How to Notarise Brazilian Documents in Australia

Brazilian documents are proved in Brazil, not by an Australian notary. For Australian use you usually need a recent certidão from the cartório that holds the record, a NAATI-certified English translation and sometimes a certified copy. Brazil and Australia are both Apostille Convention parties, and in Brazil apostilles are issued by the cartórios themselves.

Key takeaways

• Civil records are held by the cartório de registro civil where the event was registered. It issues birth, marriage and death certificates.
• A certidão de inteiro teor is a full, word-for-word copy of the entry. It is the safest choice when details or later annotations matter.
• A divorce is recorded as an annotation on the marriage certificate. A recent marriage certificate shows whether a marriage has ended.
• Brazilian apostilles are issued by authorised cartórios. Check the HCCH status table for the current position.
• A procuração for Brazil can be signed at a Brazilian consulate, or before an Australian notary with a DFAT apostille, often followed by a sworn translation in Brazil.

Do Brazilian documents need to be notarised in Australia?

Usually not. An Australian notary can certify that a copy matches a Brazilian certidão they have sighted, but cannot vouch for what a Brazilian cartório records. For Australian uses, the work is ordering the right certificate, recently enough, and having it translated.

For a visa, the Department of Home Affairs generally asks for colour scans of the originals, English translations, and sometimes certified copies. A Justice of the Peace or another authorised person can usually certify those copies for free. Start with the Home Affairs document checklist for your visa stream, and our notary or JP guide explains who can certify what.

If an Australian body does ask for Brazilian authentication, an apostille from a Brazilian cartório is the normal form, since both countries are Convention parties. That is uncommon for Australian uses. Check the HCCH status table for the current position, and order one only when asked.

Breve relato or inteiro teor: which certificate do you need?

A Brazilian cartório can issue a birth or marriage certificate in more than one form. The most common are the standard certificate, sometimes called a breve relato, which summarises the key facts in a set layout, and the certidão de inteiro teor, which reproduces the whole entry word for word, including every later annotation.

For many Australian uses, a recent standard certificate is enough. Where the exact entry matters, for example to show a change of name, a recognition of paternity, a divorce, or anything recorded after the original registration, the inteiro teor is the safer choice, because a summary may leave those details out. Ask the Australian body which form it accepts before you order, and check that the certificate carries the registration number that identifies the entry.

Why does the issue date matter?

In Brazil, a certidão is treated as a snapshot of the register on the day it was issued. Because later events, such as a divorce or a change of name, are added to the entry as annotations, many Brazilian bodies want certificates issued within a recent period, often a few months. Some Australian bodies take the same view, particularly for marriage certificates, where the question is whether the marriage still stands.

An old certificate is not invalid, but it cannot show what happened after it was issued. If your marital status or name has changed, or the receiving body asks for a recent certificate, order a new one from the cartório. Many cartórios can issue certificates electronically, and relatives in Brazil can often order them for you.

Which Brazilian documents do people most often need?

Brazilians in Australia include many students, skilled workers and partners, and the same documents come up again and again. Each is issued by a different Brazilian body.

Brazilian document	Issued by	Common Australian use
Birth certificate (certidão de nascimento)	The cartório de registro civil where it was registered	Visas, citizenship, children's passports
Marriage certificate (certidão de casamento)	The cartório de registro civil	Partner visas, name changes
Marriage certificate with divorce annotation	The cartório de registro civil	Proving an earlier marriage ended
Criminal record certificate	Brazil's Federal Police, and state authorities	Police certificate for visas
Death certificate	The cartório de registro civil	Estates, superannuation, insurance
Diploma and transcript	The university	Skills assessments, employers, study

How is a Brazilian divorce proved?

In Brazil, a divorce is recorded on the marriage entry itself, as an annotation called an averbação. A divorce may be granted by a court or, where the conditions are met, made by public deed at a notarial cartório. Either way, the divorce is then sent to the cartório de registro civil that holds the marriage, which annotates the entry.

