Notary Public Perth: Getting Documents Notarised

Notary Public in Perth: How to Get Documents Notarised

Table of contents

To get a document notarised in Perth, contact a Notary Public, bring the unsigned original and current photo ID, and sign or swear in front of them. A notary is needed mainly for documents going overseas. After the notary, DFAT adds an apostille or authentication, and some countries then require legalisation at their embassy or consulate.

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.
A notary must sight the original and see you sign. Plan the appointment around that, especially if you work away from Perth.
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.
Notaries set their own fees. Ask for a written quote that separates the notary, DFAT, consulate and translation.

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 most states that is through the Supreme Court; Queensland is the exception, where appointment is through the Court of Faculties. If you want to check a Perth notary, ask them about their appointment, or check the notarial society in Western Australia, which lists its members.

A notary never certifies that a document's contents are true, cannot issue an apostille, and cannot 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, and the state government provides a way to find one. A JP certification is not accepted overseas and cannot be apostilled. 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.

Four groups of readers and the documents they most often bring. Almost all of them are going overseas.

How to get a document notarised in Perth

Get the receiving authority's instructions in writing. Note whether it wants a notarised copy, a notarised signature, an apostille, legalisation or a translation.
Check whether a JP or authorised witness will do. If the document stays in Australia, it probably will.
Contact a notary with the instructions, the destination and the number of signers, and ask for a written quote.
Arrange any verification, such as with a university, before the appointment.
Attend with the unsigned original and photo ID. The notary checks identity, capacity and free consent, then witnesses or certifies and attaches their certificate.
Lodge the document with DFAT for an apostille or authentication.
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 returns notaries who happen to practise nearby. The act is the same wherever it happens, so choose on familiarity with your destination, not 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. Because a notary must usually see you sign, and must see the original of anything they certify, the appointment has to fall in a window when you are in the same place as the notary. Remote witnessing by video exists in some forms, but the rules differ by state and document, and the receiving authority decides whether it accepts the result.

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.

Only the notary appointment needs you in person. Arranging the rest around it keeps the whole chain inside one or two breaks.

Apostilles and consulates from Perth

An apostille is DFAT's certificate confirming the signature and seal on a document, such as a notary's. It says nothing about the contents. Countries in the Hague Apostille Convention accept it without further steps. Membership changes, so check the HCCH status table on the day. Some original WA public documents, such as registry certificates and court documents, may be legalised by DFAT directly with no notary. DFAT's own 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.

For non-Hague countries, the last step depends on which office covers Western Australia. An honorary consul is often not the answer.

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.

What drives the cost

Notaries set their own fees, usually reflecting the number of notarial acts, the type of certificate, any verification with an institution, and whether several people sign. DFAT, consulates and translators charge separately. Ask for a written quote. 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.

People also search for

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

Frequently asked questions

Can a JP in Perth certify a document for use overseas?

No. A WA Justice of the Peace can certify copies and witness declarations for Australian purposes, free of charge. That certification is not accepted overseas and cannot be apostilled. For a foreign authority, use a notary.

Which statutory declaration form do I use in Western Australia?

Use the form the organisation asking for it names. WA declarations are for WA matters, Commonwealth declarations for Commonwealth matters, and each has its own list of authorised witnesses. An overseas authority may want a notarised affidavit instead.

Does a WA birth certificate need a notary before DFAT?

Often not. An original certificate from the WA registry is a public document that DFAT may legalise directly. Confirm with DFAT before you book a notary, and do not laminate or alter the certificate.

Can an honorary consul in Perth legalise my document?

Sometimes not. Honorary consuls often provide limited services, and legalisation may be handled only by the embassy or a career consulate elsewhere. The destination country's own website usually says which office covers Western Australia.

I work away from Perth. Can I sign with a notary by video?

Possibly, for some documents. Rules on remote witnessing differ between states and document types, and the receiving authority decides whether it accepts a remotely notarised document. Certified copies still need the original in the notary's hands.

Can a Perth notary certify my overseas degree?

A notary can compare a copy with the original, but DFAT never legalises foreign education documents, even when notarised in Australia. The degree needs to be authenticated in the country that issued it.

Should I sign the document before the appointment?

No. The notary needs to see you sign in order to certify the signature. Fill in names and other details beforehand if you like, but leave the signature blank until you are in front of the notary.

Do I need a notary for a will I made in WA?

A will does not usually need a notary to be valid in WA. If the will or a copy of it is needed overseas, a notary can certify a copy or witness a signature. Whether the will is valid, here or abroad, is a question for a solicitor.

Can I send someone else to DFAT for me?

DFAT allows some documents to be lodged by another person or by post. Check DFAT's current lodgement options on Smartraveller before you rely on a particular arrangement, especially if you will be away while the document is being processed.

How do I check that a Perth notary is properly appointed?

Ask the notary how and when they were appointed. The notarial society in Western Australia lists its members. Most notaries are experienced solicitors, and every notary keeps a permanent register of their notarial acts.