Notary Public in Perth: How to Get Documents Notarised

To get a document notarised in Perth, choose a notary from Western Australia's current official list, send the document and overseas instructions, then confirm what originals and identification the particular act requires. DFAT may add an apostille or authentication afterwards, and some countries also require embassy or consulate legalisation.

Key takeaways

• For documents used in Western Australia or elsewhere in Australia, a Justice of the Peace or another authorised witness is usually enough and costs nothing.
• For a true-copy certificate, the notary compares the copy with the original. For signature witnessing, keep the document unsigned until instructed.
• Only DFAT issues apostilles. Some WA public documents may go to DFAT without a notary; confirm first.
• For countries outside the Hague Convention, the consulate step matters. A consulate in Perth may not handle legalisation, particularly if it is an honorary consulate.
• WA prescribes maximum fees for public notaries. Ask for a written quote that separates the notarial work from DFAT, consulate, translation and delivery charges.

What a Perth notary does

A Notary Public is a lawyer, usually an experienced solicitor, with an additional appointment that allows them to perform notarial acts. In Perth, as elsewhere, that means witnessing signatures, certifying copies of original documents, administering oaths and affirmations, and preparing a notarial certificate and seal that a foreign authority can rely on. Notaries keep a permanent register of their acts.

Notaries are appointed under state and territory arrangements. In Western Australia, the Full Court may appoint general and district public notaries. The WA Government publishes the current practising list and explains the appointment framework.

A notarial act records what the notary did; it does not by itself prove the document's underlying contents are true. The notarial service is distinct from any separate legal advice about whether a document is suitable or effective, particularly under foreign law. A notary cannot issue an apostille or vouch for a document issued by a foreign registry. For the detail, see what a notary public does.

Do you need a notary or a JP in WA?

Many people searching for a notary public in Perth need a JP instead. Western Australia has its own statutory declaration form and its own list of people who may witness it, separate from the Commonwealth form. The organisation asking for the document decides which it wants.

What you need	Who usually acts	Note
WA statutory declaration or certified copy for a WA agency	JP or other authorised witness	Free through a JP. Check WA's current witness list.
Commonwealth statutory declaration	A witness on the Commonwealth list	A different form and list.
Certified copy for Home Affairs	An authorised person	A notary is often not needed.
Signature, oath or copy for an overseas authority	Notary Public	Usually followed by DFAT.
WA registry certificate or court document for overseas	Possibly DFAT directly	Confirm with DFAT before booking a notary.

WA JPs are volunteers. The WA Government JP service links to the public search and witnessing centres and recommends contacting a centre before attending. A JP-certified copy generally is not the route used for overseas notarisation or DFAT legalisation, but the receiving authority decides what it accepts. See notary or JP for the full comparison.

Documents Perth notaries commonly handle

The documents vary with who is asking. Grouped by reader, the common ones are:

• Individuals: travel consent for children, certified copies of birth certificates and identity documents, declarations for family matters, and papers for visas to other countries.
• Students: academic transcripts and degrees, university forms and study-abroad applications.
• Businesses: company registration documents, corporate resolutions, cross-border contracts, partnership deeds and powers of attorney for transactions overseas.
• Legal practitioners: affidavits and court documents for foreign proceedings, and witnessing arranged with a client's solicitor.
• Property: leases, title documents and mortgage papers for property abroad.

Two of these need special care. For a university degree or transcript, DFAT legalises the original once the university has verified it, and a notarised copy must state that the original was verified with the issuing institution. For a will, a notary can witness a signature or certify a copy, but whether the will is valid, in WA or overseas, is a question for a solicitor.

How do you find and arrange a notary in Perth?

The WA Government's current practising Public Notaries list is the authoritative starting point. It includes contact details for notaries in Perth, Fremantle and regional locations and explains whether an appointment is general or district-based. Contact the notary before travelling.

Send the document, destination country, signer location, number of signers and deadline. Ask about relevant experience, availability, the originals and identification required for that act, accessibility or mobile attendance, and a written itemised quote.

How to get a document notarised in Perth

1. Get the receiving authority's instructions in writing. Note whether it wants a notarised copy, a notarised signature, an apostille, legalisation or a translation.
2. Check whether a JP or authorised witness will do. If the document stays in Australia, it probably will.
3. Contact a notary with the instructions, the destination and the number of signers, and ask for a written quote.
4. Arrange any verification, such as with a university, before the appointment.
5. Attend with the required documents and photo ID. Keep a document unsigned when it must be signed before the notary, and bring the original when a true copy is required.
6. Lodge the document with DFAT for an apostille or authentication.
7. Complete the consulate step for a non-Hague country, and any translation.