For an Australian partner visa or a new marriage here, the document usually wanted is a recent marriage certificate showing the divorce annotation, together with the court decision or deed where asked. A marriage certificate issued before the divorce was annotated will not show it. If you are unsure whether a divorce is final or recognised in Australia, speak to a lawyer; our international divorce documents guide covers the paperwork side.

How should Brazilian documents be translated?

Brazilian documents are in Portuguese, and every part the Australian body relies on needs an English translation, including stamps, annotations and the apostille if there is one. When the translation is made in Australia, use a NAATI-credentialled Portuguese translator. Home Affairs accepts translations made outside Australia only if they show the translator's full name, address and credentials. Our NAATI translation guide explains what a certified translation must include.

Names need care. Brazilian names often include several given names and more than one family name, usually from both parents, and the order and number of names on a passport may differ from the certidão. Tell the translator how your passport shows your name, and keep the full name exactly as the certificate shows it in the translation.

What about a Brazilian criminal record certificate?

When Home Affairs asks for police certificates, it usually wants one from each country where you have lived for a total of 12 months or more in the last ten years since turning 16. For Brazil, that usually means a criminal record certificate from the Federal Police, which can often be requested online, and in some cases certificates from the state where you lived. Check the Home Affairs instructions for exactly which Brazilian certificates it wants.

The certificate needs an English translation. It does not need an Australian notary. For an Australian police check going the other way, see our criminal record check guide.

What about Brazilian degrees?

Australian universities, employers and skills assessors usually accept certified copies of a Brazilian diploma and transcript, with English translations. Some ask for the qualification to be verified with the university. Any verification or apostille for a Brazilian qualification is arranged in Brazil, since DFAT does not legalise foreign education documents and an Australian notary can only certify that a copy matches the original. Our student visa documents guide covers what is usually asked for.

How do you prepare Brazilian documents for an Australian application?

1. Read the receiving body's checklist and note whether it wants originals, certified copies or colour scans.
2. Order recent certificates, in inteiro teor where details or annotations matter.
3. Check marriage certificates show any divorce as an annotation before you submit them.
4. Arrange a NAATI Portuguese translation of every page, stamp and annotation.
5. Certify copies through a JP or other authorised person if copies are asked for, and keep the originals.

How do you sign a procuração for Brazil in Australia?

A procuração, or power of attorney, is how many Brazilians in Australia let a relative sell property, deal with an inventário after a death, or handle a bank in Brazil. The Brazilian cartório, bank or lawyer who will rely on it decides what form it must take, so ask first. There are usually two routes.

With the notary route, a document in English usually needs a sworn translation into Portuguese in Brazil before Brazilian bodies will use it, so a procuração prepared in Portuguese, or in both languages, can save a step. Ask about the language before you sign. Our guides to sending Australian documents to Brazil and overseas inheritances cover the Australian steps.

What does this look like in practice?

Here is an illustration, not a real case. Camila came to Melbourne as a student and is now applying for a partner visa. She was married before in São Paulo, and the divorce was made by public deed.

Her old marriage certificate, issued years ago, does not show the divorce. Her mother orders a new inteiro teor certificate from the cartório, which now shows the annotation. Camila has it translated by a NAATI-credentialled Portuguese translator, along with her birth certificate, and uploads colour scans with the translations. No apostille is needed, because Home Affairs did not ask for one.

In short

Brazilian documents are proved in Brazil: recent certidões from the cartório de registro civil, in inteiro teor where details matter, a marriage certificate annotated with any divorce, and a Federal Police criminal record certificate. In Australia you add a NAATI translation and certified copies where asked. A procuração for Brazil is made at a Brazilian consulate or before an Australian notary with a DFAT apostille.

People also search for

• What documents does a partner visa need certified?
• When does a power of attorney need a notary?
• What documents do you need to sell property overseas?
• Which documents do you need to marry overseas?
• What if your document is too old for an overseas body?
• What if your translation was not accepted?

Not sure what your Brazilian paperwork needs? Send us the instructions you were given, and we will explain each step before you book. For translation with notarial certification, see our NAATI translation with notary certification service.