How to Notarise Documents for International Use

To notarise documents for international use from Australia, first ask the overseas authority what it needs. Private documents and copies go to a notary, who witnesses the signature or certifies the copy; many Australian public originals can skip the notary. DFAT then adds an apostille for Hague Convention countries, or an authentication followed by embassy legalisation for others.

Key takeaways

• Start with the overseas authority's written requirements. DFAT itself says it cannot tell you what another country needs.
• A notary does one of three things: witnesses a signature, certifies a copy, or administers an oath. Knowing which one your document needs is half the job.
• Many Australian public originals, such as registry certificates and police checks, go straight to DFAT with no notary.
• A notary never certifies that a document's contents are true, and cannot issue an apostille. Only DFAT does.
• Documents issued overseas are authenticated in the country that issued them, not in Australia.

The chain, and who does what

A document leaving Australia for official use abroad passes through up to four hands, and each certifies something different:

1. A notary, where needed, confirms who signed, or that a copy matches the original, or that an oath was sworn. The notary attaches a signed and sealed notarial certificate.
2. DFAT confirms that the notary's, or the issuing official's, signature and seal are genuine. It issues an apostille if the destination is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, or an authentication if it is not.
3. The destination's embassy or consulate in Australia legalises the DFAT authentication, for non-Convention countries only.
4. A translator, if the destination wants the document in its language, at the point in the chain the destination specifies.

None of them certifies that the contents of the document are true or that the receiving body will accept it. Membership of the Convention changes, so check the HCCH status table on the day.

Which notarial act does your document need?

People ask a notary to "notarise" a document, but the notary always performs a specific act, and the certificate says which. Getting it right is the difference between acceptance and a second appointment.

Notarial act	What the certificate says	Typical documents
Witnessing a signature	The person identified signed in the notary's presence	Powers of attorney, consents, declarations, company resolutions, contracts
Certifying a copy	The copy matches the original the notary sighted	Passports, certificates, bank statements, company records
Administering an oath or affirmation	The person swore or affirmed the contents before the notary	Affidavits and sworn statements for foreign courts or registries
Certifying a copy with verification	The copy matches an original verified with the issuer	University degrees and transcripts for DFAT

The overseas authority's instructions usually make the act clear: "signed before a notary", "notarised copy", "sworn before a notary". If they do not, send them to the notary and ask. Some authorities prescribe the certificate's exact wording; bring it. See what a notarial certificate does.

Do you need a notary at all?

Often not. DFAT legalises three groups of Australian documents, according to its page on documents it can legalise: originals issued by Australian government agencies or officials, originals issued by Australian tertiary institutions, and copies notarised by Australian notaries.

• Public originals, such as birth, marriage and death certificates, court documents including divorce certificates, national police checks, citizenship certificates, and ASIC or ATO documents, can usually go to DFAT directly. Laminated or altered originals are refused.
• University degrees and transcripts are legalised as originals once the university has verified them. A notarised copy must also be verified, and the notary's certificate must say the original was verified with the institution; a plain true-copy certificate is not enough.
• Private documents, such as powers of attorney, affidavits, declarations, bank statements, wills and company documents, must be notarised first.
• Copies of anything, where the original must stay with you, must be notarised.

A Justice of the Peace is a free witness for Australian use, but a JP's certification is not accepted overseas and cannot be apostilled. See which documents can be apostilled.

Planning a document pack

Most people going overseas need several documents at once: a birth certificate, a police check, a degree, a passport copy, perhaps a power of attorney. Treating them as one pack saves appointments and lodgements.

1. List every document the overseas authority wants, with the form it wants each in: original, notarised copy, signed before a notary, sworn.
2. Sort them into public originals for DFAT direct, university records needing verification, and private documents or copies for the notary.
3. Start the slow steps first: university verification and any replacement certificates from a registry.
4. Book one notary appointment for everything that needs a notary, with originals and photo ID.
5. Lodge everything with DFAT together, by registered post or at a Passport Office by appointment, listing the destination.
6. Complete the embassy step and translations in the order the destination specifies.

Our document notarisation and apostille and authentication pages cover the notary and DFAT steps.

What to bring to the notary

• The overseas authority's instructions, in its own words, including any prescribed certificate wording. Send them ahead so the notary can prepare.
• Documents to be signed, unsigned, with every page present. If there are blanks, fill them before the appointment, or ask the notary how to deal with them.
• Originals of anything to be copied. A notary cannot certify a copy from a scan, a photocopy or an earlier certified copy.
• Current photo ID for everyone signing, usually a passport, and evidence of any change of name.
• Evidence of authority if you sign for a company, a trust or an estate, such as a board resolution, company extract or grant of probate.
• An interpreter, if arranged with the notary in advance, where a signer does not read the document's language.

The notary will check your identity, that you understand what you are signing, and that you are signing freely. They may ask you to explain the document in your own words, and they may decline if any of those points is unclear. See capacity and duress checks.

How long documents stay usable

A notarial certificate and an apostille do not expire. But many overseas authorities set their own limit on how recently a document must have been issued or certified, especially for police checks, company extracts and identity copies. Ask the receiving authority for its limit before you start, and time the pack so that the oldest document is still within it when you lodge overseas. Certifying far in advance is a common reason a complete, correctly apostilled pack is still refused.

Translations: before or after?

Whether a translation is made before notarisation, after the apostille, or in the destination is for the receiving authority to decide, and practice differs widely. Some want an Australian NAATI-certified translation legalised together with the original. Others want the original apostilled here and translated on arrival by a translator they recognise. DFAT can legalise a translation made by a NAATI-certified or recognised translator, with the translator's name, signature, NAATI seal and practitioner ID, and the date on every page. Ask before paying for either route, because the wrong order means paying twice. See NAATI-certified translation with notary.

Documents issued overseas

A document issued by a foreign authority, such as a birth certificate from your country of birth or a foreign degree, is authenticated in the country that issued it. An Australian notary can certify a copy of it, but cannot vouch for the foreign registry, and DFAT will not legalise it, including foreign education documents, even when an Australian notary has copied them. If you need such a document for use in a third country, contact the issuing country's authorities or its embassy in Australia. See documents from overseas.

Common mistakes

• Signing before the appointment. The notary must watch you sign; bring documents unsigned.
• Paying a notary for a public original that DFAT would have taken directly.
• A plain true-copy certificate on a degree, which DFAT refuses without university verification.
• Asking for an apostille for a non-Convention country, or the reverse. Tell DFAT the destination.
• Using a JP for a document going overseas.
• Relying on a remote notarisation without asking the receiver. Video acts are accepted by some authorities and not others, and certified copies always need the original.

Here is an illustration, not a real case

A nurse in Canberra is registering to work in a non-Convention country. She needs her birth certificate, a police check, her nursing degree and a sworn statement about her work history, all legalised, with translations made on arrival. The birth certificate and police check go to DFAT directly. The university verifies the degree while she books one notary appointment for the sworn statement. DFAT authenticates all four in one postal lodgement, and the embassy legalises them. One notarial act, one DFAT lodgement, and nothing translated twice.

In short

Notarising documents for international use starts with the overseas authority's list. Private documents and copies go to a notary, who witnesses, certifies or administers an oath; public originals and verified university records often go straight to DFAT. DFAT then issues an apostille or an authentication, followed by embassy legalisation for non-Convention countries, with translation where the destination asks. Plan the documents as one pack and start the slow steps first.

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