How to Get a Document Notarised in Australia

To get a document notarised in Australia, confirm the receiving authority wants a notarial act and obtain its written requirements. The document type determines whether you bring an original, sign before the notary, swear a statement or provide company records. DFAT legalisation, an embassy step or translation follows only if the recipient requires it.

Key takeaways

• A notary is commonly used for documents going overseas, but the destination alone does not prove one is required. The receiver's instructions decide.
• Most wasted appointments come from skipping one step: asking the receiver, in writing, exactly which notarial act, wording and later steps it wants.
• The act determines the evidence: a certified copy ordinarily requires the original; a witnessed signature requires you to sign in the permitted manner; company work may require authority records.
• Some Australian public documents, such as registry certificates and police checks, can go to DFAT directly with no notary.
• Only DFAT issues apostilles in Australia. A notary cannot.

Step 1: Check whether you need a notary at all

A notary is commonly requested for documents going overseas, or whenever the receiver expressly names a notary. Some overseas authorities accept an original public document, another authorised witness or their own digital process, so destination alone is not enough. For most documents staying in Australia, a notary is unnecessary unless the recipient specifically requires one.

• Australian government agencies, banks, employers and courts usually want a copy certified, or a declaration witnessed, by an authorised person such as a Justice of the Peace. A JP is a free volunteer. See notary vs Justice of the Peace.
• The Department of Home Affairs usually accepts copies certified by an authorised person, and for many applications only uploaded scans. A notary is often not needed.
• Professional registration bodies, such as AHPRA for health practitioners, publish their own rules on who may certify documents, including for applicants who are overseas. Read that body's current instructions before booking anyone. They are the rules that bind you.

Can police notarise a document? No. Police officers, JPs, pharmacists, doctors and other authorised occupations may certify copies or witness declarations for particular purposes, but that does not make the act a notarisation. A foreign recipient may accept one of those witnesses if its rules say so. However, DFAT does not legalise a document certified only by a JP, so confirm the full chain before choosing the witness.

Where the document is going	Usually enough	Is a notary needed?
Australian bank, employer, school or court	JP or other authorised witness	Rarely
Department of Home Affairs	Copy certified by an authorised person, or a scan	Often not
Australian professional registration body	Whatever that body's instructions name	Only if it says so
Foreign government, court or registry	Whatever its current instructions require	Often, but not always
Foreign bank or overseas property transaction	As the foreign receiver instructs	Often, but confirm first

Step 2: Ask the receiver exactly what it wants

Get the answer in writing, from the body that will receive the document, not from a friend who did it last year or an agent working from memory. You need to know:

1. Which act: a notarised copy of a document, a notarised signature, or a sworn statement.
2. Whether it needs an apostille or embassy legalisation after the notary. That depends on whether the destination is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention. Membership changes, so check the HCCH status table on the day.
3. Whether it has its own form or wording for the notarial certificate, or a document it wants you to sign.
4. Whether it needs a translation, into which language, by whom, and at what point in the sequence.

A notary can assess which suitable act is available under the relevant law and practice, but cannot guess which one a foreign ministry wants. Forward the receiver's email or instructions before the appointment. It lets the notary prepare the right certificate and identify a problem while it is still cheap to fix.

Step 3: Know which notarial act you need

A certified copy. For an ordinary paper document, the notary compares the copy with the original presented and records the act in the certificate. A scan, photocopy or earlier certified copy is not automatically a substitute. Some electronic official or education records have their own verification process, so send them to the notary in advance. See certified copies and certified true copies.

A signature. The notary identifies you, watches you sign, and issues a notarial certificate under signature and seal. See witnessing vs notarising for the difference between an ordinary witness and a notarial act.

An oath or affirmation, for an affidavit or sworn statement going to a foreign court or authority. The notary administers the oath and completes the jurat, the clause recording where, when and before whom it was sworn.

A corporate act, where you sign for a company and the notary must also be satisfied that the company exists and that you have authority to bind it.

What a notary never does is certify that the contents of a document are true. A notarised affidavit proves who swore it and when, not that it is correct. What a notary public can and cannot do sets out that boundary.

Step 4: Check whether the document can skip the notary

Some Australian public documents can go straight to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) as originals, with no notary: registry-issued birth, marriage and death certificates, court documents including divorce certificates, national police checks, and citizenship certificates, among others. Laminated, framed or altered documents are not eligible. Confirm against DFAT's current list of documents it can legalise before lodging.

University documents have their own rule. DFAT legalises an original degree or transcript once the university has verified it. A notarised copy must also be verified with the university, and the notary's certificate must say that the original record was verified with the issuing institution. A plain "true copy" certificate is not enough, and it is the most common reason a degree comes back. Foreign education documents cannot be legalised in Australia at all, even if an Australian notary has copied them.

Private documents, such as powers of attorney, statutory declarations, bank statements and company documents, must be notarised before DFAT will act. Which documents can be apostilled goes through the categories.