A search for a notary in the Perth CBD, Northbridge, Fremantle or Joondalup may return someone nearby, but confirm that person appears on the current WA list. Relevant experience with the destination and document may matter more than postcode.

Planning around a roster or regional work

Many people in Western Australia work away from Perth on rotating rosters or live in regional towns. A true-copy certification requires comparison with the original, and signature witnessing may require attendance. Do not assume general permission for some electronic transactions or witnessing permits every notarial act. The notary must confirm whether the particular act is legally and professionally permitted in Western Australia, and the receiving authority must separately confirm that it accepts remote execution.

The practical answer is to sequence the steps around your time off. Collect the instructions and draft documents while you are away, attend the notary during your break, and let the DFAT and consulate steps run while you are back at work. If you have authorised someone to deal with DFAT on your behalf, check that DFAT will accept that arrangement. For more, see notaries in regional Australia.

Apostilles and consulates from Perth

An apostille is DFAT's certificate authenticating a signature or seal on an eligible document. That may be a notary's signature on a notarised document or the signature or seal on an eligible original Australian public document. It says nothing about the contents. Countries in the Hague Apostille Convention generally accept it without further legalisation. Membership changes, so check the HCCH status table and the recipient's current instructions. DFAT's document list is on Smartraveller.

For a country outside the Convention, DFAT authenticates the document and it then needs legalisation at that country's embassy or consulate. This is where Perth differs from the eastern capitals. Some countries have a career consulate in Perth that legalises documents; others have only an honorary consul, whose office may not perform legalisation at all; and many handle everything through Canberra or an eastern-state consulate, usually by post. Check the destination's own website before you assume the office down the road can help. Our apostille and authentication page explains the DFAT step.

Translation

If a document is not in English, or the destination wants it in another language, arrange translation early. Perth has translators across many languages, including Chinese, Arabic, Hindi, Spanish, French and Vietnamese. For Australian authorities, the translation should come from a NAATI-credentialled translator. For a foreign authority, the receiving country decides whose translation it accepts. See NAATI-certified translation with a notary.

What to bring

• The original document, unsigned if it is to be signed in front of the notary.
• Current government photo ID, such as a passport or WA driver licence, and evidence of any change of name.
• The receiving authority's written instructions.
• Evidence of authority if you sign for a company or under a power of attorney.
• Any translation and any certificate already attached. Do not laminate public documents, which DFAT refuses.

Questions to ask when you contact a notary

The answers to these tell you more about whether a notary suits your document than their location does:

• Have you prepared documents for this country before, and do you know whether it needs an apostille or legalisation?
• Will your certificate meet DFAT's requirements for this type of document, particularly if it is a university record?
• Do you want to see the document or the instructions before the appointment?
• How many notarial acts does this involve, and what does the quote include?
• If the destination has only an honorary consul in Perth, do you know where legalisation is done instead?

A notary who says a step is outside what they do is still helping. It is better to learn that before the appointment than after DFAT or a consulate returns the document.

Here is an illustration, not a real case

A mine worker based in the Pilbara inherits a share of a house overseas. The foreign lawyer sends a power of attorney and says it must be notarised, authenticated and legalised. He checks the HCCH table, finds the country is not a Convention member, and then reads the country's consular website: its Perth office is honorary and does not legalise documents, so legalisation goes by post to its embassy. He books a Perth notary for his next break, signs in person, lodges with DFAT, and posts the authenticated document to the embassy while back on site. Whether the power of attorney is effective under that country's law is a question for the lawyer there.

How much does a Perth notary cost?

Western Australia prescribes maximum fees for public-notary work, but the total still depends on the document and required acts. A quote may reflect the type and complexity of each certificate, institutional or company checks, the number of signers and certified copies, prescribed foreign wording, and foreign-language review. Mobile attendance can add travel and waiting time. DFAT, consulate, translation, courier and return-delivery charges are separate. Ask for a written itemised quote and check the current WA determination rather than relying on an old price list. See notary fees in Australia for the factors.

In short

In Perth, use a JP or authorised witness for Australian purposes and a notary for documents going overseas. Plan the appointment around the one step that needs you in person. For non-Hague countries, find out which office legalises documents from WA before you start, because it is often not the one closest to you.

Related questions

• How do I check a Perth notary is properly appointed?
• How do I find a notary public near me?
• How does consulate legalisation work in Australia?
• How do notary and translation work in Western Australia?
• Can a notary public refuse to notarise?

Send us the document type, destination country, signer location, number of signers and deadline. We can explain each likely step before you book.