Notary Public Fees in Australia: What Sets the Price

Table of contents

There is no single national notary fee in Australia. Each notary sets charges for the work required, which may include document review, signatures, certified copies, authority checks and certificate preparation. DFAT, consulates, translators and couriers charge separately, so compare the scope of written estimates rather than one headline figure.

Key takeaways

A matter for overseas use can involve payments to several parties: the issuing body, notary, DFAT, a consulate, translator and courier.
There is no single national scale. Each notary sets their own fees within their obligations as a lawyer to charge fairly and reasonably.
Charging methods vary: a notary may quote by act, document, appointment or time, with disbursements shown separately.
A Queensland JP does not charge for JP services, and other jurisdictions have their own arrangements. A JP act is not a notarial act.
The most expensive outcome is a document rejected overseas, because every step has to be paid for again.

How much does the full process cost?

A typical matter involving a document for overseas use can involve payments to as many as four different parties.

The issuing body. Whatever you pay a registry, a university or a company search provider for the underlying document. Nothing to do with the notary.
The notary. For the notarial act itself, plus any additional copies, certificates or binding.
DFAT. For the apostille or authentication certificate. DFAT sets that charge, not the notary, and it is payable per certificate. Check the current amount on Smartraveller rather than relying on a figure quoted on any notary's page, including an old version of this one.
The destination's embassy or consulate. Only where the receiving authority's process requires a consular step. Each mission sets its own charge and procedure.

Add translation where the destination requires it, and courier or postage where documents must travel. A notary quoting their own fee is quoting the second of those. Ask whether a figure covers the others, because "the cost of getting this done" and "the notary's fee" are very different numbers.

The notary's fee is one segment of four. A quote that looks cheap may simply cover less of the bar.

Are notary services free?

Notarial work is a professional legal service, not a government volunteer service. A notary public is a legal practitioner appointed under state or territory arrangements: in most jurisdictions by the Supreme Court, and in Queensland through the Court of Faculties. Ask whether the notary offers any concession rather than assuming the service is free.

What people searching for a "free notary public" usually need is a Justice of the Peace. JPs are volunteers and do not charge. For documents used within Australia, such as a statutory declaration or a certified copy for an Australian agency, a JP or another authorised witness is often all you need. For documents going to the Department of Home Affairs, a copy certified by an authorised person is usually enough.

The catch is overseas use. A foreign recipient may accept a JP-certified document directly, but that is its decision. DFAT says it cannot legalise a document that has only been certified by a JP; a notarial certificate is generally required where a private document or copy must be legalised. If the document stays in Australia, check whether a notary is needed at all. See notary or JP.

How do notaries set their own fees?

Charging is a matter for the individual notary, informed by the practice of their jurisdiction and by their professional obligations as lawyers, including obligations about fair and reasonable costs and about telling you in advance what you will be charged. Some local notarial bodies say more. The Notaries' Society of SA states that notarial fees are not specifically regulated in South Australia. The Society of Notaries of Queensland publishes a recommended scale, while noting that notaries are free to set their own. Ask the notary you contact how they set theirs.

In practice you will meet three charging patterns:

Most matters fall into the first two patterns. Time-based charging applies where the work is legal rather than formal.

Why do fees differ between cities?

If you compare notary costs in Melbourne with Perth, or Sydney with Adelaide, you will find differences. None of them is a fixed city rate:

Each state and territory appoints and regulates its own notaries, and any fee guidance a local notarial body publishes is set at that level.
Practice overheads differ between a CBD office and a suburban or regional practice.
Availability differs: some places have many practising notaries and others have few.
The kind of practice matters: a mainly commercial notary may price differently from one whose work is mainly personal documents.

A price you find for notary fees in NSW or Brisbane is at best a guide to one notary's charges on the day it was written. Any page quoting precise city-by-city figures, as earlier versions of this post did, should be treated with caution. For local detail, see our guides for Brisbane and Adelaide, where the notarial societies publish their positions on fees.

What moves the price, and what does not?

Number and type of acts. Some notaries use an event or act-based scale, while others quote by appointment or time. A long instrument with one signature may still require substantial review, and several short copies may be priced together. Ask how this notary has counted the work.

Certified copies. Copies made at the same appointment are normally cheaper than a second appointment later. If you might need spares, say so up front.

Original-document and identification checks. The notary may need to examine an original document, compare current identification, resolve a name difference or verify an electronic record through its issuing system. Explain what originals and ID you hold when requesting the quote.

The certificate. A standard certified copy is routine. A certificate drafted to a foreign registry's prescribed wording, in two languages, is not.

Company capacity. Verifying a company's existence, an officer's authority and a board resolution takes work that verifying an individual does not.

Attendance away from the office, such as a hospital, aged care home or business premises, where a notary offers it. Expect travel time to be charged. The same goes for urgent or out-of-office-hours appointments where a notary offers them; ask rather than assume.

Handling DFAT or the embassy for you. Many notaries will arrange these as a service. That is a service fee on top of the government charge.

