How Notaries Keep Records, and How to Get a Copy Later

A notary keeps a permanent register of every notarial act, and often a copy of the certificate. That record can confirm what was done, but it rarely replaces a lost document. If you need another notarised copy later, you usually bring the original back and the notary performs a fresh act, followed by a fresh apostille if one is needed.

Key takeaways

• A notary keeps a permanent register of notarial acts; what goes in it depends on the notary's jurisdiction and practice.
• The register is not public. A notary will usually confirm an act to you, or to others with your consent, rather than hand the entry over.
• For most everyday work, a lost notarised document is replaced by a new act, not by a copy from the notary's file.
• An apostille is tied to the document it was issued on. A new notarised document needs a new apostille from DFAT.
• DFAT offers online verification for apostilles it issued after 14 December 2015.
• If the notary has retired or died, start with the appointing body or the local notarial society in that state or territory.

What does a notary actually keep?

Every notary keeps a register, sometimes called a protocol or record book, listing the notarial acts they perform. The exact contents are set by the rules of the state or territory where the notary is appointed and by notarial practice, so the list below is the usual shape rather than a fixed rule. An entry typically records the date, the kind of act (a certified copy, a witnessed signature, an oath), who appeared, how they were identified, a description of the document, and a reference number that matches the notarial certificate.

Many notaries also keep a copy of the notarial certificate, and some keep a copy of the whole document. How much is kept varies between notaries. That is why the first question to ask when you need something later is not "can I have a copy?" but "what did you keep, and what form was the act in?" Our guide to the notarial register explains why the register exists and why it is kept permanently.

Notaries in Australia are appointed under state and territory arrangements: in most places by the Supreme Court, and in Queensland through the Court of Faculties of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The record-keeping rules follow the appointment, so a notary in one state may keep records slightly differently from one in another.

Can a notary give you a copy of your notarised document later?

It depends on the form of the original act. Most notarial work in Australia is in what is called private form: the notary writes or attaches a certificate to your document, signs and seals it, and you take it away. The notary keeps a record that the act happened, and perhaps a photocopy, but the notarised document itself left with you. A photocopy in the notary's file is not a notarised document, and the notary cannot usually turn it into one, because a notary certifying a copy must sight the original.

Some acts are in public form, where the notary draws up an instrument in their own words and may keep the original in their records. In that case a notary may be able to issue a further certified copy from their own records. Public form acts are less common in Australia and are usually requested by civil-law countries for particular transactions.

What a notary can often give you, if their records allow, is confirmation that an act of a described kind was performed on a given date. That confirmation can help when a receiving authority doubts a document or wants to check it, which is covered in our guide to verifying a notarised document. It does not stand in for the document itself.

What you need	What usually works	Who to ask
Another notarised copy of a document you still hold	A fresh certified copy from the original	Any notary
Replacement for a lost signed notarised document	Sign again before a notary; a new certificate	A notary; the receiving body first
Proof that an act took place	Confirmation from the register, if kept	The notary who acted
Further copy of a public form instrument	A certified copy from the notary's records	The notary who acted
Checking an Australian apostille is genuine	DFAT's online verification, for recent apostilles	DFAT
Records of a retired or deceased notary	Whoever now holds the register	Appointing body or notarial society

What if the document had an apostille on it?

An apostille is a certificate issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) that confirms the signature and seal on an Australian public document, including a copy notarised by an Australian notary. It does not certify the contents, and it is attached to the particular document it was issued for. If that document is lost, the apostille goes with it. A new notarised document needs a new apostille, and for countries outside the Hague Apostille Convention, a new DFAT authentication followed by legalisation at that country's embassy or consulate.

DFAT keeps a database of Australian notaries' signatures, which it uses to check a notary's certificate before issuing an apostille. For the reader's side, DFAT's notarial services page explains that apostilles issued by the Australian Government after 14 December 2015 can be verified online, and that older ones can be checked through an Australian embassy or consulate or the Australian Passport Office. Verification tells a receiving authority that an apostille is genuine. It does not produce a replacement.

