Apostille or Legalisation for Ireland From Australia

Whether an Australian document for Ireland needs a DFAT apostille depends on the Irish body asking. Ireland is a Convention country, in force since 9 March 1999 as of our last check; check the HCCH status table on the day. But Ireland's property registry accepts an Australian notary's declaration as it stands, while its companies registry wants an apostille on one.

Key takeaways

• There is no single Irish rule. Each Irish body decides whether it wants an apostille, and Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs says so itself.
• Tailte Éireann (Land Registry and Registry of Deeds): a declaration sworn before a notary in a Commonwealth country such as Australia may be accepted on its face, without further authentication.
• Companies Registration Office (CRO): a statutory declaration made before a notary in Australia must be lodged with an apostille.
• Irish embassies and consulates cannot issue apostilles, and Ireland cannot legalise an Australian document. Only DFAT can apostille it.
• Citizenship through the Foreign Births Register asks for original certificates and needs neither a notary nor an apostille.

Ireland and the Apostille Convention

The HCCH status table records Ireland's signature in October 1996 and ratification on 8 January 1999, with the Convention in force from 9 March 1999. Membership is a live fact, so confirm it on the table the day you start.

An apostille is a certificate from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) confirming the signature and seal on an Australian public document. It says nothing about the contents. Only DFAT issues apostilles in Australia; a notary cannot.

Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs is clear about the limits of its own role. It legalises Irish public documents only and cannot legalise foreign ones. It cannot tell you whether a document needs legalising, because that is for the authority that will receive it. And Irish embassies and consulates cannot issue apostilles. For an Australian document, the only possible apostille is DFAT's, and whether you need one depends on the Irish body asking.

The general chain, when an apostille is wanted

1. Find out which Irish body will act on the document, and whether it wants an apostille at all.
2. Notarise in Australia, if the document is private (a declaration, an affidavit, a power of attorney) or you are sending a copy.
3. DFAT apostille, on the notary's certificate or on the original Australian public document.
4. Send to the Irish solicitor or body, keeping a full copy of everything, apostille included.

Registry certificates and court documents usually skip step 2. No translation is needed, since both countries work in English.

Two registries, opposite answers

Property: Tailte Éireann

Tailte Éireann, which runs Ireland's Land Registry and Registry of Deeds, publishes a practice direction on documents executed outside Ireland. On affidavits and statutory declarations for registry proceedings sworn abroad, it says they may be taken:

• before an Irish diplomatic or consular representative in that country or, where none is conveniently available, a notary public authorised to administer oaths there; or
• in Commonwealth countries, which include Australia, before any judge, court, notary public or person authorised to administer oaths there.

It then says the seal or signature of any such person may be accepted on its face without further authentication. For an Australian signing a declaration for an Irish land registration, that points to a notary and no apostille.

The rule's wording is broad, and it is not a promise that every Australian witness will satisfy the Irish solicitor preparing the papers. Do not assume a Justice of the Peace will do. Ask the solicitor which witness they want, and for the exact form of words, before you sign.

The same practice direction deals with deeds signed by a foreign company. They must be executed as the law of the company's home jurisdiction requires, and the registry may accept a certificate from a lawyer with knowledge of that law confirming the deed was properly executed. For an Australian company selling or buying Irish property, ask the Irish solicitor whether they want such a certificate and who should give it. Transfers, mortgages and the deeds themselves are for your Irish solicitor to prepare; whether a deed is valid is a question of Irish law.

Companies: the Companies Registration Office

Ireland's Companies Registration Office takes the opposite line for statutory declarations under Irish company law. Its guidance says a declaration made outside Ireland is valid if made before a solicitor entitled to practise in Ireland, a person authorised by local law to administer oaths such as a notary, subject to legalisation, or an Irish diplomatic or consular official.

For a Hague Convention country that is not also party to the relevant EU convention, which covers Australia, the CRO says the declaration must be signed before a person entitled to administer oaths, such as a notary public, and submitted with an apostille. It is up to the person lodging it to obtain the apostille. The CRO says its notes are general and recommends professional advice on specific cases.

