Editing MPEP 604

<noinclude>{{MPEP Section|603|600|605}}</noinclude>

==[[MPEP 604|604 Administration or Execution of Oath]]==

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37 CFR 1.66. Officers authorized to administer oaths.

(a)The oath or affirmation may be made before any person 
within the United States authorized by law to administer oaths. An 
oath made in a foreign country, may be made before any diplomatic 
or consular officer of the United States authorized to administer 
oaths, or before any officer having an official seal and 
authorized to administer oaths in the foreign country in which the 
applicant may be, whose authority shall be proved by a certificate 
of a diplomatic or consular officer of the United States, or by an 
apostille of an official designated by a foreign country which, by 
treaty or convention, accords like effect to apostilles of designated 
officials in the United States. The oath shall be attested in all cases 
in this and other countries, by the proper official seal of the officer 
before whom the oath or affirmation is made. Such oath or affirmation 
shall be valid as to execution if it complies with the laws 
of the State or country where made. When the person before 
whom the oath or affirmation is made in this country is not provided 
with a seal, his official character shall be established by 
competent evidence, as by a certificate from a clerk of a court of 
record or other proper officer having a seal.



See MPEP § 602.04(a) for foreign executed oath.

604.01Seal [R-3]

Documents with seals cannot be adequately 
scanned for retention in an Image File Wrapper, and 
since the Office maintains patent applications in an 
image form , the Office strongly encourages the use 
of declarations rather than oaths. When the person 
before whom the oath or affirmation is made in this 
country is not provided with a seal, his or her official 
character shall be established by competent evidence, 
as by a certificate from a clerk of a court of record or 
other proper officer having a seal, except as noted in 
MPEP § 604.03(a), in which situations no seal is necessary. 
When the issue concerns the authority of the 
person administering the oath, the examiner should 
require proof of authority. Depending on the jurisdiction, 
the seal may be either embossed or rubber 
stamped. The latter should not be confused with a 
stamped legend indicating only the date of expiration 
of the notary’s commission.






See also MPEP § 602.04(a) on foreign executed 
oath and seal. In some jurisdictions, the seal of the 
notary is not required but the official title of the 
officer must be on the oath. This applies to Alabama, 
California (certain notaries), Louisiana, Maryland, 
Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Puerto 
Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Virginia.

¶ 6.06 New Oath for Subject Matter Not Originally 
Claimed

This application presents a claim for subject matter not originally 
claimed or embraced in the statement of the invention. [1]. 
A supplemental oath or declaration is required under 37 CFR 
1.67. The new oath or declaration must properly identify the 
application of which it is to form a part, preferably by application 
number and filing date in the body of the oath or declaration. See 
MPEP §§ 602.01 and 602.02.

Examiner Note:

Explain new claimed matter in bracket 1. The brief summary 
of the invention must be commensurate with the claimed invention 
and may be required to be modified. See MPEP § 608.01(d)
and 1302, and 37 CFR 1.73.

¶ 6.05.11 Notary Signature

It does not include the notary’s signature, or the notary’s signature 
is in the wrong place.

Examiner Note:

This paragraph must be preceded by form paragraph 6.05.

¶ 6.05.12 Notary Seal and Venue Omitted

It does not include the notary’s seal and venue.

Examiner Note:

This paragraph must be preceded by form paragraph 6.05.

604.02Venue 

That portion of an oath or affidavit indicating 
where the oath is taken is known as the venue. Where 
the county and state in the venue agree with the 
county and state in the seal, no problem arises. If the 
venue and seal do not correspond in county and state, 
the jurisdiction of the notary must be determined from 
statements by the notary appearing on the oath. Venue 
and notary jurisdiction must correspond or the oath is 
improper. The oath should show on its face that it was 
taken within the jurisdiction of the certifying officer 
or notary. This may be given either in the venue or in 
the body of the jurat. Otherwise, a new oath or declaration, 
or a certificate of the notary that the oath was 
taken within his or her jurisdiction, must be required. 
Ex parte Delavoye, 1906 C.D. 320, 124 O.G. 626 
(Comm’r Pat. 1906); Ex parte Irwin, 1928 C.D. 13, 
367 O.G. 701 (Comm’r Pat. 1928).

Form paragraph 6.07 may be used where the venue 
is not shown.