If you are sending documents to a country whose Convention status you are unsure of, check the HCCH status table on the day, since membership changes. Our guide to DFAT authentication covers the non-member route.

What if the notary has retired, moved or died?

A notarial act done while the notary held office stays valid after they stop practising. The register is meant to outlive the notary, so arrangements exist for its custody, but they differ by state and territory. Depending on where the notary practised, the records may pass to another notary, to the notary's former law firm, to a notarial society, or to the appointing body.

If you cannot reach the notary, start with the body that appoints notaries in that state or territory, or the local society of notaries. Have the notary's name, the approximate date and your reference number ready. Be prepared for the answer to be "we can confirm the act" rather than "we can give you a copy", for the reasons above.

Who can see a notary's records?

A notarial register holds personal information: names, identity details and the nature of people's transactions. It is not a public register. A notary asked about an entry will usually confirm to a third party only that an act of a described kind was recorded, and often only with your consent. What a notary may disclose, and to whom, depends on the rules in their jurisdiction and on privacy law generally.

That protects you. It also means a relative, a foreign lawyer or a buyer cannot simply ring the notary and ask for your document. If someone else needs to confirm an act, the smoothest route is for you to ask the notary directly and authorise them in writing to speak to that person.

How do you ask a notary for a record?

1. Find the notary's details independently. Use the state or territory notary list rather than details copied from an old document.
2. Gather what you have. The date, the kind of document, the reference number on the certificate and any apostille number.
3. Say what you need it for. Confirmation for a receiving authority, a further copy of a public form act, or advice on replacing a lost document.
4. Ask what was retained. Whether the notary kept a copy of the certificate, the document, or only the register entry.
5. Authorise any third party in writing. If a foreign office or lawyer needs to contact the notary, give written consent.
6. Check with the receiving authority. Before you arrange a fresh act, confirm what they will accept as a replacement.

When does it make sense to just start again?

More often than people expect. If you still hold the original certificate, degree or registry document, a fresh certified copy is usually simpler than trying to recover the old one, and it is what most receiving authorities want anyway. Some overseas bodies also prefer recent documents, so a copy notarised several years ago may be refused as out of date even if you find it. Our guide to documents that are too old for overseas use explains why.

A signed document is different. If you lost a signed power of attorney, affidavit or consent, you generally sign a new one before a notary. For anything with legal effect, such as a power of attorney or a document affecting property or an estate, ask a solicitor whether the lost original creates a risk and whether the old one should be formally revoked. The notary does not advise on that.

Common mistakes to avoid

The first is sending a scan or photocopy of a notarised document and expecting it to be treated as notarised. It usually is not; the receiving authority decides, but most want the original notarised document. The second is asking DFAT to reissue an apostille on a copy: an apostille belongs to the document it was issued on. The third is contacting the notary through details printed on the document when you are checking whether that document is genuine; always find the notary independently. The fourth is not keeping your own records. A scan of everything you sent, with the reference numbers, costs nothing and solves most problems later.

Here is an illustration, not a real case.

Priya had her degree notarised and apostilled for a job in Spain, and the courier lost the envelope. She still held the original degree, so the practical fix was a new notarised copy, verified with the university as DFAT requires for tertiary documents, and a new apostille. Separately, her future employer's lawyer wanted to confirm the first document had been genuine. Priya asked the notary, who confirmed the act from the register once Priya authorised them to speak to the lawyer.

In short

A notary keeps a permanent, private register of their acts, and often a copy of the certificate. That record can confirm what was done and help a receiving authority check a document, but for most everyday work it cannot replace a lost notarised document. The usual answer is a fresh act from the original, and a fresh apostille. If the notary has stopped practising, the appointing body or notarial society can say who holds the records. Our document notarisation services page explains how a new notarised copy is prepared.

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