How to Notarise a Bill of Sale in Australia

To notarise a bill of sale, each person whose signature needs witnessing brings the unsigned document and photo identification to an Australian notary public and signs in front of them. The notary certifies who signed, not what the bill says. Most sales within Australia need no notary; it matters when the goods, or the paperwork, go overseas.

Key takeaways

• A notarised bill of sale proves who signed it, not that the seller owned the goods, that the price is real or that nothing is owed on them.
• Bring it unsigned. A notary certifies a signature made in front of them, so a bill signed at home has to be signed again.
• Every signatory whose signature is to be witnessed attends in person. A buyer overseas signs before a notary in their own country.
• A company seller needs a signatory with authority to bind it, and the notary will ask to see the evidence.
• A Justice of the Peace can witness a domestic bill of sale, but not one a foreign registry or customs authority must accept.

Do you need a notary at all?

A bill of sale records that goods changed hands: a car, a boat, machinery, a horse, a container of stock. Inside Australia, most private sales never need a notary. State and territory transfer processes handle vehicle and vessel registration, and a notary adds cost without adding anything a domestic buyer needs.

That changes the moment the goods leave the country, or the buyer needs to register them under a foreign system. A registrar or customs officer abroad cannot check an Australian signature, so it relies on a notary having watched the signing and then on the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) confirming the notary. If you are exporting a vehicle or vessel, selling equipment to an overseas buyer, or have been asked for a "notarised bill of sale", this page covers the notary's part. The DFAT side, including the foreign registry's form and supporting searches, is covered in apostilles for a bill of sale.

What does the notary actually certify?

An Australian notary public witnesses the parties signing the bill of sale, having satisfied themselves of each signatory's identity, and attaches a signed and sealed notarial certificate saying so. Before anyone signs, the notary also checks that each signatory appears to understand what they are signing and is doing so freely, and may decline to act if not satisfied. The act is recorded in the notary's permanent register. A notary can also certify copies of the supporting documents, having compared them with the originals.

What a notary cannot do is confirm that you own the goods, that the description is accurate, that the price is genuine, that the goods exist, or that no finance is owing on them. Each of those is checked by someone else: the buyer's inspection, a registry search, a customs officer. A notary never certifies that a document's contents are true. That is the point worth taking in before you spend money: the notarial certificate is about the signing, not the sale.

Who has to attend?

This is the practical difference between a bill of sale and a certified copy, and the thing that most often derails a plan. A notary witnesses a signature by watching the person sign after identifying them. So every signatory whose signature is to be witnessed must attend in person, with photo identification.

Bring it unsigned. If you have already signed, the notary cannot honestly certify that you signed in their presence, and the document will have to be signed again.

Where the buyer is overseas, there are two usual solutions. Either the seller's signature is notarised in Australia and the buyer's is notarised in their own country, so the bill of sale carries two notarial certificates, or an agent signs under a power of attorney, which itself has to be notarised and usually authenticated. Many registries accept the first, but confirm before anyone signs. For the second, see powers of attorney and declarations.

A company signing needs someone with authority to bind it. The notary will want evidence of that authority, such as a board resolution naming the signatory, a certified company extract, or the power of attorney under which they sign, rather than taking a title on a business card at face value. For an Australian company, expect the notary to look at the ASIC register as well. See notarising a board resolution.

A signatory who does not read English needs an interpreter present, or a translation beside the text, so the notary can be satisfied they understand the document. The notary will record how that was done on the certificate. Arrange it beforehand; see document translation.

What should the document contain?

The notary does not draft the bill of sale, and one that is defective in substance is still defective after it is notarised. If the destination country or registry has a prescribed form, use it: a generic Australian template is a common reason for rejection at the far end. Otherwise, a foreign registry will usually expect the points below.

• Full legal names and addresses of seller and buyer, matching their identification exactly;
• a description that identifies the goods uniquely: for a vehicle, the VIN or chassis number, engine number, make, model and year; for a vessel, the hull identification number and builder's details;
• the price and the currency, and confirmation that it has been paid;
• the date and place of sale;
• a statement by the seller that they own the goods and sell them free of encumbrances;
• signature blocks for every party, with room for the notarial certificate or a page for it.

The price must be the real one. A notary witnesses signatures on a document the parties represent as true, and if asked to witness a bill stating a lower price to reduce duty abroad, a notary should decline. Knowingly signing a false document for a foreign customs authority exposes both parties.

Proving title, separately

Because the notarial certificate says nothing about ownership, a foreign registry accepting an Australian vehicle or vessel usually wants a chain of documents alongside the bill of sale. Depending on the goods, that may include evidence of Australian registration and of deregistration here, a search showing whether a security interest is recorded against the goods (and a discharge if one is), export documentation, manufacturer or compliance papers, and certified copies of both parties' passports.

Supporting document	What the notary can do with it
Registration certificate or earlier bill of sale	Certify a copy, having seen the original
Security interest search printout	Certify a copy of the printout; it cannot vouch for the search result
Passports of the parties	Certify copies for each person who attends with the original
Company authority	Certify a copy of the resolution or extract, or witness a director's declaration

Sort these before the appointment. They can all be dealt with at the same sitting, and a buyer's lawyer overseas will often want the whole bundle notarised and authenticated together. The certified-copy side is covered in certified copies of a bill of sale.

At the appointment

1. Identification. Each signatory presents photo identification, ideally a current passport, with names matching the document exactly.
2. Understanding and authority. The notary confirms each signatory understands what they are signing, is signing freely, and, for a company, has authority to do so.
3. Signing. The parties sign in the notary's presence.
4. Certificate. The notarial certificate is prepared, signed, sealed and bound to the bill of sale.
5. Register. The act is recorded in the notary's register.

Ask how many originals the buyer's registry and lawyer want. If each needs its own signed original, sign them all at the same appointment.

After the notary: DFAT

The notarial certificate is an Australian act, so a foreign registry or customs authority will usually want the notary's signature and seal confirmed by DFAT. If the destination is a member of the Hague Apostille Convention, DFAT issues an apostille and nothing further is needed in Australia. If it is not, DFAT issues an authentication certificate and the destination's embassy or consulate in Australia then legalises it on its own terms. Check membership on the HCCH status table on the day, and see DFAT's list of documents it can legalise. A notary cannot issue an apostille; only DFAT can.

Shipping schedules make this more pressing than for most documents. If the goods arrive before the paperwork, storage charges at the destination port can run while the authentication chain catches up. We do not quote processing times; ask DFAT, any embassy and your courier for their current guidance before you commit to a shipping date.

Here is an illustration, not a real case

A farmer in Victoria is selling a harvester to a buyer in another country, who will register it there. The buyer cannot travel, so the parties agree that the seller signs before a notary in Australia and the buyer signs a counterpart before a notary where he lives. The farmer's business is a company, so he brings a board resolution authorising the sale and naming him as signatory. The notary checks his passport and the company's ASIC details, watches him sign, and attaches the certificate. DFAT then apostilles it for the buyer's registry.

In short

A notary witnesses the signing of a bill of sale and certifies who signed, not whether the sale, the price or the ownership is genuine. Bring the document unsigned, in the foreign registry's form if it has one, with photo identification for every signatory and evidence of authority for a company. A buyer overseas signs before a notary in their own country. After the notary, DFAT adds an apostille or authentication. For the service itself, see document notarisation.

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Selling goods to a buyer overseas? Send us the draft bill of sale, and we will explain each step before you book.