How to Notarise a Marriage Certificate in Australia

To notarise an Australian marriage certificate, bring the registry-issued original to a notary, who certifies a copy after sighting it. Often you need no notary at all: DFAT can usually apostille or authenticate the registry original directly. A notary helps when you must keep the original, or need a sworn declaration alongside it.

Key takeaways

• The certificate from your ceremony is not the legal record. Order the certificate from the state or territory registry of births, deaths and marriages.
• DFAT does not legalise ceremonial or commemorative marriage certificates, and refuses laminated ones.
• Two routes: the original to DFAT, or a notarised copy then DFAT. Ask the receiving authority which it accepts.
• A notary does not certify that you are married. The notary certifies a copy, or witnesses a declaration about the marriage.
• An apostille does not oblige another country to recognise a marriage its own law does not accept.

Why would a marriage certificate need to go overseas?

People usually need an Australian marriage certificate accepted abroad for one of a handful of reasons. They are registering the marriage in a spouse's home country. They are applying for a spouse visa or residence abroad. They are renewing a foreign passport in a married name. Or they are claiming a pension or estate entitlement as a husband or wife.

In each case, a foreign official is deciding whether to rely on a document issued by an Australian state or territory registry. That official is the receiving authority, and its instructions decide what you need. Get them in writing before you pay for anything.

Which certificate do you actually need?

Most couples leave their wedding with a certificate signed by the celebrant, the couple and the witnesses. It looks official, and it is a genuine record of the ceremony. But it is not the certificate an overseas authority wants.

The legal record is the marriage certificate issued by the registry of births, deaths and marriages in the state or territory where you married. The registry issues it after the celebrant lodges the paperwork. That is the document DFAT and foreign registries recognise, and it is the one a notary should be shown.

If you have only the ceremonial certificate, order the registry certificate before doing anything else. Some registries also sell decorative or commemorative versions. DFAT lists ceremonial and commemorative marriage certificates among the documents it will not legalise. Laminated, framed or altered certificates are refused too. See DFAT's page on documents it can legalise and our page on the wrong certificate type.

If you married overseas, no Australian registry holds your marriage. The foreign certificate is authenticated in the country that issued it. Our page on getting married overseas covers that case.

Do you need a notary at all?

Often not. A registry-issued marriage certificate is a public document bearing the registrar's signature. In many cases DFAT can apostille or authenticate the original directly, with no notary. Confirm with DFAT for your certificate before relying on this.

So there are two routes:

• Original to DFAT. DFAT authenticates the registrar's signature, and the original travels overseas.
• Certified copy by a notary. A notary certifies a copy, DFAT authenticates the notary's signature, and the copy travels while the original stays with you.

The first route is usually simpler. The second makes sense when you need to keep the original, when several authorities each want their own set, or when the receiving authority specifically asks for a notarised copy. Often the simplest answer is to order a second original from the registry.

What can a notary do with a marriage certificate?

A notary does not certify that you are married. Only the registry can do that. What the notary can do is:

• certify a true copy, after sighting the registry-issued original;
• witness your signature on a related document, most often a declaration linking your names or confirming the marriage still subsists.

That second point comes up more than people expect. A marriage certificate proves that a marriage took place on a date. It does not prove the marriage still exists. Some authorities, particularly for pensions and spouse visas, ask for a sworn statement that you have not since divorced or separated. You sign that statement before the notary, who administers the oath or affirmation. The notary confirms you swore it, not that it is true. See what a notarial certificate proves.

How is a certified copy made?

1. Order the registry certificate, fresh if the receiving authority wants a recent one.
2. Bring the original and photo identification, ideally a passport, to the notary.
3. The notary sights the original and compares it with the copy.
4. The notary prepares a notarial certificate, binds it to the copy and records the act in the register.
5. Send it to DFAT for an apostille or authentication, if the destination asks.