The transaction value is not normally the main pricing driver, but the destination can affect the work where it requires prescribed wording, a bilingual certificate, extra verification or consular handling. The written quote should identify the actual work rather than applying assumptions from the value of the underlying property or transaction.

How might common matters be quoted?

Your matter	How it is usually counted
A long contract signed once	Signature witnessing plus document review; charging method varies
Several certified copies	May be priced per copy or as a group at one appointment
A document signed by two people	Signer identity and witnessing work for each person
Several pages bound into one instrument	Binding, sealing and certificate work may be included or separate
Prescribed or bilingual wording	Additional drafting or verification may affect the quote

Affidavit costs

Searches for affidavit notary costs mix witnessing with drafting. Administering an oath or affirmation and witnessing the affidavit is one service; preparing or advising on its contents is legal work and may be quoted separately. For an Australian court or agency, another authorised witness may be sufficient. For overseas use, ask whether the recipient requires a notary, a consular officer or another witness. See powers of attorney and legal declarations.

Questions that get you a real answer

Is this quote for your fee only, or does it include DFAT and embassy charges?
How many notarial acts is my matter, on your count?
What do additional certified copies cost if ordered at the same appointment?
Does my destination need a bespoke or bilingual certificate, and is that extra?
Do you charge separately for binding or sealing a multi-page document?
If you handle the DFAT lodgement, what is your service fee for that?
Will you give me the quote in writing before the appointment?

A written estimate makes the scope and disbursements easier to compare. Legal costs disclosure obligations differ by jurisdiction and amount, so ask for the calculation method and inclusions even where a formal costs agreement is not required.

Quote A is not necessarily dearer or cheaper. It simply cannot be compared until the missing lines are filled in.

Why the cheapest quote is often not the cheapest outcome

The expensive failure is a document rejected overseas, because that may mean repeating the document, notarisation, DFAT certificate, consular step or translation. A notary who checks the receiving authority's instructions and the correct sequence is providing work that a lower headline rate may not include. Only DFAT issues Australian apostilles and authentication certificates, but DFAT says the receiving authority must tell you which process it wants. Our apostille and authentication page explains that step.

Here is an illustration, not a real case

A small business owner needs a board resolution and two company extracts notarised for a foreign registry that is outside the Apostille Convention. She asks three notaries for quotes. Two reply with a single figure. The third lists the notarial acts, the company checks, the DFAT authentication charges shown separately, and a note that the embassy sets its own fee. The third looks the most expensive until she asks the other two what their figures cover, and learns neither includes DFAT or the company checks. She compares like with like and chooses on that basis.

In short

A notary's fee is one part of the cost of preparing a document for overseas use. Each notary sets charges and may quote by act, document, appointment or time. DFAT, consulates, translators and couriers charge separately. Ask the receiving authority what it needs, then compare written estimates only after identifying what each one includes.

Official guidance

Send us the document and where it is going, and we will explain each step before you book.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a notary cost in Australia?

There is no fixed national price. Each notary sets their own fees, which vary with the number of notarial acts, the copies and the complexity of the certificate. Ask for a written quote that separates the notary's fee from DFAT and embassy charges.

Is there a regulated scale of notary fees in any state?

There is no single national scale, and arrangements are a state or territory matter. In South Australia the notarial society says fees are not specifically regulated. In Queensland the society publishes a recommended scale but notaries set their own. Ask the notary how they set theirs.

Are notary services free anywhere?

Notarial work is a professional service, although an individual notary may offer a concession. A JP service may be free and sufficient for an Australian purpose. A foreign recipient may accept a JP act directly, but DFAT will not legalise a document certified only by a JP.

Does an apostille cost extra on top of the notary's fee?

Yes. The apostille is a DFAT charge, separate from the notary's fee, whether or not the notary arranges it for you. Check DFAT's current charge on Smartraveller.

Is one fee enough for ten documents?

It depends on the documents and the notary's charging method. The quote may be per act, copy, document, appointment or time. Send all ten documents and the receiving instructions so the notary can identify the work and any DFAT certificates required.

Why will a notary not quote me over the phone?

The fee depends on how many acts your matter involves, what certificate the destination needs, and whether company or institutional checks are required. A notary usually needs to see the document and the instructions first. A quote given without them is often wrong.

Does a notary charge more for an expensive property?

Transaction value is not normally the main driver. The quote is more likely to reflect document review, signers, identity and authority checks, certificate wording and later handling. Ask how the particular quote was calculated.

Is it cheaper to have extra copies certified later?

Usually not. Copies made at the same appointment are normally cheaper than returning for a second appointment. If you might need spares for other authorities, ask for them at the first visit.

Can a notary charge for travelling to me?

Where a notary offers attendance away from the office, such as at a hospital or business, travel time is commonly part of the fee. Whether a notary travels at all is their decision. Ask for the full amount in writing beforehand.

What is the most expensive mistake people make?

Choosing on the lowest notary fee without checking what the receiving authority needs. A document rejected overseas means paying again for the document, the notary, DFAT, any embassy step and the translation.