¶ 6.07 Lack of Venue

The oath lacks the statement of venue. Applicant is required to 
furnish either a new oath or declaration in proper form, identifying 
the application by application number and filing date, or a certificate 
by the officer before whom the original oath was taken 
stating that the oath was executed within the jurisdiction of the 
officer before whom the oath was taken when the oath was administered. 
The new oath or declaration must properly identify the 
application of which it is to form a part, preferably by application 
number and filing date in the body of the oath or declaration. See 
MPEP §§ 602.01 and 602.02.

Where the seal and venue differ, applicant should 
be notified by using the “Notice of Informal Application” 
form.

604.03(a)Notarial Powers of Some Military 
Officers

Public Law 506 (81st Congress, Second Session) 
Article 136: (a) The following persons on active duty 
in the armed forces . . . shall have the general powers 
of a notary public and of a consul of the United States, 
in the performance of all notarial acts to be executed 
by members of any of the armed forces, wherever 
they may be, and by other persons subject to this code 
[Uniform Code of Military Justice] outside the continental 
limits of the United States:

(A)All judge advocates of the Army and Air 
Force;

(B)All law specialists;

(C)All summary courts-martial;

(D)All adjutants, assistant adjutants, acting adjutants, 
and personnel adjutants;

(E)All commanding officers of the Navy and 
Coast Guard;

(F)All staff judge advocates and legal officers, 
and acting or assistant staff judge advocates and legal 
officers; and

(G)All other persons designated by regulations of 
the armed forces or by statute.

(H)The signature without seal of any such person 
acting as notary, together with the title of his office, 
shall be prima facie evidence of his authority.






604.04Consul

On Oct. 15, 1981, the “Hague Convention Abolishing 
the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public 
Documents” entered into force between the United 
States and 28 foreign countries as parties to the Convention. 
Subsequently, additional countries have 
become parties to the conventions. See MPEP § 
604.04(a).

When the oath is made in a foreign country not a 
member of the Hague Convention Abolishing the 
Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents, 
the authority of any officer other than a diplomatic 
or consular officer of the United States 
authorized to administer oaths must be proved by certificate 
of a diplomatic or consular officer of the 
United States. See 37 CFR 1.66, MPEP § 604. This 
proof may be through an intermediary, e.g., the consul 
may certify as to the authority and jurisdiction of 
another official who, in turn, may certify as to the 
authority and jurisdiction of the officer before whom 
the oath is taken. 

604.04(a)Consul – Omission of Certificate 
[R-2]

Where the oath is taken before an officer in a foreign 
country other than a diplomatic or consular 
officer of the United States and whose authority is not 
authenticated or accompanied with an apostille certifying 
the notary’s authority (see MPEP § 602.04(a)), 
the application is nevertheless accepted for purposes 
of examination. The examiner, in the first Office 
action, should note this informality and require a 
new properly authenticated oath by an appropriate 
diplomatic or consular officer, the filing of proper 
apostille, or a declaration (37 CFR 1.68). The Office 
no longer returns improperly authenticated oaths for 
proper authentication.

Form paragraph 6.08 may be used to notify applicant.




¶ 6.08 Consul-Omission of Certificate

The oath is objected to as being informal. It lacks authentication 
by a diplomatic or consular officer of the United States; 37 
CFR 1.66(a). This informality can be overcome by filing either a 
declaration under 37 CFR 1.68, or a new properly authenticated 
oath under 37 CFR 1.66. The new oath or declaration must properly 
identify the application of which it is to form a part, preferably 
by application number and filing date in the body of the oath 
or declaration. See MPEP §§ 602.01 and 602.02.



604.06By Attorney in Application 

The language of 37 CFR 1.66 and 35 U.S.C. 115 is 
such that an attorney in the application is not barred 
from administering the oath as notary. The Office presumes 
that an attorney acting as notary is cognizant of 
the extent of his or her authority and jurisdiction and 
will not knowingly jeopardize his or her client’s rights 
by performing an illegal act. If such practice is permissible 
under the law of the jurisdiction where the 
oath is administered, then the oath is a valid oath.

The law of the District of Columbia prohibits the 
administering of oaths by the attorney in the case. If 
the oath is known to be void because of being administered 
by the attorney in a jurisdiction where the law 
holds this to be invalid, the proper action is to require 
a new oath or declaration and refer the file to the 
Office of Enrollment and Discipline. (Riegger v.
Beierl, 1910 C.D. 12, 150 O.G. 826 (Comm’r Pat. 
1910)). See 37 CFR 1.66 and MPEP § 604.