Every witness before testifying shall take an oath or make an affirmation or declaration in the form provided by law, except that a child under the age of 10 or a dependent person with a substantial cognitive impairment, in the court’s discretion, may be required only to promise to tell the truth.

(Amended by Stats. 2004, Ch. 823, Sec. 3. Effective January 1, 2005.)

Terms Used In California Evidence Code 710

  • Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
  • Law: includes constitutional, statutory, and decisional law. See California Evidence Code 160
  • Person: includes a natural person, firm, association, organization, partnership, business trust, corporation, limited liability company, or public entity. See California Evidence Code 175