Business owners, officers and managers have to show proof of citizenship or permanent residency. In addition to a copy of a legible copy of a naturalization certificate or green card the applicant should also an attorney’s affirmation stating the copy is a true and complete copy of the original document. (Divisional Order #807, September 19, 1996)
A copy of sample attorney’s affirmation should be made part of the license file. There is language on some of the SLA forms for this situation, however, if you need to create your own form, you can use the following sample template.
Sample Naturalization or Attorney Green Card Affirmation
State of New York
County of
The undersigned, an attorney at law duly admitted to practice in the State of New York, affirms under the penalty of perjury that:
- 1. He has compared the annexed copy of (naturalization certificate or green card) with the original; and
- 2. The annexed copy is a true and complete copy of the original (naturalization certificate or green card).
This affirmation is given to the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control knowing that they will rely upon same in connection with the license application of .
City, New York
Date
Attorney At Law, New York Bar Member
Address
While this affirmation is directed to an SLA license application, it can be adapted and be used for almost any situation where an original document is available but not being submitted (to avoid loss or because it is required to be on your person at all times). Another alternative is to contact the government agency that issued the original document and obtain a certified copy of the official document. These can take several weeks to obtain in some cases and can have fees of as much as $50. The attorney affirmation, when it will be accepted, is a great low-cost alternative.