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 and an English translation that converts Persian calendar dates exactly. A certified copy, if asked for, can often be made by an authorised person. A notary matters mainly when you sign papers here for Iran.

Key takeaways

• The shenasnameh is an identity booklet that records your birth and, on later pages, marriages, divorces and children. Translate every page with an entry.
• 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 booklets issued by notary offices in Iran after registration.
• DFAT will not authenticate a document Iran issued. Any step on an Iranian document happens in Iran.
• Iran was not on the HCCH status table when we last checked, so there is no apostille in either direction.

Do Iranian documents need a notary in Australia?

Usually not. An Australian notary can certify that a copy matches an Iranian document they have sighted. They 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 clear colour scans of the originals and English translations. It asks for certified copies only in some cases. When it does, a copy certified by an authorised person is usually enough. Check the document list for your visa on the Home Affairs immigration site, and see our notary or JP guide for who can certify what.

What DFAT cannot do with an Iranian document

DFAT issues authentication certificates only on Australian public documents and on the signatures of Australian officials, including notaries. It cannot authenticate a shenasnameh, an Iranian marriage booklet or an Iranian degree, even as a notarised copy. DFAT's page on documents it can legalise also says it does not deal with foreign education documents.

Iran was not listed as a party to the Apostille Convention when we checked the HCCH status table on 29 September 2026. Check the table on the day. So any official stamp on an Iranian document is added in Iran. Most Australian bodies do not ask for one. The receiving authority decides, so ask before arranging anything.

What is a shenasnameh?

A shenasnameh is Iran's birth certificate and identity booklet, issued by the national civil registration organisation. An Australian birth certificate records one event; the shenasnameh is updated through your life. Its first page records your name, your parents' 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 later pages show your marital status and children. Leave no page with an entry untranslated. Iran also issues a national identity card, which supports the shenasnameh but does not replace it.

Which Iranian documents come up most?

Iranian document	Issued by	Common Australian use
Shenasnameh	The civil registration organisation	Visas, citizenship, identity
National identity card	The 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	Character checks 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. The year 1400, for example, ran from March 2021 to March 2022.

Your passport shows a Gregorian date. A translator who adds a fixed number of years gets dates from January to March wrong by a year: those months need 622 years added, the rest of the year 621. A careful translator converts each date exactly, day by day, and may show both calendars. Check every converted date against your passport before you submit. If an old error remains in one document, correct it at the source in Iran where possible, or explain it with a statutory declaration if asked. Our guide to mismatched details shows how to link documents that disagree.

How should Iranian documents be translated?

Iranian documents are in Persian. Every part the Australian body relies on needs an English translation, including stamps, seals, handwritten entries and every used page of the shenasnameh. A translation made in Australia should be by a NAATI-credentialled Persian translator. One made in Iran needs the translator's full name, address, telephone number and qualifications for Home Affairs. Our NAATI translation guide explains what a certified translation must show.

Official translations made in Iran by sworn translators are common, but check whether the Australian body accepts them first. Names need care either way: Persian names can be romanised several ways, so tell the translator exactly how your passport spells your name and your parents' names. Where a translation also needs a notarial certificate, see our NAATI translation with notary certification service.

How are Iranian marriages and divorces proved?

In Iran, marriages are registered at a marriage notary office. It issues a marriage certificate in booklet form, and the marriage is recorded in each spouse's shenasnameh. 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 a partner visa or a new marriage here, you usually need the marriage booklet and the relevant shenasnameh pages, or the divorce certificate where an earlier marriage has ended. Translate the whole booklet, including conditions and the dower entry, not just the names. Whether an overseas divorce is recognised in Australia is a legal question, so ask a lawyer. Our international divorce documents guide covers the paperwork side.

An Iranian police certificate

Home Affairs usually asks for a police certificate from each country where you have lived for a total of 12 months or more in the last ten years since turning 16. Check the current instructions for your visa. For Iran, that is a certificate of no criminal record from the Iranian authorities. People in Australia may apply through the Iranian embassy's consular section or a representative in Iran; check the current process first. The certificate needs an English translation. No Australian notary is involved.

Iranian degrees

Many Iranians come to Australia as skilled migrants or postgraduate students. Australian universities and skills assessors usually accept certified copies of degrees and transcripts with English translations. Some ask for the qualification to be verified with the university or through the Iranian education authorities. That has to be arranged in Iran. An Australian notary can only confirm that a copy matches the original. Our skilled migration documents guide covers the Australian side.

Preparing Iranian documents for an Australian application

1. Read the 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 an authorised person only if copies are asked for, and keep the originals.

Signing 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. Iranian notary offices commonly expect one made abroad to be prepared through the consular section of an Iranian embassy. Iranian missions handle such requests through Iran's online consular system, known as Mikhak, and signing usually happens at the embassy. Ask the Iranian office or your relative's lawyer what it accepts before you sign anything.

If an Iranian body accepts a document signed before an Australian notary, the route is longer, because there is no apostille. The notary checks your identity and understanding and witnesses your signature. DFAT authenticates the notary's certificate, and the document then needs legalisation by the Iranian embassy, if it offers that. For validity questions, see a lawyer. Our guides to DFAT authentication and consular legalisation cover those steps, and our power of attorney page covers the signing.

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. She has her whole shenasnameh translated, including the pages recording her first marriage and divorce, with her divorce certificate.

The translator converts each Solar Hijri date exactly and shows both calendars. That catches a one-year slip in an old translation, where a February birth date had been converted with 621 years instead of 622. Her mother also wants help selling an apartment, and the lawyer in Tehran says the notary office expects a consular vekalatnameh. So Maryam applies through the Iranian embassy rather than 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 made through the Iranian embassy.

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