Text Message Authentication Declaration: Example and Free Template

You have your text messages printed or exported, and now you want the basic facts about them written down before your hearing. A text message authentication declaration example is a good place to start, because a declaration puts your foundation on paper: what the messages are, who they are between, and how you made the copy.

This guide explains what a declaration authenticating text messages usually contains, how to fill in our free sample field by field, a short filled-in example, how to use it with your exhibit, and the mistakes that weaken one. Courts handle declarations very differently, so check your court’s rules and forms, or ask its self-help center, before you rely on one. This is general information, not legal advice.

What is a declaration authenticating text messages?

It is a signed written statement in which you describe your text message exhibit and swear that what you say about it is true. It covers the same ground you would cover if you testified about the messages.

• Declaration or affidavit. Some courts accept a declaration signed under penalty of perjury; others require a notarized affidavit. The content is similar either way.
• It may not replace testimony. Some courts accept written certifications for electronic records, often only if the other side gets advance notice. Others expect you to testify anyway. Even then, a declaration keeps your facts straight.
• It doesn’t end the question. The other parent can still dispute the messages, and the judge decides how much weight to give them.
• It is about facts, not arguments. It says what the messages are, not what they prove.

What goes in a text message authentication declaration?

Most follow the same basic structure, in this order:

1. Caption. The court name, case number and party names, matching your other filings.
2. Who you are. Your name, your role in the case, and that you have personal knowledge of the facts.
3. The device and account. The phone and number or account the messages were on.
4. The other person. Their name and number, and how you know the number is theirs.
5. The exhibit. Its exhibit number, date range and number of pages or messages.
6. How the copy was made. Screenshots, an export or software, on what date, and that nothing was changed.
7. Completeness. Whether it is the whole conversation for those dates or selected excerpts.
8. Preservation. That you still have the phone and the original export.
9. Optional integrity details. A file fingerprint, such as a SHA-256 hash, if you recorded one. See SHA-256 hashes in plain English.
10. Signature block. The penalty-of-perjury statement or notary section your court requires, the date and your signature.

How to fill in the template, field by field

Our sample uses [placeholders]. Replace each one with your own facts, and delete anything that doesn’t apply.

• [Court name] and [Case number]: copy them exactly from your most recent court paper.
• [Your name] and [Petitioner/Respondent]: your role as listed in the case caption.
• [Your phone number] and [Device]: the number and phone the messages were on, such as “my iPhone, number ending 2231.”
• [Other parent’s name] and [Their number]: include an email address too if they messaged from one.
• [How you know the number]: one or two concrete facts, such as years of use or a form or filing that lists it.
• [Exhibit number], [Date range] and [Page count]: check these against the final printed exhibit, not a draft.
• [Method] and [Export date]: for example, “exported with [software] on [date], then saved as a PDF log.”
• [Complete or excerpt]: if excerpts, say how you selected them and that the full conversation is available.
• [Hash value]: only if you recorded one and it matches the exact file you are providing.
• [Your state], [Date] and [Signature]: use the wording your court’s own forms use.

Text message authentication declaration example

Here is a short filled-in sample with fictional details, so you can see how the pieces read together. Your court may require different wording or a specific form.

What “personal knowledge” means here

You can swear to what you did and saw: that the messages were on your phone, how you exported them, and how you know the number. You can’t swear to what was on the other parent’s phone or what they meant. Keeping every sentence inside your own knowledge is what makes the declaration solid.

How do you use the declaration with your exhibit?

Usually alongside the exhibit it describes, filed or exchanged the way your court requires.

• Attach it to the exhibit, or file it with the motion or response that relies on the messages, if that is how your court works.
• Give the other side a copy by any deadline your court sets for exhibits or notices.
• Bring the signed original, your phone and the original export to the hearing.
• Be ready to testify anyway. Your declaration doubles as your script if you are asked the same questions out loud.

Before you sign, run one last check:

• Every placeholder is replaced or deleted.
• The exhibit number, date range and page count match the final exhibit exactly.
• Any hash you list matches the exact file you are handing over.
• The signature section matches what your court requires, including a notary if needed.
• You have copies for the court, the other side and yourself.

The guide on how to authenticate text messages for court covers the testimony side, and how to write a declaration for custody covers sworn statements more broadly. If you haven’t built the exhibit yet, start with how to make a text message log for court.

What mistakes weaken a text message declaration?

Most weak declarations say too much, or say things that don’t match the exhibit.

• Arguing. “These texts prove he is unreliable” belongs in your testimony or argument, not your declaration.
• Claiming more than you know. You can describe what was on your phone, not what the other person was thinking or what was on their phone.
• Calling excerpts complete. If you picked highlights, say so.
• Mismatched details. A page count, date range or hash that doesn’t match the exhibit you hand over.
• The wrong signature format, such as no notary where your court requires one.
• Signing without rereading. You are swearing to every sentence.

Typing dates, page counts and a hash into a declaration by hand means re-checking all of them every time the exhibit changes. Message Extractor builds the message log itself, chronological and Bates-numbered with a SHA-256 digest, and generates a declaration template from your log for you to complete, so the details start out matching.

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