The Cheapest Way to Get a Document Notarised in Australia

The cheapest way to get a document notarised in Australia is often not to need a notary at all. Many people searching for one need a free Justice of the Peace, or DFAT alone. When you do need one, the number of notarial acts, and avoiding a redo, matter more than which notary you choose.

Key takeaways

• Ask first: is the document going outside Australia? If not, a free JP or other authorised witness is usually what the receiver expects.
• Some original Australian public documents, such as registry certificates and police checks, can go to DFAT with no notary.
• A notary's fee is driven mainly by the number of notarial acts, the complexity of the certificate and any extra handling.
• The most expensive outcome is a document rejected overseas and done twice.
• There is no single national notarial price. Fee rules differ by jurisdiction, and a current written quote is what lets you compare the same scope of work.

First: do you need a notary?

Ask one question: is the document going outside Australia?

Where the document is going	What you usually need	Cost to you
An Australian agency, bank, employer or court	A copy certified, or a declaration witnessed, by an authorised person such as a JP	Usually nothing
The Department of Home Affairs	A certified copy by an authorised person, or often just an uploaded scan	Usually nothing
A Commonwealth agency that accepts digital statutory declarations	A declaration made online through myGov, with no witness	Nothing
A foreign government, court, registry, bank or university	A notary, then usually DFAT, sometimes an embassy	Notary, DFAT and any embassy charges

JPs provide their public service without charging. For many documents staying in Australia, a JP or another authorised witness is what the receiver requests. For overseas use, a JP-certified copy generally is not the notarial route used for DFAT legalisation, although an eligible original Australian public document may go to DFAT directly. See notary vs Justice of the Peace. For Commonwealth statutory declarations, including who may witness them and when a digital declaration is possible, check the Attorney-General's Department guidance.

Second: can the document skip the notary?

Even for overseas use, some documents do not need a notary. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) can legalise certain original Australian public documents directly: registry birth, marriage and death certificates, court documents including divorce certificates, national police checks and citizenship certificates, among others. Laminated or altered originals are refused. If your document is on that list and you can part with the original, you may not need a notary. Confirm with DFAT before lodging, and see which documents can be apostilled.

It is also worth asking the receiver whether it wants legalisation at all. Not every overseas authority asks for it, and DFAT's own guidance tells you to check with the receiver first. Paying for a step nobody asked for is the easiest money to save.

How much does a notary cost?

There is no single national price for every notarial matter, and fee rules differ by jurisdiction. Western Australia, for example, publishes prescribed maximum fees for public notaries, while other jurisdictions use different arrangements. We do not quote a universal figure. Ask for a current itemised quote based on the actual work:

• The document and required notarial act. Copy certification, witnessing, an oath and a complex certificate involve different work; page count alone does not settle the quote.
• The number of signers and certified copies. More people or copies require additional checking and completion work.
• The certificate's complexity. Prescribed foreign wording or a bilingual certificate may require more preparation.
• Corporate matters, where the notary must verify a company and a signatory's authority.
• Travel and waiting time for mobile attendance or work outside ordinary hours, where offered.
• Separate later work, including DFAT or embassy handling, translation, courier and return delivery.

Notary public fees in Australia explains each of these in detail, and which questions get you a quote you can compare.

Seven ways to keep the cost down

1. Put everything into one appointment. Additional copies and signatures at the same appointment are usually cheaper than a second visit. List every document before you book.
2. Ask for the right number of copies, once. If two authorities want the same notarised copy, say so at the start. See multiple certified copies.
3. Confirm which act the receiver wants. A notarised copy of a document you hold is a different act from a notarised signature on a new one. Receivers sometimes accept the simpler act, if you ask.
4. Send the notary the form in advance. A notary who has seen the document and any prescribed wording before you arrive spends less time, and you avoid a return trip for a missing page.
5. Lodge with DFAT yourself, if you have time. DFAT sets its own charge for an apostille or authentication. When a notary or agent lodges it for you, their service fee is on top. That service can be well worth paying for at a deadline, but it is optional.
6. Get the order right. Translation before or after the apostille? The receiver decides. Getting it backwards can mean paying for the whole chain twice.
7. Get a written quote that separates the charges. Ask what the notary's own fee is, what DFAT charges, what any embassy charges, and what any service fee is. Two quotes can only be compared if they cover the same things.

"Cheapest authentication services"

Only DFAT issues apostilles and authentication certificates in Australia. There is no cheaper authority to go to, and a notary cannot issue an apostille. What varies between providers advertising authentication services is the service fee they charge for lodging the document with DFAT on your behalf, and sometimes for the embassy step as well. Check DFAT's current charge on Smartraveller, then compare what each provider adds. See how DFAT authentication works.

Why city-by-city price lists are unreliable

Searches for the cheapest notary public in Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne or Brisbane often turn up per-city price tables, but fee settings are jurisdiction-specific and the scope of work varies. Western Australia prescribes maximum fees; elsewhere a society may publish guidance or the notary may quote under the applicable professional rules. A table can also omit travel, extra signers, copies, DFAT handling or delivery. Check the current position in your state and compare itemised quotes for the same work.

Are online notaries cheaper?

Not necessarily. You still pay for the notarial act, and certifying a true copy requires the notary to compare the copy with the original. Permission for some electronic transactions or audiovisual witnessing does not automatically permit every notarial act. The notary must confirm whether the particular act is legally and professionally permitted in their Australian jurisdiction, and the receiving authority must separately confirm that it accepts the remote process. See online notary in Australia.

Translations: the cost people forget

If the document is not in the receiving country's language, a translation may be a bigger item than the notary. Two questions save money here. First, who must translate it: some receivers accept a NAATI-certified translation made in Australia, others insist on a translator in their own country, and paying for both is common and avoidable. Second, when: some want the Australian document translated before it is notarised, others want the translation done after DFAT has issued the apostille so that the apostille is translated too. Ask the receiver both questions in writing before paying any translator. See NAATI translation with a notary.

Where the cheapest quote costs more

The expensive outcome is not a slightly higher notarial fee. It is a document rejected overseas, which means paying again for the underlying document, the notarisation, DFAT, any embassy step and any translation, with time lost as well. Common causes are a JP certification sent abroad, a document signed before the appointment, the wrong form of certificate, a university degree copied without the verification DFAT requires, and a translation done at the wrong point. A notary who asks what the receiver requires before starting is protecting you from that. See when an embassy rejects a document.

Here is an illustration, not a real case

A student in Perth is told by an overseas university to send "notarised" copies of her passport, her Australian police check and a recent bank statement. She asks the university exactly what it needs. The answer: apostilled documents, with no preference between an original and a notarised copy for the police check. DFAT confirms it can apostille the original national police check directly, so that needs no notary. She takes her passport and the original bank statement to one notary, in one appointment, and asks for a written quote beforehand that separates the notary's fee from DFAT's. She lodges with DFAT herself. Her saving came from the questions, not from the notary she chose.

In short

The cheapest notary is often no notary: use a free JP for Australian purposes, and send public originals straight to DFAT where it can act on them. When you need a notary, bundle everything into one appointment, confirm the act and the order of steps with the receiver, and compare written quotes that separate the notary's fee from DFAT and embassy charges.

Related questions

• How much does a notary cost in Australia?
• Is a statutory declaration free to witness?
• Who can witness a statutory declaration?
• How do I get a document notarised in Australia?
• What goes into a notary's quote?

Send us the document type, destination country, signer location, number of signers and copies, and deadline. We can explain the likely steps before you request comparable quotes.