How to Notarise a Birth Certificate in Australia

To notarise a birth certificate in Australia, take the original registry certificate and your passport to a notary public, who certifies that a copy matches it. The notary does not vouch for the facts on the certificate. For overseas use DFAT then adds an apostille or authentication, and DFAT can often deal with the original directly, with no notary.

Key takeaways

• "Notarised birth certificate" almost always means a notarially certified copy, often with an apostille on top.
• A notary never certifies that you were born or that the certificate's details are true. Only the registry that issued it stands behind those.
• DFAT can usually apostille an original registry certificate without a notary. A notarised copy is the right choice when you need to keep the original or need several.
• The notary must see the original: not a scan, a photograph or someone else's certified copy.
• A name difference between your birth certificate and passport is the most common cause of rejection, and a declaration made at the same appointment usually fixes it.

Why people need a notarised birth certificate

Most are doing one of four things: applying for a visa to another country, enrolling in an overseas university, getting married abroad, or claiming an inheritance, pension or citizenship in another country, often citizenship by descent through a parent or grandparent. Each ends with a foreign official deciding whether the document is acceptable, and that decision is made on the birth certificate, the notarial certificate attached to it, and usually an apostille or legalisation on top.

This page is about the notary's part of that chain: what a notary can do with an Australian birth certificate, what happens at the appointment, and what makes the result fail abroad. The DFAT side, including which version of the certificate to order and how recent it must be, is covered in apostilles for a birth certificate.

What can a notary do with a birth certificate?

A notary cannot "notarise the certificate itself" in the sense most people imagine. An Australian notary public does not certify that you were born, or that the facts on the certificate are true. The registry of births, deaths and marriages in the issuing state or territory stands behind those. What a notary does is one of three things.

• Certify a copy. The notary sights your original certificate and attests that the attached copy is a complete and accurate copy of it. This is the most common request.
• Witness a declaration that refers to the certificate, such as a statutory declaration or affidavit explaining a name difference, or a parent's declaration for a child's foreign citizenship application.
• Witness a translator's declaration, where the receiving country wants a translation bound with the certified copy and the translator's statement sworn.

If an overseas authority has asked for "a notarised birth certificate", it almost always means the first: a notarially certified copy, frequently with an apostille on top. Ask it to confirm if the wording is unclear.

Do you need the notary, or can the original go to DFAT?

Check this before booking, because it can save the notarial step entirely. Birth certificates, including commemorative certificates and extracts, are on the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's list of documents it can legalise. So DFAT can usually apostille or authenticate the original registry certificate directly.

A notarised copy is the right choice when:

• you cannot part with the original, because it will not come back or you need it again soon;
• you need several sets, for example for a visa, a university and a marriage registry at once;
• the receiving authority specifically asked for a notarised copy, or wants a declaration or translation bound to the certificate, which only a notary can put together.

Route	What goes overseas	Who acts	Best when
Original to DFAT	Your original certificate, with the apostille on it	DFAT only	You have a spare original and the authority accepts it
Notarised copy	A certified copy, with the apostille on the notary's certificate	Notary, then DFAT	You keep the original, or need several sets
Notarised bundle	A certified copy bound with a declaration or translation	Notary, then DFAT	The authority wants the documents joined
Australian use	Nothing overseas	An authorised person, such as a JP	Home Affairs or another Australian body

For an Australian purpose, you probably need neither. The Department of Home Affairs usually accepts copies certified by an authorised person, and often just clear colour scans uploaded with the application. A Justice of the Peace does this free.

You need the original, not a photocopy

A notary must sight the original certificate issued by the registry. Not a photocopy, not a scan, not a photograph, and not a certified copy someone else made earlier. That is also why a notarised copy of a birth certificate cannot be produced from a video call alone: the original has to be in front of the notary.

If you no longer have the original, order a replacement from the registry in the state or territory where the birth was registered before booking anything. Registries set their own processing times and fees. Do not laminate the certificate: DFAT refuses laminated, framed or altered documents. If yours is laminated, order a new one.

Some registries issue commemorative certificates alongside standard ones. DFAT's list includes commemorative birth certificates, but many overseas authorities expect the standard certificate, and some commemorative versions leave out details such as parents' names. Unless the receiving authority says otherwise, use the standard certificate.

What happens at the appointment

1. Identification. You present photo identification. A current passport is safest, because the notary records the identification used, and a foreign authority comparing documents will expect the names to line up.
2. The notary sights the original and takes a copy, or checks a copy you bring against it.
3. The notarial certificate is prepared, attached to the copy, signed and sealed, and bound so it cannot be separated without leaving a trace.
4. The act is recorded in the notary's register.

The person named on the certificate does not usually need to attend if that is not you, for example when you bring a parent's certificate for a citizenship-by-descent application: a certified copy attests to the document, not to the person it names. But if the receiving authority has asked for a declaration by the certificate holder, they must attend and sign. You cannot certify a copy of your own birth certificate, even if you are otherwise an authorised witness; the certifier must be independent of you. For the notarial service itself, see document notarisation.

After the notary: apostille or legalisation

A notarial certificate is an Australian act, so before a foreign authority accepts it, the notary's signature and seal usually need confirming. If the destination is a member of the Hague Apostille Convention, DFAT issues an apostille. If it is not, the document goes to DFAT for authentication and then to that country's embassy or consulate in Australia for legalisation, each with its own requirements. Membership changes, and occasionally a member objects to another's accession, so check the HCCH status table on the day. A notary cannot issue an apostille; see apostille and authentication.

If the receiving country needs the certificate in its own language, you will also need a translation. In Australia that is usually a NAATI-certified translation, bound with the certified copy, but the receiving country decides whose translation it accepts. Confirm the order of steps: some want the translation authenticated along with the certificate, others want it translated locally after the apostille. Doing it in the wrong order can mean paying twice. See NAATI translation with a notary.

The mistakes that cause most rejections

A name that does not match. If your birth certificate shows a birth name, or a different spelling or transliteration from your passport, the receiving authority may reject the set even though every document is genuine. The fix is usually a statutory declaration or affidavit explaining the difference, made before the notary at the same appointment, with a certified copy of any marriage or change of name certificate that links the names. Raise it rather than hoping it passes. See name mismatches and apostilles.

An unbound or altered document. The notarial certificate is bound to the copy deliberately. Do not unstaple it to scan it, do not remove the ribbon or eyelet, and do not write on it. A document that appears tampered with is treated as invalid.

A JP copy. A Justice of the Peace can certify a copy for use within Australia, free. For overseas use, a JP's certification is not recognised and cannot be apostilled, and people usually find out after the document has been rejected abroad.

Paying a notary for an Australian purpose. As above, Home Affairs usually accepts copies certified by an authorised person, and often just scans. A notary is often not needed for an Australian visa.

Here is an illustration, not a real case

A man in Hobart is applying for citizenship of his mother's country of birth, which wants his Australian birth certificate, his mother's foreign birth record and evidence linking her maiden name to her married name. He keeps his original birth certificate, so the notary certifies a copy of it and of his parents' Australian marriage certificate. His mother's foreign record cannot be dealt with here; it comes from her country's registry. DFAT then apostilles the two notarised copies.

In short

A notary certifies a copy of your birth certificate against the original; it never vouches for the facts on it. Before booking, check whether the original could go straight to DFAT instead. Bring the original registry certificate, not laminated, and your passport, and deal with any name difference at the same appointment. For overseas use DFAT then adds an apostille or authentication, and any translation follows the receiving authority's order.

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Asked for a notarised birth certificate? Send us the receiving authority's request, and we will explain each step before you book.