Exporting a Car From Australia: Documents to Notarise

Usually very little. The Australian side of exporting a car, the export declaration and cancelling registration, rarely needs a notary. Notarised documents come in at the other end, when the destination's customs or registry wants proof of ownership, a certified copy of your registration, or a power of attorney for a broker there. Ask the destination first.

Key takeaways

• Goods leaving Australia generally need an export declaration to the Australian Border Force, unless an exemption applies. A customs broker usually lodges it.
• For that declaration, ABF accepts identity documents as originals or certified true copies. A notary is not normally needed.
• Tell your state or territory road authority before the car leaves; the rules on cancelling registration differ.
• If the car is under finance, you usually need the lender's agreement before exporting it.
• The destination decides whether it wants notarised copies, an apostille, or a power of attorney for a local broker.
• DFAT may legalise an original government-issued document directly. A printout of an online record is a different matter.

What does the Australian side involve?

The Australian Border Force (ABF) requires an export declaration for goods leaving Australia, unless an exemption applies, and recommends using a customs broker or agent. Most people exporting a car hand this, the shipping and the paperwork at the port to a shipping company or broker. If you lodge a declaration yourself at an ABF counter, ABF asks for evidence of identity as originals or certified true copies. That is a domestic requirement, so a certified copy from an authorised witness such as a JP is normally the right level, not a notarised copy. Check the current export rules with ABF or your broker, since exemptions and thresholds change.

Your state or territory road authority is the other Australian body involved. Registration is a state matter, and each state has its own process for cancelling registration, returning or keeping plates, and any refund. Do this in the order your road authority tells you to, because a car usually cannot be driven to the port unregistered, and registration may need to be cancelled before or after shipping depending on the state.

If there is money owing on the car, deal with that first. A lender with a security interest over the vehicle will usually need to agree before it leaves the country, and a buyer or importing authority overseas may want evidence that the car is unencumbered. The Personal Property Securities Register records security interests over vehicles in Australia.

Task	Who handles it	Notary needed?
Export declaration	You or a customs broker, lodged with ABF	Usually not; certified ID copies if lodging yourself
Cancelling Australian registration	State or territory road authority	No
Releasing finance	Your lender	No
Proof of ownership for the destination	You, from purchase and registration records	Often: notarised copies, sometimes an apostille
Authority for a broker at the destination	You, often on the broker's form	Often: a notarised power of attorney
Declaration of ownership	You	For overseas use, an affidavit before a notary

What does the destination usually ask for?

Every country has its own import rules, and many restrict which vehicles can come in at all, for example by age, emissions or which side the steering wheel is on. Check eligibility with the destination's customs or transport authority, or a broker who knows that market, before you book shipping.

For the paperwork, destinations commonly want evidence that you own the car, such as the purchase invoice or bill of sale and a registration record; evidence that it has left Australia, such as the bill of lading; and your identity documents. Some accept plain copies. Others want notarised copies, and some want those apostilled or legalised. If a local customs broker will clear the car for you, they often need written authority, which the destination may want notarised. DFAT's own guidance is that many overseas authorities do not ask for legalised documents at all, so ask before paying for steps you may not need.

Where does a notary actually help?

An Australian notary can do four things here. They can certify copies of your registration record, purchase invoice and identity documents after sighting the originals. They can witness your signature on a power of attorney or authority for a broker at the destination. They can administer an oath for an affidavit in which you state that you own the car and it is free of finance, if the destination asks for one. And they can witness a bill of sale if you are selling the car to someone overseas; our guide to notarising a bill of sale covers that.

A notary does not confirm that you own the car, that it is unencumbered, or that anything in an affidavit is true. They identify you and witness what you sign or swear. For an Australian body, a statutory declaration is the usual form; for an overseas body, an affidavit sworn before a notary. Our guide to statutory declarations and affidavits explains the difference.

Can DFAT apostille a registration certificate?