So a director or subscriber in Australia making a CRO declaration, for example on incorporation, strike-off or winding up, signs before an Australian notary, and the notarial certificate goes to DFAT for an apostille before it is lodged in Ireland. The notary administers the declaration and checks the declarant's identity, but does not advise on Irish company law. See power of attorney and legal declarations for the notary's part.

Other Irish bodies

Irish receiver	Typical document	Apostille?
Tailte Éireann	Declaration for land registration	Usually not, on its practice direction; confirm with the solicitor
Companies Registration Office	Statutory declaration by a director	Yes, on the CRO's guidance
Foreign Births Register	Original birth and marriage certificates	No; originals, no notary
Irish solicitor, for an estate	Affidavit, grant of probate, death certificate	Ask for each document
Irish bank	Certified identity documents	Follow the bank's written request

• Probate and estates. Irish solicitors dealing with an estate may ask for affidavits, Australian grants of probate or death certificates. Ask whether they want an apostille on each. DFAT's page on documents it can legalise lists registry certificates and court documents as originals it accepts, so these can generally go to DFAT directly, without a notary.
• Banks. Irish banks commonly ask for certified identity documents or signature verification. Follow their written request exactly, including who may certify.
• Civil documents. Australian birth, marriage and death certificates are in English and need no translation. Whether one needs an apostille depends on the receiving body. The Foreign Births Register, for example, asks for original certificates and no apostille; see the Irish Foreign Births Register from Australia.

Powers of attorney for Ireland

An Australian who cannot travel to Ireland may be asked to sign a power of attorney so that a relative or the Irish solicitor can act for them, for example to sell land, deal with an estate or manage a bank account. Irish powers of attorney used for land are often executed as deeds, and the Irish solicitor will usually prepare the document and say how it must be signed and witnessed. Ask them three things: who should witness your signature in Australia, whether the witness's signature needs a DFAT apostille for the body that will rely on it, and whether the original must be posted to Ireland. The Australian notary checks your identity and capacity and witnesses the signing, but does not advise on whether the document is valid under Irish law. For enduring or health-related arrangements, which Irish law treats separately, get Irish legal advice before signing anything.

Which Irish body is asking?

Because the answer changes with the receiver, the first step is always to identify exactly which Irish body will act on the document, and get its instruction in writing.

What does not work for Ireland

• Asking the Irish embassy or a consulate for an apostille. Irish missions cannot issue one, and Ireland cannot legalise an Australian document.
• A CRO declaration without an apostille. The CRO's guidance requires it for a declaration made before a notary in Australia.
• Assuming a JP will satisfy the Irish solicitor for a land registry declaration, without asking.
• Adding an apostille by default. For Tailte Éireann or the Foreign Births Register it may be unnecessary, so ask first.
• A laminated certificate, where an apostille is wanted. DFAT refuses it.

Coming the other way, an Irish document for use in Australia is apostilled in Ireland by its Department of Foreign Affairs, not by DFAT; see documents from overseas for use in Australia. Visas are covered in documents for an Ireland visa.

Here is an illustration, not a real case

A retired couple in Brisbane own a cottage in County Clare and a small Irish company that held it. They are selling the cottage and closing the company. Their Dublin solicitor sends a declaration for the Land Registry and says a notary's signature will do on its own. They sign it before an Australian notary and post it. For the company's strike-off, the solicitor sends a CRO statutory declaration; they sign that before the same notary, DFAT apostilles it, and the solicitor lodges it with the apostille attached. Same notary, two different Irish rules.

In short

Ireland takes an apostille, on our last check, but each Irish body decides whether it wants one. Tailte Éireann may accept an Australian notary's declaration on its face; the CRO wants an apostille on it. Irish missions cannot apostille anything, so identify the receiving body first and get its instruction in writing. More on the Australian steps is at apostille and authentication.

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