What Is an e-Apostille, and Does Australia Issue Them?

An e-Apostille is an apostille issued electronically, as a digitally signed file, rather than as a paper certificate attached to the document. At the time of writing, DFAT issues Australian apostilles as paper certificates, not e-Apostilles, but it does offer an online portal where a foreign body can verify an Australian apostille. Check Smartraveller for any change.

Key takeaways

• An e-Apostille is a digitally signed electronic apostille, issued under the HCCH's e-APP programme.
• An e-Register is an online register where anyone can check that an apostille was genuinely issued.
• At the time of writing, DFAT issues paper apostilles, and offers online verification of Australian apostilles.
• DFAT can apostille some documents that were issued electronically, but a scan is not treated as an electronic document.
• Whether a foreign body accepts an e-Apostille from another country is up to that body.

What is an e-Apostille?

An apostille is the certificate, defined by the Hague Apostille Convention, that confirms the signature, capacity and seal on a public document so it can be used in another member country. Traditionally it is a paper certificate, stamped or printed and attached to the document, or placed on the back of it.

An e-Apostille is the electronic version. It is issued as a digital file, usually a PDF, and signed with a digital certificate belonging to the competent authority, so the recipient can check that it has not been altered. The e-Apostille can be attached to an electronic public document, or to an electronic copy of a paper document, depending on the issuing country's rules. The Convention itself was written in 1961, before electronic documents existed, but the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) has confirmed that the Convention can operate electronically.

What is the e-APP?

The e-APP, or electronic Apostille Programme, is the HCCH's initiative to help member countries issue and verify apostilles electronically. It has two parts, which a country can adopt separately:

• The e-Apostille: issuing the apostille itself in electronic form, digitally signed.
• The e-Register: keeping an online register of apostilles issued, so a recipient can enter details such as the apostille number and date and confirm it was genuinely issued.

Many countries now use at least one of these, and a growing number use both. More information is on the HCCH's Apostille Section.

Does Australia issue e-Apostilles?

At the time of writing, no. DFAT, the Australian authority that issues apostilles, provides them as paper certificates attached to the document. If you apply, you receive the original document back with the apostille attached, by post or collection, depending on how you applied.

DFAT does, however, run an online portal to verify Australian apostilles. A foreign body that receives an Australian apostille can use it to confirm that DFAT issued it. That is similar in purpose to an e-Register, and it helps foreign bodies that are unsure about an apostille they have been given. Because government services change, check Smartraveller's notarial services pages for DFAT's current process before you apply.

Question	Position at the time of writing
Does DFAT issue e-Apostilles?	No; DFAT issues paper apostilles
Can an Australian apostille be verified online?	Yes, through DFAT's verification portal
Can DFAT apostille an electronically issued document?	Some types, assessed when you lodge them
Is a scan an electronic document?	No; DFAT does not accept scans as electronic documents
Will a foreign body accept a foreign e-Apostille?	Up to that body; ask first

Can DFAT apostille a document that was issued electronically?

In some cases. Many documents are now issued electronically, such as some certificates, police checks and university records. DFAT can process a limited range of electronic documents, assessed when you lodge them. To verify one, DFAT may need the original email from the issuing body with the document attached or linked, or access to the portal where the document is held, so it can check the document came from the issuer.

A scanned copy of a paper document is not an electronic document for this purpose. If you only have a scan, you will usually need the original paper document, or a notarial copy of it made from the original, before DFAT can help. For university documents, DFAT generally needs the university to verify the record first, which some universities do through an online portal. Our guide to which documents can be apostilled in Australia covers the common cases.

What if a foreign body sends me an e-Apostille?

Sometimes the situation is reversed: you receive a document from another country with an e-Apostille, and want to use it in Australia. Australian bodies decide for themselves whether to accept it. Many will want to check it, either through the issuing country's e-Register or by verifying the digital signature, and some may still ask for a paper version. Keep the electronic file exactly as you received it, since printing it can lose the digital signature that makes it verifiable, and ask the Australian body how it wants to receive it.

Is an e-Apostille the same as remote or electronic notarisation?

No, although the two are often confused. An e-Apostille is about how the apostille is issued: electronically rather than on paper. Remote or electronic notarisation is about how the notary performs the notarial act: by audio-visual link, or by signing an electronic document with a digital signature. A document notarised in person can still receive a paper apostille, and a document signed electronically may still need a paper apostille if the issuing country does not issue e-Apostilles.

In Australia, the rules on remote witnessing and electronic signing vary by state and territory and by type of document, and many foreign bodies still expect a notary's wet signature and physical seal. If you want to notarise a document remotely for use overseas, check both the notary's state rules and whether the destination will accept it. Our guide to what a notary public does covers the notary's role in more detail.

What about countries outside the Convention?

e-Apostilles only exist within the Apostille Convention. For countries that are not members, such as the UAE, Qatar or Kuwait, the process is DFAT authentication followed by legalisation at the destination's embassy or consulate, and both steps are usually paper-based. A few embassies accept online applications or appointments, but the final documents are generally physical.

Why hasn't every country moved to e-Apostilles?

An e-Apostille only works well if both sides are ready. The issuing country needs a secure system for digital signatures and a way to attach the apostille to an electronic document. The receiving body needs to know how to check a digital signature, or where to find the issuing country's e-Register, and must be willing to accept a file rather than paper. Some receiving bodies, including some courts and registries, still require paper originals for their own reasons.

Because of this, even countries that issue e-Apostilles often continue to issue paper ones as well, and a person may have to choose the format that the destination will accept. Before you ask for an e-Apostille from another country, check that the receiving body in the destination can accept one.

How does this affect you in practice?

1. Plan for a paper apostille when using an Australian document overseas, and allow time for postage or collection.
2. Keep electronic originals, including the issuer's email or portal access, if your document was issued electronically.
3. Do not rely on a scan; bring the paper original, or have a notary make a notarial copy from it.
4. Tell the foreign body it can verify the apostille through DFAT's online portal if it has doubts.
5. Check Smartraveller for DFAT's current process before you apply.

Common mistakes to avoid

A frequent mistake is assuming that because a document is available as a PDF, it can be apostilled online. Unless it was issued electronically and DFAT can verify it from the source, the paper original or a notarial copy is usually needed. Another is sending a foreign body a scan of an apostilled document, when it wanted the original apostille. A third is removing the apostille from the document it is attached to, which can make it invalid. If in doubt, ask the foreign body exactly what it needs to see.

What does this look like in practice?

Here is an illustration, not a real case. Mei needs her Australian police check apostilled for a work visa in Europe. The police check was issued to her by email as a PDF. She also has a scanned copy of her birth certificate.

For the police check, she keeps the original email from the issuing agency and lodges it with DFAT, which assesses it as an electronic document. For the birth certificate, she retrieves the paper original, since the scan cannot be used. DFAT issues paper apostilles for both, and the European authority checks them through DFAT's verification portal.

In short

An e-Apostille is an apostille issued electronically and digitally signed, under the HCCH's e-APP. At the time of writing, DFAT issues paper apostilles, not e-Apostilles, but offers an online portal to verify Australian apostilles. DFAT can apostille some documents issued electronically, but not scans. Check Smartraveller for DFAT's current process before you apply. Our apostille and authentication services page explains how this works with us.

People also search for

• How does the Hague Apostille Convention work?
• How does DFAT authentication work?
• What if you get the wrong DFAT certificate type?
• How does a notary certify a true copy?
• How do you apostille a birth certificate in Australia?
• What if an embassy rejects your document?

Only have your document in electronic form? Tell us what you have and where it is going, and we will explain each step before you book.