How to Book a Notary Appointment Online in Australia

To book a notary appointment online in Australia, find a notary through your state's notarial society or a practice's website, then email a scan of the document, the receiving authority's instructions and the names of everyone signing. The notary confirms what is needed and quotes before a time is set. Any DFAT appointment is booked separately.

Key takeaways

• Notaries work by appointment, and most want to see the document and the instructions before they fix a time.
• The booking email matters more than the booking button: the document, what the receiver asked for, who signs, and in what language.
• Ask for a written quote that separates the notary's fee from DFAT, embassy and translation charges.
• Everyone who signs must attend, with photo ID. Bring the document unsigned.
• A DFAT apostille needs its own booking at a Passport Office, or a registered-post lodgement. The notary's appointment does not include it unless you arrange that.

Why a notary appointment is not like booking a haircut

Many booking pages suggest you can pick a slot and turn up. A notarial appointment rarely works that way, for good reasons. An Australian notary is usually an experienced lawyer, appointed under state or territory arrangements, and what they produce is a certificate that a foreign ministry, court, bank or registry will rely on. Before agreeing to act, the notary needs to know:

• what the document is, and which country or body will receive it;
• exactly what that body asked for: a witnessed signature, a certified copy, an oath, a particular certificate wording;
• whether an apostille or embassy legalisation follows;
• who is signing, in what capacity, and whether they read the document's language;
• whether they have any conflict of interest in acting for you.

So most notaries treat the first contact as an enquiry, not a booking. They look at what you send, tell you what they can do, quote, and then offer a time. That short exchange is where problems are caught: the wrong form, a missing page, a document that should go to DFAT without a notary at all. See notary conflicts of interest for why a notary may decline.

First check whether you need a notary

Before booking anything, check that a notary is the right person. Many people who book one do not need one:

• Documents for use in Australia, including most Home Affairs applications, usually need only a Justice of the Peace or another authorised person, who witnesses free. A JP's certification is not accepted overseas and cannot be apostilled.
• A Commonwealth statutory declaration can be made through myGov, or witnessed by an approved witness in person or by video. No notary is needed.
• An original Australian public document, such as a birth certificate or police check, can often go to DFAT directly, with no notary.

If the document is going overseas and it is a private document, such as a power of attorney, an affidavit, a company resolution or a copy of your passport, you usually do need a notary. See notary or JP.

How to find a notary

State and territory notarial societies usually publish a list or directory of their members, often arranged by area, and some list notaries who work in languages other than English. That is the most direct starting point. Many notaries also have practice websites with an enquiry form or online booking page.

Whichever route you use, check two things. First, that the person is a notary public, not a Justice of the Peace, a commissioner for declarations or an American-style online notary platform. A US "online notary" produces a US notarial act, which DFAT does not authenticate. Second, that the notary does the kind of work you need: company documents, powers of attorney for property, or documents for a particular country are more familiar to some notaries than others. See finding a notary near you.

What to send when you book

The booking email or form is the most useful part of the process. Include:

1. A scan of the document, every page, and a note of whether it is to be signed, copied or sworn.
2. The receiving authority's instructions, in its own words: what it wants notarised, any certificate wording, and whether it wants an apostille or embassy legalisation.
3. The destination country, because that decides whether DFAT issues an apostille or an authentication.
4. Who is signing, and in what capacity: yourself, for a company, as an executor, or jointly with someone else.
5. The language of the document, and whether each signer reads it. The notary must be sure every signer understands what they sign, so an interpreter or translation may be needed.
6. Any deadline, stated plainly, so the notary can tell you honestly whether the whole chain can fit.

A notary who replies with questions is doing the job properly. The answers decide the certificate, and a wrong certificate is the most common reason a document comes back from overseas.

Getting a quote

Notaries set their own fees, and they are usually charged per notarial act rather than per page or per hour. One signature on a long contract may be one act; three certified copies are three acts. Company documents, prescribed certificate wording and bilingual certificates take longer and usually cost more. We do not quote figures, because any figure is one practice's rate on one day.

Ask for a written quote that separates:

Item	Who charges it
The notarial acts and certificate	The notary
Handling the DFAT lodgement for you, if offered	The notary, as a separate service
The apostille or authentication	DFAT, per certificate
Embassy or consulate legalisation	The embassy
Translation	The translator
Return postage or courier	Whoever arranges it

DFAT publishes its current fee on Smartraveller, and it changes each year. See notary public fees in Australia for what moves a notary's fee.

Who must attend, and what to bring

• Everyone who signs attends, each with current photo ID, usually a passport or driver licence. Nobody can sign for someone else unless they hold a power that allows it, and the notary will want to see that too.
• The original document, unsigned. The notary must watch you sign. A document signed at home must be signed again.
• Originals, not copies, of anything to be certified. A notary cannot certify a copy from a scan.
• Evidence of any name change, if your ID and the document show different names.
• Company authority, such as a board resolution and a current company extract, if you sign for a company.
• An interpreter, if arranged with the notary in advance.

The notary checks identity, understanding and free consent, and may decline to act if any of them is unclear. They may ask anyone accompanying you to wait outside while you sign. See ID a notary accepts.

Video appointments

Some notaries offer appointments by video for some documents, depending on their state or territory's rules. A video appointment still involves a booking enquiry, and often posting the signed original afterwards. A copy cannot be certified by video at all, because the notary must sight the original. Before booking a video appointment, ask the receiving authority whether it accepts a notarial act done that way. See remote notary acts.

The bookings after the notary

A notary appointment is often the first of several bookings, and each has its own rules.

DFAT. Only DFAT issues apostilles and authentication certificates in Australia. According to DFAT's notarial services page, you lodge either in person at an Australian Passport Office, by an appointment made online, or by registered post with the request form and a self-addressed registered return envelope. Someone else can attend on your behalf. DFAT also says it cannot tell you whether a document must be legalised; ask the receiving authority.

The embassy. If the destination is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, DFAT authenticates the document and the destination's embassy or consulate in Australia then legalises it, often by its own appointment or postal process. Check the destination's status on the HCCH status table on the day, because membership changes.

The translator. If a translation is needed, ask the receiving authority whether it wants the translation done before notarisation, after legalisation, or attached to the notarised document. Our document translation page explains the options.

Here is an illustration, not a real case

A company director in Brisbane needs a board resolution notarised for a bank in a non-Hague country. He fills in a notary's online booking form and picks a time, then emails the resolution. The notary replies before the day: the bank's instructions ask for the notary to confirm the director's authority, so she needs the company extract and the constitution, and the resolution has a blank date. He fixes both, attends once, and books the DFAT Passport Office appointment and the embassy's postal lodgement while the notary prepares the certificate. The online booking took a minute; the email that followed saved a second appointment.

In short

Booking a notary appointment online is easy; booking the right one takes one good email. Check that you need a notary, send the document, the receiving authority's instructions, the signers and any deadline, and ask for a written quote that separates the notary from DFAT and the embassy. Bring the document unsigned, with photo ID, and remember that DFAT is a separate booking. Our document notarisation page describes the appointment itself.

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• What if I have already signed the document?

Send us the document and the receiving authority's instructions, and we will explain each step before you book.