Step 5: Find a notary

Australian notaries are appointed under state or territory arrangements and are generally experienced lawyers with additional public responsibilities for documents used overseas.

Most state and territory notarial societies publish a list of their members, which is the most reliable way to find a notary public near you. Not every solicitor is a notary, so confirm the appointment before booking. If you live outside a capital city, finding a notary in regional Australia covers the options. When you make contact, ask for a written quote that lists the notary's own fee separately from DFAT and any embassy charges.

Step 6: Prepare for the appointment

• The original document. For a certified copy, the notary must sight it. Bring every page, including blank reverse sides that carry stamps.
• Current photo identification. A passport is the default for anything going overseas. A current foreign passport is acceptable in the same way as an Australian one; expired identification may not be. See identification a notary must sight.
• The document completed but unsigned. If you have already signed, print a clean copy and sign again in front of the notary.
• Any form or wording the receiver supplied, sent to the notary beforehand.
• An independent interpreter if you do not read the language of the document or are not confident in English. A relative, or anyone who benefits from the document, is not suitable.
• Company records, if you are signing for a company: evidence of its existence and of your authority, such as a board resolution.

Tell the notary where the document is going. It changes the form of certificate they prepare, and some destinations expect particular wording or a bilingual certificate.

What happens at the appointment

The notary first confirms who you are against your identification. They then satisfy themselves that you understand the document and are signing freely, not under pressure from someone in the room. If identity, understanding or free consent is unclear, the notary may decline to act, and a good one will. That is also why a relative who benefits from the document should not act as your interpreter.

You then sign, swear or produce the original, depending on the act. The notary completes a notarial certificate under their signature and seal, attaches it to the document, and records the act in their register. The certificate says what the notary did and saw. It does not approve the transaction or confirm the facts in the document.

Step 7: After the notary

The notarial certificate is often not the last step.

• Apostille or authentication. Only DFAT issues these; a notary cannot. An apostille certifies the notary's signature and seal, never the contents. For a Hague Convention country, DFAT applies an apostille. For a non-member, DFAT authenticates and the document then goes to that country's embassy or consulate for legalisation. See how DFAT authentication works, and check lodgement details on Smartraveller.
• Translation, at the point in the sequence the receiver specified. Some want the Australian document translated before it is notarised; others want it translated after legalisation, or on arrival.
• Sending it, by a tracked method, keeping copies of everything, including the DFAT certificate.

Can it be done online?

Permission for ordinary remote witnessing does not automatically permit every notarial act. The notary must confirm that the particular act is permitted in the relevant state or territory and under applicable professional practice, and the receiving authority must accept the result. For example, the Society of Notaries of New South Wales currently says notaries cannot witness document signing by Zoom. Ask both sides before choosing a remote appointment. See online notary in Australia.

How much does document notarisation cost?

Each notary sets their own fees. The quote can depend on the type and number of notarial acts, signers and documents, identity or company searches, certificate preparation, copies, travel, waiting time and urgency. Send the complete document and recipient instructions when asking for a written quote.

DFAT legalisation, embassy fees, translation, postage and courier work are separate if required. Ask the quote to distinguish the notary's professional fee from these later charges. How notarial fees are set explains what moves the total.

Here is an illustration, not a real case

A Melbourne resident is selling an apartment overseas and is told she "needs a notary". She first asks the overseas lawyer, by email, what exactly is required. The answer: a power of attorney in the lawyer's own form, signed before a notary, then apostilled, then translated after arrival. She forwards the form and the email to a notary, who spots that the form leaves no room for the notarial certificate and prepares a separate one. She attends with her passport and the unsigned form, signs, and the notary attaches the certificate. DFAT then issues the apostille. Because she asked first, she made one appointment instead of two and did not pay for a translation she did not need in Australia.

Mistakes that cost a second appointment

• Signing the document at home before the appointment.
• Bringing a photocopy or a scan instead of the original.
• Getting a JP certification for a document that turns out to be going overseas.
• Getting a plain true copy of a degree without the university verification that DFAT requires.
• Translating before asking the receiver when, and by whom, the translation must be done.

Legal effect is a separate question

For the service itself, see document notarisation. For legal questions about whether a power of attorney, deed or property document will be valid where it is going, see a solicitor in that country or here; a notary witnesses the signing, but does not advise on the document's legal effect unless engaged to.

In short

Check you need a notary, get the receiver's instructions in writing, bring the original, unsigned, with current photo ID, and then take the notarised document to DFAT. The notary proves who signed or that a copy matches; DFAT confirms the notary; the receiver decides everything else.

Related questions

• How do I get a certified copy of my passport for overseas use?
• How do I swear an affidavit before a notary?
• Does a death certificate need a notary before DFAT?
• How does someone become a notary public in Australia?
• When is a JP enough instead of a notary?

Not sure which act the receiver is asking for? Send the complete document, destination country, receiving authority, number of signers, deadline and its written instructions so the steps can be checked before you book.