804.01(a) Verification with Oath
The verification is placed at the end of the application. It should first set forth the venue; followed by the signer’s name (or the words "the undersigned"); then the necessary statements ( TMEP §804.02); concluding with the signature. After the signature, there should be the jurat for the officer administering the oath, and an indication of the officer’s authority (such as a notarial seal).
The form of the verification depends on the law of the jurisdiction where the document is executed, so variations of the above form are acceptable. If there is a question as to the validity of the verification, the examining attorney must ask the applicant if the verification complies with the laws of the applicant’s jurisdiction. See TMEP §804.01(a)(i) regarding verifications made in a foreign country.
If the verification is notarized but does not include the notarial seal, the examining attorney must require a substitute affidavit or declaration under 37 C.F.R. §2.20.
If the verification is notarized but has not been dated, the applicant must submit either a statement from the notary public attesting to the date of signature and notarization, or a substitute affidavit or declaration under 37 C.F.R. §2.20.
804.01(a)(i) Verification Made in Foreign Country
Verification (with oath) made in a foreign country may be made: (1) before any diplomatic or consular officer of the United States; or (2) before any official authorized to administer oaths in the foreign country. In those foreign countries that are members of The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, opened for signature Oct. 5, 1961, 33 U.S.T. 883, 527 U.N.T.S. 189, a document verified before a foreign official should bear or have appended to it an apostille (i.e., a certificate issued by an official of the member country).
An apostille must be square shaped with sides at least 9 centimeters long. The following is the prescribed form for an apostille:
See 1013 TMOG 3 (Dec. 1, 1981).
If a verification is made before a foreign official in a country that is not a member of the Hague Convention, the foreign official’s authority must be proved by a certificate of a diplomatic or consular officer of the United States. 15 U.S.C. §1061.
Declarations under 37 C.F.R. §2.20 and 28 U.S.C. §1746 by foreign persons do not have to be made before a United States diplomatic or consular officer, or before a foreign official authorized to administer oaths. A declaration under 28 U.S.C. §1746 that is executed outside the United States must allege that "I declare (or certify, verify, or state) under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America that the foregoing is true and correct." See TMEP §804.01(b).
See http://www.hcch.net/index_en.php?act=conventions.text&cid=41 for updated information about the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents.