Is There a Free Notary Public in Sydney?

No. Notaries public in Sydney are private lawyers who charge for their work. But many people searching for a free notary do not need one. For documents used in Australia, a Justice of the Peace can usually witness or certify them free of charge. A notary is needed mainly for documents going overseas.

Key takeaways

• There is no free notary in Sydney or elsewhere in NSW. Notaries set their own fees for professional work.
• Justices of the Peace are free, and are enough for most statutory declarations, affidavits and certified copies used in Australia.
• For documents going overseas, a JP will generally not be accepted, and DFAT cannot apostille a JP's signature.
• DFAT charges separately for apostilles and authentications. Some registry certificates can go to DFAT without a notary.
• The biggest saving is avoiding a second appointment: read the instructions, and bring everything the first time.

Why is there no free notary?

A notary public in NSW is an experienced lawyer appointed by the Supreme Court of NSW to perform notarial acts. Notaries are in private practice, and each notarial act takes professional time: checking identity, reading the document, confirming you understand it, preparing a notarial certificate in the form the foreign authority expects, and recording the act permanently. Notaries also carry professional responsibilities and insurance.

No government agency provides free notarial services to the public, and community legal centres and Legal Aid generally do not offer notarisation. Some employers, universities or professional bodies occasionally arrange notarial help for their own people, but that is uncommon. Our guide to what a notary public does explains the work involved.

When is a free JP enough?

For many people, the real question is not "where is a free notary?" but "do I need a notary at all?". If your document is going to an Australian body, such as a bank, university, employer, NSW agency, Centrelink, the ATO or Home Affairs, a Justice of the Peace is usually enough, and NSW JPs do not charge. JPs witness statutory declarations and affidavits and certify copies of documents they have sighted.

NSW JPs can be found at community JP desks, some libraries and council offices, and through the NSW Government's JP register. Availability varies, so check before you go. Many Australian bodies also accept certified copies from other professionals on their own lists. Our guide to notaries and JPs sets out the difference.

When do you really need a notary?

You need a notary when a document is going overseas and the foreign body asks for it to be notarised, certified by a notary, or apostilled. Common examples are powers of attorney for property abroad, affidavits for foreign courts, certified copies of passports and degrees for overseas employers, universities or banks, company documents for foreign registries, and declarations for overseas pension funds.

A JP cannot stand in for a notary in these cases. Overseas authorities generally do not recognise JP certifications, and DFAT does not apostille or authenticate a JP's signature, so a JP copy sent overseas is likely to be rejected, costing time and a second appointment. Our guide to notary public in Sydney covers the practical side of seeing a notary.

Document and destination	Usually enough	Cost to you
Statutory declaration for an Australian body	A JP or other authorised witness	Free with a JP
Certified copy for Home Affairs or a bank here	A JP or another person the body accepts	Free with a JP
Affidavit for a NSW court	A JP or lawyer	Free with a JP
Certified copy for an overseas university	A notary, often with an apostille	Notary's fee, plus DFAT if asked
Power of attorney for property overseas	A notary, then DFAT	Notary's fee plus DFAT's fee
NSW birth certificate for overseas	Often DFAT directly, no notary	DFAT's fee only, once confirmed

Can you skip the notary for some overseas documents?

Sometimes. Some Australian public documents, such as birth, marriage and death certificates issued by NSW Births, Deaths and Marriages, and national police checks, may be taken to DFAT for an apostille or authentication directly, without a notary, because DFAT can verify the issuing officer's signature. That removes the notary's fee entirely.

DFAT's list of documents it can legalise sets out what it accepts, and it changes from time to time, so confirm with DFAT before you rely on it. Laminated or altered certificates are refused, and some documents, such as university records, need verification or notarisation first. Our guide to which documents can be apostilled explains the difference.

How can you keep a notary's cost down?

Notaries set their own fees, and they often depend on the number of documents, signatures and certificates, and on how much preparation is needed. Nothing here is a price, but a few habits reliably reduce what you pay.

• Check you need a notary. Paying for a notary where a free JP would do is the most common avoidable cost.
• Bring everything at once. Combine all documents that need notarising into one appointment.
• Arrive prepared. Bring the unsigned document, originals, identification and the foreign instructions, so time is not spent chasing them.
• Ask for a quote. Describe the documents and destination when you book, and ask what the fee will cover.
• Avoid a second visit. Confirm the foreign body's exact requirements first, including any apostille or translation.

What does a notary's fee usually cover?

A notary's fee pays for professional time and responsibility, not just a stamp. Before notarising, the notary reads the document, checks your identity against original photo identification, satisfies themselves that you understand the document and are acting freely, and considers what the foreign authority expects. They then prepare a notarial certificate in the right form, sign and seal it, fasten it to your document, and record the act in their permanent register.

Some notaries also offer to send the document to DFAT for you, or to arrange a translation, and charge for that work. Others leave those steps to you. When you ask for a quote, ask exactly which steps it includes, so you can compare like with like and avoid surprises.

Should you just choose the cheapest notary?

Price matters, but a rejected document costs far more than the difference between two quotes: a second appointment, a second DFAT fee, courier costs and, often, a missed deadline overseas. Experience with your kind of document and destination country is worth weighing. A notary who regularly prepares powers of attorney for a particular country, or company documents for foreign registries, is more likely to get the form of certificate right the first time.

Ask a couple of practical questions when you enquire: have they prepared this kind of document for this country before, what will they need from you, and will the certificate be in the form the foreign body asked for? Clear answers are a good sign.

What makes people pay twice?

Most repeat costs come from a few mistakes: signing the document before the appointment, bringing a photocopy instead of the original, using a JP for a document going overseas, or discovering after notarisation that the foreign body also wanted an apostille or a translation. Each one means doing some or all of the process again.

A few minutes with the instructions before booking avoids almost all of these. If the instructions are unclear, ask the foreign body directly what it needs, in writing if possible. Our guides to finding an affordable notary and what drives notary costs go into more detail.

How do you prepare so it is done once?

1. Work out where the document is going and read the receiving body's instructions.
2. Use a free JP if the document stays in Australia and the body accepts one.
3. Check whether DFAT can take the document directly if it is an original public certificate.
4. Book one notary appointment for everything else, and ask for a quote.
5. Bring the unsigned document, originals and photo ID, and keep the finished document fastened.

What does this look like in practice?

Here is an illustration, not a real case. Mia lives in Parramatta and searched for a free notary. She needs a Commonwealth statutory declaration for a visa, certified copies of her degree for a Sydney employer, her NSW birth certificate apostilled for Spain, and a notarised copy of her passport for a Spanish bank.

She takes the declaration and degree copies to a JP at her library, free of charge. She confirms with DFAT that her birth certificate can be apostilled without a notary and sends it directly. Only the passport copy for the bank needs a notary, so she books one appointment, and then sends that copy to DFAT as well.

In short

There is no free notary public in Sydney: notaries are private lawyers who charge for notarial work. But a free JP is enough for most documents used in Australia, and some original public certificates can go to DFAT without a notary. Use a notary for documents going overseas, combine everything into one appointment, and read the instructions first so you only pay once.

People also search for

• How are notary public fees set in Australia?
• Does a statutory declaration cost anything?
• What is a certified true copy?
• Who can witness a statutory declaration?
• What if you already signed the document?
• Can you get several certified copies at once?

Not sure whether your document needs a notary or a free JP? Send us the instructions you were given, and we will explain each step before you book.