How to Write a Declaration in a § 1983 Case

February 21, 2026 8 min read by Institute for Police Conduct, Inc.

declarations evidence summary-judgment pro-se

If you are already drafting motions or preparing for summary judgment, read this together with how to write a § 1983 complaint. Your complaint starts the case; your declaration helps keep it alive when facts are disputed.

What a declaration is

A declaration is your sworn testimony in written form. Instead of sitting in the witness stand and answering questions, you write down what you know — under penalty of perjury — and submit it to the court as evidence.

Declarations are how you put facts before a judge when there’s no trial happening yet. If the defense files a motion for summary judgment claiming there’s no genuine dispute about what happened, your declaration is how you say: Actually, here’s what happened, in my own words, under oath.

When you need a declaration in federal court

You’ll most likely need a declaration when:

Opposing summary judgment — the defense will argue there are no disputed facts. Your declaration creates those disputes by presenting your version of events under oath.
Supporting your own motions — if you’re asking the court for something (a temporary restraining order, a motion to compel discovery), you may need to establish facts through a declaration.
Responding to the other side’s declarations — if an officer submits a declaration saying you were “actively resisting,” your declaration saying you were standing still with your hands up creates a factual dispute the court can’t resolve without a trial.

The legal basis: 28 U.S.C. § 1746

Under federal law (28 U.S.C. § 1746), a declaration signed “under penalty of perjury” has the same legal force as a notarized affidavit. This matters for pro se litigants — you don’t need to find a notary. You just need to include the right language and sign it.

Declaration versus affidavit

An affidavit is sworn before a notary public, who stamps and signs it. A declaration uses the statutory language of 28 U.S.C. § 1746 instead of notarization. In federal court, they carry identical weight. The declaration is simpler and cheaper — no notary appointment, no fee.

Most pro se litigants should use declarations rather than affidavits. They’re easier to prepare and equally effective.

The six kinds of statements, and which two belong in a declaration

Before a sentence goes into your declaration, classify it:

Firsthand fact. You personally saw, heard, said, did, or felt it. Belongs in the declaration.
Attributed record fact. What an identified document or recording says or shows, stated as such: “Exhibit B, the dispatch log, shows a call time of 11:31 p.m.” Belongs in the declaration, attributed to the record. Reading a report does not make its contents your personal knowledge. You can say what the report states. You cannot say that what it states happened.
Derived analysis. A calculation, a count, a comparison across records. Belongs in the brief, with the records attached.
Inference. A conclusion drawn from other facts: “the officer must have known.” Belongs in the brief.
Legal conclusion. “The force was excessive.” Belongs in the brief.
Discovery expectation. What a recording or record you have not seen would show. Belongs nowhere in a declaration. If a source is missing or unproduced, that is a gap, and the tool for it is a Rule 56(d) declaration explaining what you need and why you do not have it.

A declaration paragraph survives only if it is type one or type two, and only if you can say, for that specific paragraph, how you know it and why you are competent to say it. A generic “I have personal knowledge of the facts stated herein” at the top does not cover a paragraph you could not actually testify to.

Laying the foundation for exhibits

Every exhibit you attach needs a sentence in the declaration that lets the court accept it as what you say it is. For each exhibit, be ready to state:

what it is and how you recognize it
how you came to have it: you created it, you received it from a named source on a date, you downloaded it from a named records portal, or it was produced to you in discovery
how it has been kept since
if you claim it is complete or accurate, what supports that

“Exhibit A is a true and correct copy of the body-camera video produced by Defendants on June 3, 2025, labeled BWC_Martinez_030325. I downloaded it from the production link Defendants’ counsel provided and have not altered it.” Do not describe an exhibit as “authenticated” or “admissible.” Those are the court’s conclusions. Give the facts that support them.

Common mistakes that weaken declarations

Legal conclusions instead of facts

The most common mistake. Your declaration should describe what happened — not what it means legally.

❌ “The officer used excessive force against me.”
✅ “Officer Smith struck me in the head with a closed fist three times while I was handcuffed and lying face-down on the pavement.”

