Certified Copy of a Certificate of Origin in Australia

For customs clearance or a letter of credit, a certified copy of a certificate of origin is usually the wrong document: the recipient wants the original, an electronic certificate or the issuer's duplicate. A notary's certified copy suits dossiers, tenders and disputes, and it certifies the copy, never the origin of the goods.

Key takeaways

• A certificate of origin is issued by an authorised body, often a chamber of commerce, or under some trade agreements declared by the exporter itself. A notary never issues one.
• For its main job at the border, customs usually wants the original or an issuer's duplicate. No certified copy substitutes for that.
• If the original is lost, go back to the issuing body first. Its replacement carries weight a copy cannot.
• A notarised copy is right when a foreign authority wants certified evidence for its records rather than for clearing a shipment, or when several parties need proof from one original.
• A Justice of the Peace copy is rarely useful for trade documents and is not accepted overseas.

Who issues a certificate of origin

A certificate of origin states the country where goods were produced. Importing countries use it to decide which duty applies, whether goods are subject to quotas or controls, and whether a free trade agreement preference can be claimed. In Australia there are broadly two kinds.

Non-preferential certificates simply state origin, for an importing country's general rules or because a buyer or bank asks for one. They are commonly issued by chambers of commerce and industry associations. Preferential certificates support a claim to reduced duty under a trade agreement. Depending on the agreement, they are issued by an authorised body or completed by the exporter, producer or importer as a declaration.

That matters for certified copies, because the person best placed to vouch for a certificate of origin is the body that issued it. A notary certifying a copy can say only that the copy matches the paper they saw. They cannot say the goods originate where the certificate says, that the tariff classification is right, or that the issuer was authorised. Those are questions for the issuer, the exporter's records and, finally, the importing country's customs.

When a certified copy will not help

Three situations account for most requests, and in all three a certified copy is the wrong tool.

• Customs clearance. Where the importing country's customs needs the certificate to clear goods or grant a preference, it generally wants the original, an electronic certificate it can check with the issuer, or a duplicate the issuer has certified. A notary's copy does not substitute for any of these.
• Letters of credit. Banks examine presented documents strictly against the terms of the credit. Under the rules most credits incorporate, a document the credit calls for must be presented in the form it specifies, and at least one original is normally expected. A certified copy where the credit asked for an original is likely to be treated as a discrepancy, however well it is certified.
• A lost or damaged original. Ask the issuing body for a replacement or certified duplicate. Issuers commonly have a process for this, and the document that comes back is issued on their authority, not merely copied.

In each case, the first call is to the issuer, not a notary. That is the honest answer, and it saves an appointment that would not solve the problem.

When a certified copy is the right tool

There are genuine uses for a certified copy, and they share one feature: the recipient wants evidence for its records, not a document to clear a particular shipment.

• Product registration and tenders. A foreign regulator or buyer building a file on your products may want formally certified evidence of origin alongside other company documents.
• Legalisation dossiers. Some embassies require trade documents to pass through a notarial and authentication chain before they will legalise them. Whether that applies to certificates of origin, and whether the chamber's own signature can be dealt with instead, depends on the destination and on DFAT's approach, so ask both.
• Disputes and claims. An insurance claim, a contract dispute or a trade remedies inquiry abroad may call for certified copies of the shipping documents, including the certificate of origin.
• One original, several parties. When you must give evidence to several people and only one original exists, certified copies let you keep the original safe.

Who can certify the copy

Once you know a certified copy is what is wanted, the next question is whose certification the recipient trusts. There are three realistic candidates.

The issuing body. A chamber of commerce or other issuer can usually provide a duplicate, a replacement or a certified copy on its own authority. For anything touching customs or payment, this is the strongest option, because the recipient is hearing from the issuer directly. Ask the issuer what it offers and what it calls it; the terms vary.

A notary public. An Australian notary sights the original, with the issuer's stamp and signature, and certifies that the attached copy is true and complete. The notary's signature and seal can then be apostilled or authenticated by DFAT, which is what makes this route work abroad. It is the right choice for foreign dossiers, tenders and disputes.

