Abstract This article deals with ‐weak solutions to the 3D time‐dependent Oseen system. This type of solution is defined in terms of the velocity only. It is shown that the velocity may be represented by a sum of integrals none of which involves the pressure and without a surface integral of the spatial gradient of the velocity. On the basis of this representation formula, an estimate of the spatial decay of the velocity and its spatial gradient is derived. No boundary conditions have to be imposed for these results.