How to Notarise Iranian Documents in Australia

Iranian documents are proved in Iran, not by an Australian notary. For Australian use you usually need the shenasnameh or other Iranian certificate, a NAATI-certified English translation that converts Persian calendar dates correctly, and sometimes a certified copy. Iran is not an Apostille Convention member, so documents going to Iran follow a longer authentication route.

Key takeaways

• The shenasnameh is an identity booklet that records your birth and, on later pages, marriages, divorces and children. Translate every page with entries.
• Iranian documents use the Solar Hijri calendar. The translation must convert each date exactly, or it will not match your passport.
• Marriage and divorce certificates are issued as booklets by notary offices in Iran, after registration.
• Iran was not in the HCCH status table when we last checked, so there is no apostille. Check the table on the day.
• Powers of attorney for Iran are commonly prepared through the Iranian embassy's consular section. Ask the Iranian side before signing anything elsewhere.

Do Iranian documents need to be notarised in Australia?

Usually not. An Australian notary can certify that a copy matches an Iranian document they have sighted, but cannot vouch for what Iran's civil registration records. For Australian uses, the work is holding the right Iranian document and a careful translation of every page.

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.

What is a shenasnameh?

A shenasnameh is Iran's birth certificate and identity booklet, issued by the national civil registration organisation. Unlike an Australian birth certificate, which records one event, the shenasnameh is updated through your life. Its first page records your name, your father's and mother's names, and your date and place of birth. Later pages record marriages, divorces, the births of your children and some other events.

This matters for translation. If an Australian body asks for your birth certificate, it usually wants the whole shenasnameh translated, not only the first page, because the later pages show your marital status and children. Leave no page with an entry untranslated. Iran also issues a national identity card, which some bodies ask for as well; it supports the shenasnameh but does not replace it.

Which Iranian documents do people most often need?

For students, skilled migrants and families in Australia, the same documents come up again and again. The table shows who issues each one.

Iranian document	Issued by	Common Australian use
Shenasnameh (identity booklet)	Iran's civil registration organisation	Visas, citizenship, identity
National identity card	Iran's civil registration organisation	Identity, supporting the shenasnameh
Marriage certificate booklet	A marriage notary office in Iran	Partner visas, name changes
Divorce certificate	A divorce notary office, after the court process	Proving an earlier marriage ended
Certificate of no criminal record	Iranian judicial and police authorities	Police certificate for visas
Degree and transcript	The university, with verification in Iran if asked	Skills assessments, employers, study

Why do Solar Hijri dates cause problems?

Iranian documents are dated in the Solar Hijri calendar, whose year begins at Nowruz, around 20 or 21 March. Each Solar Hijri year therefore spans two Gregorian years. Your passport, however, shows a Gregorian date of birth. If a translator converts a date loosely, by adding a fixed number of years, a birth date can end up in the wrong year or month.

A careful translator converts each date exactly, day by day, and may show both calendars. Before you submit, check every converted date against your passport and your other documents. If they still disagree because of an old error in one document, correct it at the source in Iran where possible, or be ready to explain the difference with a statutory declaration. Our guide to mismatched details covers how to link documents that disagree.

How should Iranian documents be translated?

Iranian documents are in Persian, and every part the Australian body relies on needs an English translation, including stamps, seals, handwritten entries and every used page of the shenasnameh. When the translation is made in Australia, use a NAATI-credentialled Persian 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.

Official translations made in Iran by sworn translators are common and can be useful for some purposes, but check whether the Australian body accepts them before relying on one. Names need care in either case: Persian names can be romanised in several ways, so tell the translator exactly how your passport spells your name and your parents' names.

How are Iranian marriages and divorces proved?

In Iran, marriages are registered at a marriage notary office, which issues a marriage certificate in booklet form and records the marriage in the shenasnameh of each spouse. Divorces follow a court process and are then registered at a divorce notary office, which issues a divorce certificate and records the divorce in the shenasnameh.

For an Australian partner visa or a new marriage here, you usually need the marriage certificate booklet and the relevant shenasnameh pages, or the divorce certificate where an earlier marriage has ended, all fully translated. Translate the whole booklet, including conditions and the dower entry, not just the names. 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.

What about an Iranian police 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 Iran, that is a certificate of no criminal record from the Iranian authorities. People living in Australia may apply through the Iranian embassy's consular section or through a representative in Iran. Check the current Home Affairs instructions and the Iranian process before you apply.

The certificate needs an English translation. It does not need an Australian notary.

What about Iranian degrees?

Many Iranians come to Australia as skilled migrants or postgraduate students, so degrees and transcripts are a frequent question. Australian universities and skills assessors usually accept certified copies with English translations, and some ask for the qualification to be verified with the university or through the Iranian education authorities. Any verification has to be arranged in Iran, since DFAT does not legalise foreign education documents and an Australian notary can only confirm a copy matches the original. Our skilled migration documents guide covers the Australian side.

How do you prepare Iranian documents for an Australian application?

1. Read the receiving body's checklist and note whether it wants originals, certified copies or colour scans.
2. Copy every page of the shenasnameh that has an entry, not only the first page.
3. Collect marriage and divorce booklets where your marital status must be shown.
4. Arrange a NAATI Persian translation that converts every date exactly and uses passport spellings.
5. Certify copies through a JP or other authorised person if copies are asked for, and keep the originals.

How do you sign a power of attorney for Iran?

A power of attorney, or vekalatnameh, is how many Iranians in Australia let a relative manage property, deal with an inheritance or handle a bank in Iran. Iranian notary offices commonly expect a power of attorney made abroad to be prepared through the consular section of an Iranian embassy, rather than by a foreign notary. Ask the Iranian office or your relative's lawyer what they accept before you sign anything.

If an Iranian body does accept a document signed before an Australian notary, the usual route is longer, because Iran is not an Apostille Convention member: the notary witnesses your signature, DFAT authenticates the notary's signature and seal, and the document is then legalised by the Iranian embassy, if it provides that service. Our guides to DFAT authentication and consular legalisation cover those steps.

What does this look like in practice?

Here is an illustration, not a real case. Maryam lives in Brisbane and is applying for a partner visa with her Australian husband. She was previously married in Tehran, and her mother wants her help selling an apartment there.

For the visa, she has her whole shenasnameh translated, including the pages recording her first marriage and divorce, together with her divorce certificate. The translator converts each Solar Hijri date exactly and shows both calendars, which catches a one-year slip in an earlier translation. For the apartment, her mother's lawyer confirms that the notary office in Tehran expects a vekalatnameh prepared through the Iranian embassy, so Maryam arranges it there instead of with an Australian notary.

In short

Iranian documents are proved in Iran: the shenasnameh for birth and life events, marriage and divorce booklets from notary offices, and a certificate of no criminal record for police checks. In Australia you add a complete NAATI Persian translation that converts every date exactly, and certified copies where asked. A power of attorney for Iran is commonly prepared through the Iranian embassy, since no apostille is available.

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Not sure what your Iranian 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.