Apostille or Legalisation for Jordan From Australia

Australian documents for Jordan do not take an apostille. As of our last check, Jordan is not a party to the Apostille Convention, so the chain is DFAT authentication, then legalisation by the Embassy of Jordan in Canberra. Check the HCCH status table on the day. The embassy's power of attorney rules also shape what the notary writes.

Key takeaways

• Ask DFAT for an authentication, not an apostille. The Jordanian embassy then legalises DFAT's certificate.
• The embassy's stamp confirms DFAT's signature and seal. It does not vouch for your document or its contents.
• For a power of attorney, the embassy expects the notarial certificate to name the passport or Jordanian ID used, with a copy attached. A driver licence will not do.
• Names must match exactly across the document and the identity document. Settle the Arabic and English spelling before you sign.
• Jordanian citizens can often sign a power of attorney at the embassy instead, which may be what a Jordanian lawyer expects for property.

Jordan and the Apostille Convention

When we last checked the HCCH status table, Jordan was not listed as a contracting party. That puts it with Egypt, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar and the UAE among the Middle Eastern countries that still use legalisation. Membership changes, and a country that joins can switch within months, so check the table the day you start. If Jordan has joined, most of this page no longer applies.

An apostille is a single certificate recognised by every Convention country. Legalisation is the older, two-step alternative: the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) authenticates the Australian document, and the destination country's embassy then confirms DFAT's certificate. Only DFAT issues either certificate in Australia; a notary cannot.

The chain for Jordan

1. Notarise in Australia, if the document is private: a power of attorney, an affidavit, a declaration or a notarised copy.
2. DFAT authentication. Tell DFAT the document is for Jordan so it issues the right certificate.
3. Legalisation at the Embassy of Jordan in Canberra, following its current instructions for lodging and return.
4. Arabic translation and any further certification the receiving body in Jordan specifies.

Australian public documents, such as birth, marriage and death certificates, court documents and national police checks, can usually skip step 1 and go to DFAT directly. DFAT's page on documents it can legalise lists them. It refuses laminated documents and ceremonial marriage certificates. If you have already received an apostille by mistake, see what to do with the wrong certificate.

What the embassy's stamp actually covers

The embassy's published guidance, when we last checked, was plain about the limits of legalisation. For personal documents, it confirmed the signature, seal or stamp of DFAT, or of New Zealand's foreign ministry for documents from there. It said legalisation did not confirm that the underlying document was authentic, and did not authenticate the original signature or the contents.

That has two practical consequences. First, the embassy checks DFAT, not your document, so a document that reaches it without DFAT's authentication has nothing for it to legalise. Second, a problem with the document itself is not cured by legalisation. If the receiving body in Jordan doubts the content, the embassy's stamp does not answer that question. The embassy also said it would not legalise a document contrary to Jordanian public order and morals, and that it gave no legal advice and no translation.

Powers of attorney: what the notarial certificate must say

This is the point most specific to Jordan, and the one that most often sends a document back. The embassy's guidance on a power of attorney made before an Australian notary sets out what it expects to see, and several items are really instructions to the notary. Show the notary the embassy's current requirements at the start, so the certificate is drafted to meet them rather than corrected afterwards.

• A notarial certificate stating that the signatory appeared before an Australian notary public and signed the power of attorney.
• Identity by passport or Jordanian ID card only. The embassy said these were the only acceptable proofs of identity, and that the document used must be named in the notary's certificate. A driver licence or Medicare card will not do.
• A copy of the passport or Jordanian ID attached to the power of attorney.
• Names that match. The name and details in the text of the power of attorney must match the identity document the notary relied on. Transliteration between Arabic and English is the usual way this fails: Mohammad, Muhammad and Mohammed are different strings to an official comparing documents. Use the spelling in the passport throughout. See name mismatches.
• Company signatories. If you sign for a company, the notary must be satisfied that you have authority and capacity to sign for it. Expect to be asked for the company's constitution, a board resolution or similar evidence.

The embassy also said it would not authenticate a power of attorney authorising the sale or purchase of real estate outside Jordan. If your power of attorney deals with property anywhere, read that condition carefully and ask the embassy how it applies before paying for any step. Our power of attorney and declarations page explains the witnessing side.