The exporter itself. For internal records, an auditor or an Australian counterparty, a copy certified by an officer of the exporting company is often all that is needed. It carries no weight overseas unless the officer's signature is itself notarised.

A Justice of the Peace can certify a copy as matching an original for some Australian purposes, but trade recipients rarely ask for one, and a JP copy cannot be apostilled or accepted overseas. It is not worth the trip for a certificate of origin.

Electronic certificates

Many certificates of origin are now issued electronically, with a reference number or code that lets the recipient check the certificate with the issuer online. For customs and banks, that check is stronger evidence than any certified copy, which is another reason certified copies are becoming less common for trade.

For a notary, an electronic certificate raises the usual difficulty: there is no paper original to sight. A notary can certify a printout only by describing exactly what they saw, for example the certificate as displayed on the issuer's verification page on a stated date. Whether a foreign authority accepts that is its decision. Ask before booking, and see certified copies and online documents for the general rule.

Getting a notarised copy for use abroad

1. Confirm the form wanted. Ask the foreign recipient in writing whether it wants a notarised copy, an issuer's duplicate, or the original, and whether it wants an apostille or embassy legalisation.
2. Bring the original with the issuer's stamp and signature, and any continuation sheets. If the certificate refers to an invoice number, bring the invoice too; they are often read together.
3. The notary certifies the copy, and identifies you and your authority to produce the document if you act for the exporter.
4. DFAT issues an apostille or an authentication certificate on the notary's signature. DFAT's page on documents it can legalise lists chamber of commerce documents among those it accepts after notarisation. Confirm the route for your document with DFAT.
5. Embassy legalisation, where the destination is outside the Apostille Convention or wants legalisation for trade documents anyway.

That last point is specific to trade documents. The Apostille Convention says it does not apply to administrative documents dealing directly with commercial or customs operations, and countries read that exclusion differently. A destination that is a Convention member may still want embassy legalisation for a certificate of origin. Check membership on the HCCH status table, then ask the importer or embassy which certificate it accepts. Apostille for a certificate of origin covers the DFAT side in detail, and notarising a certificate of origin covers the notary's other roles, such as witnessing an exporter's declaration.

Situations compared

Situation	What usually works	Who to ask first
Customs clearance or preference claim	Original, electronic certificate or issuer's duplicate	The issuing body
Letter of credit	Exactly the form the credit specifies	Your bank
Original lost or damaged	Replacement or duplicate from the issuer	The issuing body
Foreign tender or product registration	Notarised copy, apostilled or legalised	The foreign authority
Dispute or insurance claim abroad	Notarised copies of the shipping set	The foreign lawyer
Internal or local records	Copy certified by a company officer	The recipient

What the notary is not confirming

A notary's certificate on a copy is narrow. It confirms the copy is true and complete against the original sighted. It does not confirm the origin of the goods, the accuracy of the description, the tariff classification, or that the issuing body was entitled to issue the certificate. If a foreign authority wants those things confirmed, it will look to the issuer and to the exporter's own declarations, not the notary. For translation, goods descriptions and codes must be reproduced exactly; see document translation.

Here is an illustration, not a real case

A wine exporter in Adelaide is asked for two things in the same month. A buyer in the Middle East needs the certificate of origin for a shipment held at the port, and the exporter's forwarder suggests notarising a copy. The exporter asks the chamber that issued the certificate instead, which provides a duplicate on its own authority. Separately, a government buyer in Latin America running a tender asks for certified evidence of origin for its file. There a notarised copy is right: a notary certifies a copy of the original, DFAT deals with the notary's signature, and the buyer's embassy advises which certificate it accepts for a trade document.

In short

If the certificate of origin is needed to clear goods or get paid, go back to the issuing body for the original, an electronic certificate or a duplicate; a certified copy will not do. If a foreign authority wants certified evidence for a file, a notary certifies a copy of the original and DFAT deals with the notary's signature. For those steps, see document notarisation.

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