How to Notarise an Academic Transcript in Australia

To notarise an academic transcript in Australia, bring the official transcript issued by your university, not a portal printout, plus photo ID to a notary public. The notary sights it and certifies a copy. If the copy is going to DFAT, the university must verify the original and the notary's certificate must say so.

Key takeaways

• A notary certifies that a copy matches the official transcript sighted. The notary never confirms your grades, your degree or the university's standing.
• Bring the version the receiving body wants: the official transcript on security paper, not an unofficial academic record from the student portal.
• If the receiving body can verify a digital transcript by link, you may not need a notary at all. Ask before you book anything.
• For a copy that DFAT will apostille, a plain "true copy" certificate is not enough. The original must be verified with the university, and the notary's certificate must state that.
• A Justice of the Peace copy is fine for many Australian uses. It is not accepted overseas and DFAT will not legalise it.

What the notary certifies, and what it does not

People send transcripts overseas for three common reasons: postgraduate admission, a credential assessment for migration or professional registration, and an employer checking a qualification before a contract starts. In each case the person reading the transcript has probably never seen an Australian one before, and a notarised copy gives them something they can rely on: an Australian official's statement about the paper in front of them.

That statement is narrow. An Australian notary public can:

• Certify a copy. The notary sights the official transcript and certifies that the attached copy is a complete and accurate copy of it. This is what most overseas universities mean when they ask for a "notarised transcript".
• Witness your signature on a related form, such as a release authorising your university to disclose results to an assessor.
• Take a declaration from you, for example explaining why the name on the transcript differs from your passport.

What the notary cannot do is confirm that you completed the course, that the marks are right, or that the institution is accredited. Only the issuing institution can speak to its own records, and most overseas assessors check with it directly. A notary who certified the contents of a transcript would be going beyond what a notarial act is.

That has a practical consequence. The notary will certify a copy of what you bring, but will not tell you that the receiving body wanted a different document. Checking that you have the right version is your job, and it is the step people most often get wrong.

Bring the right version of the transcript

A university may issue several documents that look like a transcript. Only some of them are what an overseas body means.

Three points catch people out:

• The portal printout is not the transcript. It is free and quick, which is why people bring it, and it is the version overseas bodies most often refuse.
• The testamur is a separate document. Many admissions offices and assessors want both the degree certificate and the transcript. Order them together and have both copied at the same appointment. See certified copies of a university degree.
• A sealed envelope stays sealed. Some institutions only treat a transcript as official while the envelope's seal is intact. If the receiver wants a sealed transcript, order a second copy for notarising and post the sealed one unopened.

Digital transcripts and the original-document problem

Many Australian universities now issue transcripts through a digital credential platform, alongside or instead of paper. That creates a real difficulty, because a notary certifies a copy against an original they have sighted, and a PDF in your inbox is not an original in that sense. A printout of a PDF is a copy of a copy.

There are three workable routes, and the receiving body chooses:

1. The receiver verifies the digital credential itself, using a link or code from the issuing platform. No notary is involved. This is worth asking about first, because it can remove the whole notarial and DFAT chain.
2. You order a printed official transcript from the university and have that sighted and copied. Slower, but it fits what most receivers expect.
3. The notary sights the record on the issuing platform and words the certificate to say exactly what was done. Whether that is acceptable depends on the receiving body, and on DFAT if the document is going there. Confirm in writing before relying on it.

Whichever route you use, the notary's certificate has to describe what actually happened. A certificate that describes a paper original the notary never saw would be wrong, and a careful notary will not sign one. DFAT also says that scans are never electronic documents, and that it accepts only a limited range of electronic documents, assessed when they are lodged.

When a notary is not the right step

Before booking, work out whether you need a notary at all. Often you do not.

In practice:

• For an Australian body, such as a registration board or employer here, a copy certified by a Justice of the Peace or another authorised person is usually enough. For the Department of Home Affairs, a certified copy by an authorised person usually suffices; a notary is often not needed. Ask the body what it accepts.
• For an overseas body that verifies online, send what it asks for. Paying for a notarised copy it will not read wastes money.
• For an overseas body that wants a legalised paper document, DFAT's own rule applies, and it is explained next.

The wording DFAT needs on a notarised copy

This is where the notary step and the DFAT step meet, and it is the detail that separates a copy DFAT will legalise from one it returns. DFAT is the only body in Australia that issues an apostille or authentication certificate. On its list of documents it can legalise, DFAT says:

• it can legalise an original university document once the university has verified it as a true and accurate record, sometimes through an online portal;
• a notarised copy must also be verified by the university, and the notary's certificate must state that the original record has been verified with the issuing institution;
• a plain "true copy" certificate does not meet that requirement.

