Export Food and Health Certificates: What a Notary Adds

Very little, in most cases. Export food and health certificates are issued by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, and a notary cannot issue, endorse or improve them. Where an importing country wants one legalised, DFAT can usually deal with the government original directly. A notary is useful for your own declarations and for certified copies.

Key takeaways

• Government export certificates are issued by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, not by a notary, chamber or lawyer.
• The department's Manual of Importing Country Requirements (Micor) and your importer are the first places to check.
• A certificate from the department is a government document; if it must be legalised, ask DFAT about the original.
• A notary's real role is with your company's own declarations and with certified copies of originals.
• A notary never certifies that goods are safe, compliant or as described.
• Where certificates travel electronically between governments, there may be no paper to notarise at all.

Who issues export food and health certificates?

In Australia, government export certificates for food and agricultural goods are issued by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. The department says its export documentation verifies that goods meet Australian export requirements and the requirements of the importing country. Health certificates, sanitary and phytosanitary certificates, and similar documents all come from the department or its authorised officers, often generated through its Export Documentation System (EXDOC).

Which certificates you need depends on the goods and the market. The department separates prescribed goods, which it regulates for export, such as dairy, eggs, fish, meat, live animals and plants and plant products, from non-prescribed goods, such as many processed foods, cosmetics, supplements and pet food. For non-prescribed goods, the department says it is only involved when the importing country requires it, but it can issue certificates for them when that is a condition of entry. For cosmetics bound for China, it also issues authentications of good manufacturing practice certificates.

The starting point is Micor, the department's guide to importing country requirements, together with your importer, who knows what its own customs and food authority are asking for. Neither a notary nor DFAT can tell you what certificate an importing country wants.

What does each document in the export file need?

An export consignment of food often travels with several documents from different issuers. Sorting them by issuer is the fastest way to see where, if anywhere, a notary fits.

Document	Issued by	Does a notary add anything?
Health or sanitary certificate	Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry	No; ask DFAT if it must be legalised
Phytosanitary certificate	Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry	No
Certificate of origin	A chamber of commerce or industry body	Sometimes, before DFAT, if legalisation is required
Laboratory analysis or test report	A testing laboratory	A certified copy, where a copy is accepted
Halal, organic or other third-party certificate	A certifying body	A certified copy, where a copy is accepted
Manufacturer's or exporter's declaration	Your company	Yes, if the importer or embassy wants it notarised
Commercial invoice and packing list	Your company	Only if the importing country asks

Can a notary certify or endorse a health certificate?

No. A health certificate is a statement by the Australian government about goods it or its authorised officers have assessed. A notary has no authority to add to it, confirm it or vouch for the goods. A notarial certificate attached to a health certificate would, at most, say that a copy matches an original the notary has seen. It would not make the goods any more acceptable, and a customs or food authority that wants the department's original certificate, or its electronic version, will not accept a notarised copy instead.

This is worth saying plainly because exporters are sometimes told, often by someone further along the supply chain, to "get the health certificate notarised". Usually the person means one of three other things: that the certificate should be legalised for a country that requires it; that a certified copy is wanted for a file, such as the importer's registration dossier; or that the exporter's own declaration should be formalised. Ask which one, in writing, before booking anything.

What if the importing country wants the certificate legalised?

Some importing countries want export certificates legalised before they accept them, and Micor notes this for some markets and products. Legalisation in Australia is done only by DFAT. A certificate issued by the department is an original Australian government document, and DFAT's page on documents it can legalise says it legalises original Australian government documents, so no notary is involved at that stage. Confirm with DFAT, and with the department where the certificate is electronic, how it wants the document presented.

For a country that is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, DFAT issues an apostille. For one that is not, DFAT issues an authentication certificate and the country's embassy or consulate in Australia then legalises it. Several Middle Eastern markets were outside the Convention when this was written. Check the HCCH status table on the day. Our guide to consulate legalisation explains the embassy step.

Where does a notary actually help?

Your company's declarations. Importers and some embassies ask exporters for statements signed by the company: a manufacturer's declaration about ingredients or processing, a statement that goods are free from a listed substance, or a declaration of the product's composition. The department itself asks exporters to provide supporting evidence in English, such as manufacturers' declarations and laboratory reports, when applying for some certificates; it does not ask for those to be notarised. But where an importing country or its embassy wants a company declaration notarised, a notary attests the signature of the officer who signs, after checking their photo identification and authority. The notary does not check what the declaration says. That remains the company's responsibility, and a false declaration is a serious matter.

Certified copies. An importer building a registration file, a bank handling a letter of credit, or a buyer's auditor may want copies of your certificates rather than the originals. A notary can certify that a copy matches an original they have sighted. A copy certified by a Justice of the Peace is fine for many Australian purposes but is not accepted by most overseas bodies and cannot be apostilled. Whether a certified copy is acceptable at all is the receiving body's decision. Our guide to originals versus copies explains the difference.

Chamber documents and commercial documents. Certificates of origin and invoices sometimes need to be legalised for markets outside the Hague Convention. DFAT's page says chamber of commerce documents are legalised after notarisation. Our guides to certificates of origin and commercial invoices cover those steps.

What about electronic certificates?

For some commodities and markets, export certificates are generated electronically, and some are exchanged directly between the department and the importing country's authority. Where that happens, there may be no paper certificate for anyone to notarise or legalise, and the importing authority checks the certificate against the government-to-government record. A printout or scan of an electronic certificate is not an original, and a notary cannot certify it as a copy of one. If the importer asks for a paper version, ask the department what it can provide.

How do you work out what you need?

1. Check Micor for your product and market. It sets out the importing country's certificate and document requirements as the department understands them.
2. Ask your importer. It deals with its own authorities and often knows of recent changes.
3. Arrange the government certificate. Through EXDOC or the department's application process, with the supporting evidence it asks for.
4. Ask whether legalisation is required. If so, contact DFAT about legalising the department's original.
5. Prepare any company declarations. On the importer's or embassy's wording, signed by an authorised officer.
6. Use a notary only where asked. For declarations to be notarised or copies to be certified from originals.
7. Send notarised documents to DFAT. Then to the embassy if the country is outside the Hague Convention.

Common mistakes to avoid

The most common mistake is paying a notary to "notarise" a department health certificate that the importing country only wanted as the original, or wanted legalised by DFAT. The second is sending a scan or printout of an electronic certificate for certification. The third is treating a notarised company declaration as if the notary had checked the product; it only confirms who signed. The fourth is relying on last year's document list for a market whose rules have changed. Our guide to notarising export documents covers the wider shipping file.

Here is an illustration, not a real case.

A Queensland honey producer is exporting to a new market in the Middle East. Micor and the importer say a department export certificate is required, along with a manufacturer's declaration about processing and a certificate of origin, all legalised. The producer applies for the certificate through the department, and DFAT authenticates the original before the embassy legalises it. A director signs the manufacturer's declaration before a notary, and the chamber's certificate of origin is notarised and authenticated. Nobody notarises the health certificate itself.

In short

A notary adds nothing to a government export food or health certificate. Those come from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, and where an importing country wants one legalised, DFAT can usually deal with the original directly. A notary helps with your company's own declarations and with certified copies of originals, and never vouches for the goods. Check Micor and your importer first, and the HCCH status table on the day. Our apostille and authentication page explains the DFAT step.

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Asked to notarise something in an export file? Send us the importer's request, and we will explain each step before you book, including whether a notary is needed at all.