Why Notaries Bind Documents With Ribbon and Seal

Notaries bind documents with ribbon, eyelets or staples and a seal so that no page can be added, removed or swapped without it showing. The binding ties the notarial certificate, and later the apostille, to the exact pages the notary dealt with. Taking it apart can mean notarising it again.

Key takeaways

• The binding shows that the document, the notarial certificate and any apostille belong together.
• Ribbon, eyelets and a seal across the binding make tampering visible.
• Never unstaple or unbind a notarised document, even to scan or photocopy it.
• If it has been unbound, the usual fix is a fresh notarisation, and a new apostille if one was attached.
• Scan or copy the bundle as it is, page by page, and send the original flat and protected.

Why does binding matter?

A notarial certificate describes what the notary did with a particular document: witnessed your signature on it, or certified that it is a true copy of an original. The certificate only has meaning if it stays attached to that document. If pages could be removed and replaced, someone could attach a genuine notarial certificate to a different document, and the foreign body would have no way to tell.

Binding prevents that. By fastening the document and the certificate together in a way that cannot be undone without leaving marks, the notary makes the bundle a single unit. When DFAT later attaches an apostille to the notarial certificate, it becomes part of the same unit. Foreign authorities rely on that integrity, which is why they look closely at the binding. Our guide to what a notary public does explains the notarial certificate itself.

How do notaries bind documents?

Methods vary between notaries and with the kind of document, but the aim is the same. Common approaches include eyelets or grommets punched through all the pages, a ribbon threaded through the pages and secured, a staple through all pages with a seal or wafer placed over it, or a seal or signature running across the edges of consecutive pages. Many notaries also sign or initial every page and number the pages, so that each is identified as part of the bundle.

Ribbon and seal is a long tradition in English-style notarial practice, and some foreign authorities are used to seeing it. Others care less about the method than about the fact that the bundle is secure. The notary chooses a method that suits the document and the destination.

Why shouldn't you unstaple a notarised document?

Because once the binding is disturbed, nobody can be sure the pages are the ones the notary dealt with. A foreign registry, court or notary that receives a bundle with removed staples, torn ribbon, a broken seal or extra holes may simply refuse it. The same applies to the apostille: if it has been separated from the notarial certificate, it no longer proves anything about the document.

People often unbind documents innocently, to put them through a scanner, to photocopy them flat, or to fit them into an envelope. The cost can be a fresh notarisation, a new apostille and a missed deadline. So treat the bundle as sealed from the moment you leave the notary's office.

How do you scan or copy a bound document?

Scan or photocopy it page by page, turning the pages as you would in a book. A flatbed scanner or a good phone scanning app works well; a sheet-feeding scanner does not, because it needs loose pages. Where a staple or ribbon makes a page hard to flatten, press gently rather than pulling the pages apart, and accept a slightly curved image rather than disturbing the binding.

Keep a complete colour scan for your own records before the original leaves your hands, including the notarial certificate and the apostille. If a receiving body wants copies in advance, send the scan; send the bound original only when it is actually required. Our guide to whether a scanned notarised document is valid explains when a scan is enough.

Situation	What to do
You need a copy for your records	Scan page by page without unbinding
The receiving body wants a preview	Email the scan; send the original when asked
The bundle will not fit an envelope	Use a larger, stiff envelope; do not fold or unbind
A staple has come loose by accident	Tell the notary; do not re-staple it yourself
You unbound it deliberately	Expect to have it notarised again
The apostille has come away	Contact the notary and DFAT; it may need redoing

What if the document has already been unbound?

Do not try to put it back together yourself with new staples or tape. That makes it look tampered with, which is worse than admitting it was unbound. Instead, contact the notary who prepared it and explain what happened. The notary may be able to re-examine the document and prepare a fresh notarial certificate, or you may need to sign again. If the bundle had an apostille, a new apostille will usually be needed for the new certificate.

Sometimes a foreign body will accept a bundle with minor damage to the binding, such as a staple that worked loose in transit, especially if the seal across the pages is intact. That is its decision, not yours, so if in doubt, ask before sending. Our guide to what happens when a document is rejected by an embassy covers the common reasons.

What about documents with many pages or attachments?

Long documents, such as company constitutions, contracts with schedules, or affidavits with many exhibits, raise the same issue on a larger scale. The notary may bind the whole bundle together, number every page, and describe in the certificate how many pages it contains and which exhibits are attached. Exhibits to an affidavit are often marked with an exhibit note signed by the notary, so each one is identified even if the bundle is thick.

If the foreign body wants some documents separately, for example a certificate of incorporation apart from a board resolution, tell the notary before the appointment, so each can be prepared and bound as its own bundle with its own certificate. Splitting a bound bundle afterwards is not an option. Our guide to company document notarisation covers larger corporate bundles.

Does DFAT keep the binding intact?

Yes. When DFAT adds an apostille or authentication certificate, it attaches it to the notarial certificate in a way that keeps the bundle together, so that the apostille is clearly connected to the notary's signature. You should bring or send the bundle to DFAT exactly as the notary returned it. If DFAT cannot tell that the bundle is intact, it may not be able to proceed, so check it before lodging.

How should you send a bound document overseas?

Send it flat, in a stiff envelope or document folder that protects the binding and seal, by a tracked service. Do not fold it, and do not squeeze a thick bundle into a small envelope. If the document is valuable or urgent, a courier with tracking and signature on delivery is usually worth it. Keep the tracking number and your scan until the receiving body confirms it has the original. Our guide to post or courier for legal documents compares the options.

How do you look after a notarised document?

1. Check the bundle before you leave the notary: every page, the certificate and the binding.
2. Scan it page by page without unbinding it, and keep the scan.
3. Take it to DFAT, if an apostille is needed, still bound.
4. Send it flat and tracked, in a stiff envelope or folder.
5. If the binding is disturbed, contact the notary rather than repairing it yourself.

What does this look like in practice?

Here is an illustration, not a real case. Ravi had a power of attorney notarised and apostilled for a property matter in Mexico. To email a copy to his lawyer, he took out the staple and fed the pages through his office scanner.

His lawyer warned that the Mexican notary would likely reject the unbound bundle. Ravi contacted the Australian notary, who explained that the certificate could not be reattached. He signed a fresh copy of the power before the notary, DFAT added a new apostille, and this time he scanned it on a flatbed page by page before couriering the bound original to Mexico.

In short

Notaries bind documents with ribbon, eyelets or staples and a seal so the document, the notarial certificate and any apostille stay together as one unit, and any tampering shows. Never unbind a notarised document, even to scan it. Scan it page by page as it is, send it flat and tracked, and if the binding has been disturbed, contact the notary rather than repairing it yourself.

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