in North America, but pertinent to regulations and procedures there.


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## Gerard Samuel

Perhaps a possibility:

good-faith statement


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## broglet

Hi Gerard, 

As always, it depends on the context but by and large 'une attestation sur l'honneur' is more serious than a good-faith statement - it is more of a legally binding guarantee


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## Malcius

If someone says "J'atteste sur l'honneur que...", would that equate to "I solemnly swear that..."?


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## Topsie

It would the depend on the reason for the "attestation sur l'honneur"
It could simply be something like "I hereby certify that..."


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## Keith Bradford

In Britain, if you sign a Statutory Declaration before a Solicitor and Commissioner for Oaths (another equivalent of an affidavit) it must contain the words "I *solemnly and sincere declare* that this statement is true..."

Perhaps the same words could be used in non-witnessed statements too?  There's no reason why not, so far as I know. 

_Nous avons besoin de la société une attestation sur l'honneur indiquant qu'ils sont bien producteurs et distributeurs de la série AA

We require a *statement *from the company *solemnly and sincerely declaring* that they are *indeed *producers and distributors of the series AA._

It's not a _certificate_; that might imply that some third party in authority had issued it.


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## Laurent2018

A writing with this header: "Declaration on the honour"...followed by  "I, hereby certify..."

Would it be correct as well ?


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## bh7

We would call this document in Canada a SOLEMN AFFIRMATION or SOLEMN DECLARATION. It replaces an affidavit, which is a solemn statement given under oath and in prescribed form. Both an affidavit and a solemn affirmation contain a promise to tell the truth.  Link


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## polyglotwannabe

In English  ' on your honor' means you're expected to behave honestly whatever the action intended by you. So if the person is 'on their honor' when they submit proof of whatever they say they are/ do / have, the proof submitted or presented is expected to be true.
It is used in different context,
Example:
Hey, class, this is the exam. I'm going to be next door grading some papers. You're on your honor!.
( the teacher expects them not to cheat)


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## polyglotwannabe

polyglotwannabe said:


> In English  ' on your honor' means you're expected to behave honestly whatever the action intended by you. So if the person is 'on their honor' when they submit proof of whatever they say they are/ do / have, the proof submitted or presented is expected to be true.
> It is used in different context,
> Example:
> Hey, class, this is the exam. I'm going to be next door grading some papers. You're on your honor!.
> ( the teacher expects them not to cheat).


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## Keith Bradford

Laurent2018 said:


> A writing with this header: "Declaration on the honour"...followed by  "I, hereby certify..."
> 
> Would it be correct as well ?


No, sorry.  _On the honour _would be wrong in all circumstances; _honour _would need a possessive (_my honour, your honour.._.) and so would have to be within a complete sentence, not used as a title.


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## polyglotwannabe

Keith Bradford said:


> No, sorry.  _On the honour _would be wrong in all circumstances; _honour _would need a possessive (_my honour, your honour.._.) and so would have to be within a complete sentence, not used as a title.


I said  'on one's honor' . I just threw that one out there for the poster to see a possible connection to this English phrase .
The intent is that the person is testifying to something and they are expected to tell the truth or to behave in an honest way. And that is the intent of the phrase posted, either when used in a title, or within a sentence.


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## wildan1

Laurent2018 said:


> "I, hereby certify..."


You need to add your name to start this kind of statement:

_I, John Smith, __hereby__ declare that..._

(Note that we don't add in "the undersigned"--that is inherent in the addition of your signature at the bottom of the statement.)


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## Laurent2018

Thanks to all !


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