Do not unbind the copy afterwards. A foreign authority may reject a certificate that looks tampered with. Our document notarisation page explains the notary's role.

What if your names differ across documents?

This is the most common problem. An Australian marriage certificate records each person's name at the time of the marriage. Many people then use a married name in Australia simply by showing the certificate to each agency, without a formal change of name. That works domestically. But it can leave a foreign authority looking at a passport in one name, a birth certificate in another, and a marriage certificate that links them only by inference.

If your names differ across your documents, raise it with the notary. The same applies if a name transliterated from another script is spelled differently on each. A notarised declaration explaining the link, prepared at the same appointment, is far cheaper than a rejection. Some countries also expect a name change to be recorded in their own civil register before they will issue a passport in the new name. Ask whether yours does. See name mismatches across documents.

Does it need an apostille or legalisation?

Whichever route you take, most foreign authorities want DFAT's certificate on the document. Only DFAT issues apostilles in Australia. A notary cannot.

• If the destination is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, DFAT issues an apostille. Membership changes, so check the HCCH status table on the day.
• If it is not, DFAT authenticates the document. It then goes to that country's embassy or consulate in Australia for legalisation, and each sets its own requirements.

The apostille confirms the signature and seal on the document, not the facts in it. It also does not oblige the receiving country to register a marriage its own law does not recognise. A same-sex marriage is one example where recognition is decided abroad. Check before you pay for authentication. See apostille and authentication.

Who translates it?

Translation is a separate question. The receiving authority decides whose translation it accepts. Some insist on their own sworn translators, in their own country. Others accept a NAATI-certified translation made in Australia. Ask before commissioning one here, and ask whether the apostille must be translated too. If so, translate after the apostille. See document translation.

Which route suits which purpose?

Purpose	Usually wanted	Notary?
Registering the marriage abroad	Registry original with apostille	Usually not
Spouse visa abroad	Original or certified copy, per the list	Only for the copy route
Foreign passport in a married name	Certificate plus name evidence	Sometimes, for a declaration
Pension or estate as a spouse	Certificate plus a subsisting marriage statement	Yes, for the sworn statement
Australian visa with Home Affairs	A copy certified by an authorised person	No

What if you married in another state?

Order the certificate from the registry of the state or territory where the marriage took place, not where you live now. A couple who married in Queensland and live in Victoria order from Queensland. Registries usually take applications online or by post, with identity checks. Allow time for delivery before you book DFAT or a notary.

The certificate is valid Australia-wide, and DFAT authenticates any state or territory registrar's signature. Moving interstate does not change what you send overseas.

What drives the cost?

Notarial fees are not set by statute, and they vary between practitioners. The main drivers are the number of copies, whether you also need a sworn declaration, and whether several authorities each want their own set. On top of that come the registry's fee for a fresh certificate, DFAT's fee per document, any embassy legalisation fee, and translation. Check DFAT's and the registry's current fees directly. Using the original-to-DFAT route, where the receiver accepts it, removes the notary's fee entirely.

Can a Justice of the Peace certify it for overseas?

No. A JP certification is for use within Australia. It is not recognised abroad, and DFAT cannot apostille it. For the Department of Home Affairs, by contrast, a copy certified by an authorised person, including a JP, is usually enough. Do not reuse a JP copy from your visa file for an overseas authority.

Here is an illustration, not a real case

A couple in Canberra need their marriage registered in the wife's home country in Europe. They have only the ceremony certificate. They order the registry certificate, and DFAT apostilles the original directly. The foreign registry also wants proof her maiden name and married name belong to one person. She signs a declaration before a notary, and DFAT apostilles that too.

In short

Start with the registry certificate, not the ceremony one. DFAT can often apostille the original directly, so a notary is needed mainly for a copy you must keep, or a sworn declaration. Check that your names match across documents. Ask the receiving authority about translation before you order one.

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Sending a marriage certificate overseas? Send us the receiving authority's instructions, and we will explain each step before you book.