The first is a legal conclusion — that’s for your brief to argue. The second is a fact the court can evaluate.

Vague language

❌ “The officer was aggressive and hostile.”
✅ “Officer Smith shouted ‘Get on the ground now or I will tase you’ from approximately ten feet away. I was standing still with my hands raised.”

Specifics matter. Dates, times, distances, exact words spoken — these are what judges and juries can work with.

Opinions about the officer’s motives

❌ “The officer arrested me because he was angry that I was filming.”
✅ “I was recording the traffic stop with my phone. Officer Smith said, ‘Put that phone away or you’re going to jail.’ I continued recording. Officer Smith then placed me in handcuffs.”

Let the sequence of events speak for itself. Your brief can argue what it means.

Forgetting to sign and date it

An unsigned declaration has no legal effect. It sounds obvious, but courts have rejected declarations for missing signatures. Sign it. Date it. Include your city and state.

How to make a declaration persuasive

Put one fact in each paragraph

Number your paragraphs. Put one factual statement in each. This makes it easy for the court to cite specific facts (“Plaintiff’s Declaration, ¶ 7”) and harder for the defense to attack your entire declaration based on one disputed detail.

Reference exhibits and video

Don’t just say what happened — point to the evidence that supports it.

“As shown in the body camera footage (Exhibit A) at timestamp 03:12, Officer Smith struck me while I was face-down on the ground.”
“The dispatch audio (Exhibit B) shows the call was coded as a ‘photographer on sidewalk,’ not the ‘disturbance’ described in Officer Smith’s report.”

Connecting your sworn statements to documentary evidence makes your declaration significantly more persuasive.

Use timestamps from body camera footage

If you have BWC footage, build your declaration around its timestamps. This creates a paragraph-by-paragraph account that a judge can verify against the video. It’s hard to dismiss a declaration that tracks the footage frame by frame.

Be honest about what you do not know

If you didn’t see something, say so. “I could not see what was happening behind me, but I felt a sharp impact on my upper back” is more credible than fabricating details. Judges notice when a declaration claims perfect recall of chaotic events.

Address the defense’s likely arguments

If you know the officer claims you were resisting, address it directly: “At no point did I pull away, push, strike, or attempt to flee from the officers. My hands were raised above my head from the moment Officer Smith exited his vehicle until the moment I was handcuffed.”

Template for a § 1983 declaration

DECLARATION OF [YOUR FULL NAME]

I, [Your Full Name], declare under penalty of perjury pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1746 as follows:

I am the Plaintiff in this action. I am over 18 years of age and competent to testify to the matters stated herein. I have personal knowledge of the facts set forth in this declaration.

On [date], at approximately [time], I was [describe what you were doing and where — be specific].

[Continue with numbered paragraphs, one fact per paragraph. Be specific. Include timestamps where available. Reference documents or footage where applicable: “As shown in Officer Smith’s body camera footage at timestamp 03:12, …”]

[Each paragraph should contain a single, verifiable factual statement. Do not include legal conclusions, opinions about the officer’s motives, or characterizations like “the officer was aggressive.” Describe what happened: what was said, what was done, what you observed.]

[Continue until you’ve covered all relevant facts.]

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

Executed on [date] at [city, state].

[Your Full Name]

Notes:

One fact per paragraph. This makes it easy for the court to cite specific facts and for opposing counsel to challenge specific statements.
Reference evidence. “As shown in Exhibit A, the body camera footage at timestamp 03:12” is stronger than “I believe the officer hit me.”
No legal conclusions. “The officer used excessive force” is for your brief. Your declaration says what happened; your brief argues what it means.
Sign and date it. An unsigned declaration has no legal effect.
Use the right statutory form. Section 1746 has two. For a declaration signed inside the United States: “I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on (date).” For one signed outside the United States: “I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on (date).” Pick the one that matches where you actually sign. Do not mix them.

This is an educational resource, not legal advice. Adapt the template to your specific situation. Before you file it, compare it against the summary-judgment stage and the discovery stage so you understand how the declaration will be used.