So tell the notary at the start that the copy is going to DFAT. The notary then needs time to arrange or confirm verification with the university before signing, and the certificate is worded to match. A copy certified in the ordinary way, and then sent to DFAT, is the most avoidable rejection on this document.

DFAT's rules differ by type of institution. Public TAFE documents may go as originals or notarised copies, but not as JP copies. Documents from private colleges and registered training organisations must be notarised first, although in some states the education department may verify and seal an original instead. DFAT does not legalise foreign education documents, even when an Australian notary has certified a copy.

What you send to DFAT	Notary needed?	What must happen first
Original university transcript	No	University verifies it as a true and accurate record
Notarised copy of a university transcript	Yes	Original verified with the university; the certificate says so
Public TAFE transcript	Optional	Original, or a notarised copy; not a JP copy
Private college or RTO record	Usually	Notarised, or in some states verified by the education department
Foreign university transcript	Not applicable	DFAT does not legalise it; it is legalised in the issuing country

For the DFAT step itself, which certificate you get and what happens at the embassy afterwards, see apostilling an academic transcript.

What happens at the appointment

The notarial part is short once the right document is in the room.

1. Identity. You show current photo identification, usually a passport, and the notary checks that the name matches the transcript.
2. Sighting. The notary examines the official transcript itself.
3. Copying. Every page is copied, including the reverse if it carries a grading key or security text.
4. Certificate. The notarial certificate is prepared, signed and sealed, and bound to the copy so the pages cannot be separated without it showing.
5. Register. The act is entered in the notary's register, which is why a notarised copy can be checked years later.

Ask for every set you need at the same visit. An admissions office, an assessor and a registration board may each want their own, and a single appointment for several copies is simpler than returning. The general process for copies is set out in certified copies of an academic transcript.

Name differences, merged universities and translations

Name mismatch. If your transcript shows a former name, or a different spelling or transliteration from your passport, deal with it at the same appointment. A notary can take a declaration from you explaining the difference and attach supporting documents such as a marriage certificate. That is better than hoping an assessor overlooks it.

A university that has merged or closed. Records of Australian institutions that merge or close are generally held by a successor institution or a state body. Contact whoever now holds them and order the official transcript from that body; the notary then copies what it issues.

Translation. If the transcript is going somewhere that does not work in English, the receiving body decides whose translation it accepts. Some want a translation made in their own country; others accept one made in Australia. For DFAT, a translation must be by a NAATI certified or recognised translator, with the translator's details on every page. Subject names and grading scales are where translations go wrong: a good translator explains the Australian grading scale in a note rather than converting marks, which is the assessor's job. See NAATI-certified translation with a notary.

What to bring

The written instructions matter more than people expect. They tell the notary whether the copy is going to DFAT, which changes the certificate's wording, and whether the receiver wants the testamur too. If the instructions say "certified" rather than "notarised", ask the receiver which it means, because an overseas body sometimes uses the words loosely.

How much does transcript notarisation cost, and how long does it take?

We do not quote fees or times on this page, because they vary and go stale. A quote can depend on the notarial act, the number of transcripts and certified copies, university verification, certificate preparation, translation and any courier or return delivery. DFAT legalisation and embassy handling are separate steps. The slow parts are often ordering a printed transcript, waiting for university verification, DFAT and, where needed, an embassy. Work back from the deadline and ask each party for its current timing.

Here is an illustration, not a real case

A Perth graduate applying for a master's program in Germany is told to send a "certified copy" of her transcript. She first asks the German university whether it verifies Australian digital transcripts. It does not, and wants a paper copy with an apostille. She orders a printed official transcript and tells the notary it will go to DFAT. The notary arranges verification of the record with her university, then certifies the copy with wording stating that the original was verified with the issuing institution. DFAT apostilles it. Had she brought a portal printout and a standard true-copy certificate, DFAT would have returned it.

In short

A notary certifies that a copy matches the official transcript sighted, never that the results are true. Bring the registrar-issued transcript and photo ID, and the receiver's instructions. Ask first whether the receiver verifies digital transcripts online, which may remove the notary altogether. If the copy is going to DFAT, say so, because it must be verified with the university and the certificate must say that. More on the service is at document notarisation.

Related questions

• How do I get an apostille on my transcript?
• Who can certify a copy of my transcript?
• How do I get a certified copy of a university degree?
• How do I certify a copy of my degree?
• Does my country accept an apostille?

Sending a transcript overseas? Send us the institution, document format, destination country, receiver's instructions and deadline so we can identify the verification, notarisation and legalisation steps before you book.