Jordanian citizens: the consular route

The embassy also prepares powers of attorney itself for Jordanian citizens. Its guidance, when last checked, described the signatory attending in person with a passport or Jordanian ID, with travel documents not accepted, and gave a validity period for the power of attorney unless revoked. For property or a vehicle in Jordan, it described an extra step: a relative in Jordan obtains an approval from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Amman, and the signatory then signs at the embassy while that approval is current.

If you hold Jordanian citizenship, ask your lawyer in Jordan which route suits the transaction. For land or a vehicle in Jordan, the consular route may be what the Jordanian side expects, and it avoids the three Australian steps. If you are not Jordanian, the notary route is the one available to you. Either way, get the Arabic text from the Jordanian lawyer first, and tell the notary in advance if you do not read Arabic: a notary must be satisfied you understand what you sign.

Commercial documents and the chamber

The embassy's guidance listed commercial invoices, certificates of origin, commercial agreements, halal certificates, certificates of incorporation and similar documents as commercial documents. For these, it said it confirmed the stamp of DFAT, New Zealand's foreign ministry, or the Australian Arab Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Exporters should ask their Jordanian buyer or agent whether chamber certification is the expected route for trade documents, rather than a notary and DFAT. For company documents such as board resolutions, the notary and DFAT route is more usual; see document notarisation.

Documents commonly needed

Document	Typical use in Jordan	Australian route
Power of attorney	Inheritance, property, banking, court matters	Notary, DFAT authentication, embassy; or the consular route for citizens
Birth, marriage, death certificates	Civil registration and inheritance	Registry certificate to DFAT, then the embassy
Divorce order	Showing a marriage has ended	Court document to DFAT, then the embassy
Degree and transcript	Employment and professional registration	University verification, DFAT, then the embassy
Commercial invoice, certificate of origin	Exports	Often chamber certification, then the embassy; ask the buyer

Arabic translation

Jordanian government bodies and courts work in Arabic. Ask the receiving body whether it will accept an Australian NAATI translation or wants one made in Jordan, and whether the notarial certificate, DFAT's authentication and the embassy's legalisation must be translated too. If they must, translate after the Australian steps are complete, or the stamps will be missing from the translation. Our document translation page covers the Australian side. If the receiving body wants a translation made in Jordan, a scan is often enough for the translator, so the original can travel with you or by courier later.

Coming the other way

A Jordanian document for use in Australia is authenticated in Jordan, not by DFAT, and an Australian notary cannot vouch for what a Jordanian authority issued. For an Australian visa, Home Affairs usually wants a certified copy rather than any legalisation, with a translation made in Australia by a NAATI-credentialled translator, or made overseas with the translator's full name, address, telephone number and qualifications. See documents from overseas for use in Australia.

What does not work for Jordan

• An apostille. On our last check Jordan is outside the Convention, so it needs DFAT's authentication.
• Going to the embassy before DFAT. It legalises DFAT's certificate, so it has nothing to work on without one.
• A driver licence as identity for a power of attorney. Use a passport or Jordanian ID, and name it in the certificate.
• A Justice of the Peace. A JP certification is not accepted overseas and cannot be authenticated by DFAT.
• Inconsistent name spellings across the power of attorney, the passport and the Jordanian records.

Here is an illustration, not a real case

A Sydney woman with Australian citizenship only needs to give her brother in Amman authority to collect her share of their late father's bank account. His lawyer sends an Arabic power of attorney, with an English translation for her. She checks that the spelling of her name matches her Australian passport, and takes the embassy's requirements to the notary. The notary names her passport in the certificate and attaches a copy. DFAT authenticates it, and the embassy legalises DFAT's certificate. Her brother's lawyer then arranges what Jordan needs locally.

In short

Jordan is not an apostille country, on our last check, so the chain is notary where needed, then DFAT authentication, then the Jordanian embassy. For a power of attorney, use your passport or Jordanian ID, have it named in the certificate, and keep every spelling identical. More on the Australian steps is at apostille and authentication.

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Sending documents to Jordan? Send us what the Jordanian lawyer or office asked for, and we will explain each step before you book.