An affidavit is a sworn and notarized statement of fact.

In the past, you could sign an affidavit that stated you were a high school graduate. The notarized affidavit was accepted as documentation that you completed high school if your original diploma or high school academic transcript was lost or unavailable due to extraordinary circumstances beyond your control.

However, effective July 1, 2006, if you are unable to provide evidence of a high school diploma from a secondary school in the United States* or a high school equivalency diploma, you must pass an ”ability-to-benefit” test approved by the New York State Board of Regents.


* In the United States means in a State, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, or the Republic of Palau.

See Also...

Ability to Benefit