DFAT's page on documents it can legalise says it legalises original documents issued by Australian government agencies or officials, including "other Australian government issued documents", as well as copies notarised by an Australian notary. An original registration certificate issued by a state road authority may therefore be legalisable directly. Confirm with DFAT before you rely on it.

The complication is that several states no longer issue paper registration certificates, and what you have may be an email, a PDF or a screen printout. DFAT accepts only a limited range of electronic documents, assesses them when lodged, and does not treat scans as electronic documents. If you have no original, a notary can certify a copy of what you do have, and DFAT can then apostille the notary's certificate. Our guide to notarising a vehicle registration covers the paper-or-PDF problem in more detail.

Whether the destination wants an apostille or embassy legalisation depends on whether it is a member of the Hague Apostille Convention. Check the HCCH status table on the day, since membership changes. For non-members, see our guide to DFAT authentication.

How do you prepare the documents?

1. Ask the destination for a list. From its customs or transport authority, or the broker who will clear the car there.
2. Collect your originals. Purchase invoice or bill of sale, any registration certificate, finance release and your passport.
3. Get any power of attorney wording. From the destination broker, in the form their authorities accept.
4. See a notary. For certified copies, and to sign the power of attorney or swear an ownership affidavit.
5. Legalise if required. DFAT apostille or authentication, then the embassy if the destination is outside the Convention.
6. Send copies ahead. Give the destination broker scans in advance, and keep the originals with you or send them as they direct.

What if you are moving overseas with the car?

Many people export a car as part of a permanent move. Some destinations treat a vehicle you have owned and used for a period before moving as personal effects, with different import rules from a car bought to sell. The evidence they want for that, such as proof of how long you have owned and registered the car, is exactly what is hard to produce once you have left. Gather it before you go. Our guide to documents for moving overseas covers the rest of the move.

What if you are selling the car to someone overseas?

Selling to an overseas buyer shifts some of the paperwork onto them, but the buyer's authorities will want evidence from you. Expect to be asked for a signed bill of sale, evidence that you owned the car and that it is free of finance, and sometimes your identity documents. If the buyer's country wants your signature on the bill of sale notarised, sign it in front of the notary rather than beforehand, since a notary witnesses a signature they see being made. Agree in writing who arranges and pays for the export declaration, shipping and insurance, and when ownership and risk pass. For a sale of any value, a solicitor can review the terms. The notary does not.

What about translations?

If the destination does not use English, its customs or registry may want your documents translated, and may say who can translate them. Some accept a translation made in Australia by a NAATI certified translator; others want a translator in their own country or a sworn translator on their own list. The receiving authority decides whose translation it accepts, so ask before you commission one. If a translation made in Australia needs DFAT legalisation, DFAT requires it to be by a NAATI certified or recognised translator, with the translator's name, signature, NAATI seal and practitioner ID, and the date, on every page.

Common mistakes to avoid

The first is booking shipping before confirming the destination will accept the car. The second is cancelling registration too early and being unable to drive to the port. The third is notarising documents for the Australian export declaration, where a certified copy normally does. The fourth is shipping a car with money owing on it. The fifth is sending a screen printout of an online registration record to DFAT and expecting an apostille on it.

Here is an illustration, not a real case.

Aroha is moving from Brisbane to New Zealand and taking her car. Her shipping company's broker lodges the export declaration, and she follows the Queensland road authority's steps for registration. The New Zealand importer wants proof of ownership and her authority for a broker to clear the car there. Before booking a notary, she asks whether plain copies will do. They will for the invoice; the broker's authority must be signed before a notary.

In short

Exporting a car from Australia rarely needs a notary on the Australian side: the export declaration usually goes through a broker, and registration is handled by your state road authority. Notarised copies, affidavits and powers of attorney come in when the destination asks for them, sometimes with an apostille or legalisation from DFAT. Ask the destination first, and check the current rules with ABF and your road authority. Our apostille and authentication services page explains the legalisation step.

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Exporting a car and not sure which papers the destination needs notarised? Send us the destination's list, and we will explain each step before you book.