Documents You Need Notarised When Renewing a Foreign Passport

Renewing another country's passport from Australia usually needs no notary at all. The embassy or consulate checks your identity itself, against your current passport. A notary comes in for four situations: a child's passport where a parent cannot attend, a change of name, a lost passport, and some postal applications. Each is covered below.

Key takeaways

• For a straightforward adult renewal, the consulate compares you with your old passport. No notarial certificate is needed.
• The most common reason for a notary is a child's passport where one parent cannot attend and must consent in writing.
• For a change of name, the key document is usually the Australian registry certificate. DFAT can often apostille it directly, without a notary.
• For a postal renewal, read the certification wording. If it lists acceptable certifiers, you may not need a notary; if it says notary, a JP will not do.
• The consulate, not Australian law, decides what it accepts. Read its checklist first.

Does an ordinary renewal need a notary?

Usually not. For an adult whose name and details have not changed, a consulate typically wants the application form, photos, the current or expired passport, and evidence of your status in Australia. That evidence is often your visa grant notice or an online visa status record.

You attend in person or apply online, and the consulate compares you with your old passport. Nothing in that needs a notarial certificate. Before paying for one, read the consulate's own checklist for your exact case.

A passport is issued by the country whose passport it is. An Australian notary has no role in deciding whether you get one. At most, the notary witnesses a signature, certifies a copy of an original, or takes a sworn statement that the consulate has asked for.

Why does a child's passport need a parent's consent?

This is the most common reason people renewing a foreign passport need a notary. Many countries require both parents to consent to a child's passport. If both can attend the consulate together, there is usually no notary involved.

If one parent cannot attend, the consulate will usually want that parent's written consent. The parent may be working away, overseas, separated or simply unavailable on the day. The consent is normally on the consulate's own form, signed before a notary or a consular officer.

The United States is a well-known example. Its statement of consent for a child's passport, the DS-3053, must be signed before an authorised witness. The US Embassy in Australia's guidance, when last checked, accepted a Justice of the Peace as well as a notary. That is a useful reminder to check a country's own guidance before paying for a notary. See the DS-3053 in Australia.

How does the absent parent give consent?

1. Download the consulate's own consent form. Do not write your own letter unless the consulate says a letter is acceptable.
2. Leave it unsigned. The absent parent signs in front of the witness, not beforehand.
3. Sign before a notary or a consular officer, with original photo identification. A copy of that identification is often required with the form.
4. Ask whether an apostille is needed. For a form going to a consulate in Australia, often it is not, but some consulates want one.
5. Send or lodge the original, with any copy of identification the consulate asks for.

If the absent parent is overseas, they sign before a notary in the country where they are, or at the passport country's consulate there. The consulate in Australia may then ask for an apostille from that country.

If there are court orders about the child, such as parenting orders, the consulate may want certified copies of them. It may also apply its own law to who must consent. Where there is any dispute about the child travelling, speak to a family lawyer before applying. A notary cannot help without the other parent's signature.

What if your name has changed since the last passport?

If you married, divorced or changed your name in Australia, the consulate needs evidence before issuing a passport in the new name. That usually means an Australian marriage certificate, a divorce order, or a change of name certificate from the state registry. Sometimes it also means a declaration by you linking the two names.

The certificate is the key document. Many consulates want it apostilled or authenticated by DFAT. A registry certificate is usually one DFAT can deal with directly, without a notary. DFAT's page on documents it can legalise lists them. A divorce order is a court document with its own complications; see notarising a divorce decree.

A notary is needed where the consulate asks for a sworn declaration about your name. A notary is also needed where it wants notarised copies rather than originals. Some countries expect the name change to be recorded in their own civil register first, before a passport can be issued in the new name. Ask whether that applies. If your names differ across documents, see what to do about name mismatches.

What happens with a lost or stolen passport?

Report the loss to police in Australia and keep the report details. The consulate will usually ask for a declaration describing how the passport was lost. Some consulates take that declaration at the counter. Others want it sworn before a notary in advance.

A few will accept an Australian statutory declaration, witnessed by an authorised witness. The Attorney-General's Department explains how Commonwealth statutory declarations work. Whether a foreign consulate accepts one is its decision. Read the instructions, or ask, before booking a notary appointment you may not need.

If the consulate wants a sworn affidavit, the notary administers the oath or affirmation and signs a jurat. A notary does not confirm that your account of the loss is true. The notary confirms that you swore to it, after checking your identity.

Why do postal renewals need certified copies?

Some consulates allow renewal by post for people who live far from the consulate. Because nobody sees you in person, they usually want copies of your identity documents certified. The certifier compares each copy with the original.

Read the certification wording carefully. A consulate applying its own rules may accept an Australian certifier such as a Justice of the Peace. Or it may specify a notary. If it says a notary, a JP will not do. If it lists acceptable certifiers, you may not need to pay a notary at all.

When a notary certifies the copies, bring the originals: the notary must sight them. A notary cannot certify a copy of a scan or of an earlier photocopy. See notarising a passport copy for what the certificate usually says.

Who decides what the consulate accepts?

The consulate does. It is the receiving authority, applying its own country's passport law. Australian law does not decide whether a foreign passport office accepts an Australian notary, a JP or a statutory declaration. That is why two neighbours renewing different passports can get different answers.

When the instructions are unclear, ask the consulate in writing. Name the document, the witness you plan to use and whether it wants an apostille. A short email reply saves a wasted appointment. Keep that reply with your application, in case a different officer reads the file.

If the consulate says "notarised", it usually means a notary public, not any authorised witness. If it says "certified", check whether it lists who may certify. The words matter more than the country's reputation for strictness.

Which documents might need a notary?

Situation	Document the consulate may want	Is a notary needed?
Adult renewal, no changes	Form, photos, old passport, visa record	Usually not
Child, one parent absent	Consent form signed before a witness	Often, unless a JP or consular officer is accepted
Change of name	Registry certificate, sometimes a declaration	Only for the declaration or notarised copies
Lost or stolen passport	Police report and a declaration of loss	Only if it must be sworn in advance
Postal renewal	Certified copies of identity documents	Only if the consulate names a notary

Does anything need translating?

A consulate usually reads documents in English, or in its own language. If a translation is needed, the consulate decides whose translation it accepts. Ask before commissioning one. A NAATI translation made in Australia is a professional translation, but a consulate applying its own law may want a translator it recognises. For Australian documents in another language, see notarising a foreign-language document.

What does not work?

• Writing your own consent letter when the consulate has a form.
• Signing the consent before the appointment. Sign in front of the witness.
• Using a JP where the consulate says notary. The wording decides.
• Sending a laminated certificate to DFAT. It will be refused; order a fresh one.
• Asking a notary to vouch for your old passport. The notary can certify a copy of it, not its validity.

Here is an illustration, not a real case

A mother in Brisbane is renewing her son's foreign passport. The father works on a mine site in Western Australia and cannot attend. She downloads the consulate's consent form and sends it to him unsigned. He takes it with his passport to a notary near where he works. The notary checks his identity, watches him sign, and certifies a copy of his passport. The consulate does not ask for an apostille, so the original goes straight back to Brisbane.

In short

An ordinary adult renewal rarely needs a notary. A child's consent, a name change, a lost passport or a postal renewal may. Read the consulate's checklist first, and check whether a JP or the registry certificate alone will do. More on what a notary does is at document notarisation.

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Renewing a passport and unsure what the consulate wants? Send us the consulate's checklist, and we will explain each step before you book.