Notary or Translator: Who Certifies What

A certified translator vouches that the translation is accurate. A notary does not check the translation at all: they certify that a copy matches an original, or that a person, such as the translator, signed in front of them. DFAT then certifies the notary's signature and seal. The receiving authority decides which of these it needs.

Key takeaways

• The translator certifies accuracy: that the translation is true to the original.
• The notary certifies copies and signatures, never that a translation is correct or that contents are true.
• DFAT certifies the signature and seal on the document, by apostille or authentication, not its contents.
• For Home Affairs, a NAATI certified translation made in Australia is usually enough, with no notary.
• Some foreign authorities want the translation notarised, apostilled, or done by their own sworn translator; ask them first.
• NAATI credentials expire and must be renewed, so check the translator's current credential.

What does a certified translator certify?

In Australia, the standard for translators is set by NAATI, the national standards and certifying authority for translators and interpreters. A NAATI Certified Translator has passed NAATI's certification test in their language pair. Where no test is available in a language, NAATI may grant a Recognised Practising Translator credential based on work experience. NAATI says all its credentials expire after three years unless the holder recertifies.

When a NAATI certified translator produces a certified translation, their stamp and statement say, in effect, that the translation is an accurate rendering of the source document. The translation usually carries the translator's name, signature, NAATI stamp with their practitioner ID, and the date, and is linked to a copy of the original. That is a professional certification of accuracy by the person with the language skill. It is the thing most Australian bodies, including Home Affairs, actually want.

What does a notary certify?

A notary certifies facts they have personally observed. For a translation job, that usually means one or more of three things. First, that a copy of the original document is a true copy of the original the notary sighted. Second, that the translator appeared before them, proved their identity, and signed a declaration or swore an affidavit about the translation. Third, sometimes, that the pages were bound together as presented.

What the notary does not do, unless they happen to be qualified in the language themselves and are asked to act in that capacity, is check whether the translation is right. Even then, a notary never certifies that a document's contents are true. A notarised translation is therefore a translation whose translator's signature, or whose original, has been formally witnessed; it is not a translation the notary has approved. Our guide to notarising a foreign-language document covers the case where the document to be signed is itself not in English.

Does a translation need to be notarised?

For most Australian purposes, no. Home Affairs asks for documents not in English to be accompanied by an English translation, made in Australia by a NAATI certified translator, or, if made overseas, carrying the translator's full name, address, telephone number and details of their qualifications. It does not ask for the translation to be notarised. Many other Australian bodies, such as licensing boards, universities and registries, work the same way, although each sets its own rules.

A notary becomes relevant when the translation is going to a foreign authority, or when an Australian body specifically asks for a notarised or sworn translation. Some foreign authorities want the translator's signature notarised so that the document can then be apostilled. Some want the notary to certify the copy of the original that the translation is attached to. And some, particularly in civil-law countries, will only accept a translation by a sworn or court-appointed translator of their own, in which case an Australian translation, however well notarised, may be refused.

What the authority asks for	Who does it	What it proves
A certified translation	A NAATI certified translator	The translation is accurate
A notarised copy of the original	A notary, after sighting the original	The copy matches the original
A notarised translation	The translator signs or swears before a notary	Who the translator is, and that they signed
An apostilled translation	DFAT, usually on the notary's certificate	The signature and seal are genuine
A sworn translation in the destination	A translator appointed in that country	Accuracy, under that country's system

Can DFAT legalise a translation?

Sometimes. DFAT's page on documents it can legalise says it can legalise some translated documents. The translation must carry the translator's name and signature, the official NAATI seal including their practitioner ID, and the date of translation, and you must also submit a copy of the original document bearing the translator's signature or seal, with all of that on every page. DFAT says it only accepts translations by a NAATI certified or recognised translator.

DFAT also lists documents in a foreign language prepared by a notary in Australia among the notarised documents it can legalise. Which route suits your document depends on what the foreign authority wants to see on it: an apostille over the translator's details, or over a notary's certificate. Ask the authority, and if in doubt ask DFAT whether your translation qualifies as it is, before you pay for a notary as well. Our guide to NAATI translation with a notary explains the combined route.

What if the original document is foreign?

Many translations are of documents issued overseas: a birth certificate from Vietnam, a degree from Iran, a marriage certificate from Brazil. The translator translates what is on the page and certifies the translation. The notary can certify a copy of the foreign original they sighted. But neither can vouch that the foreign document is genuine, and DFAT does not legalise foreign public documents. If an authority wants the foreign original itself legalised, that is normally done in the country that issued it. DFAT also says it never accepts foreign education documents, even if notarised in Australia.

So a translation chain for a foreign document may involve steps in two countries: legalisation of the original where it was issued, and translation, and perhaps notarisation, in Australia. Our guide to what to do when a translation is rejected covers what usually went wrong when an authority refuses.

Who translates the notary's certificate and the apostille?

This is the step people forget. An Australian notarial certificate is normally written in English, and so is a DFAT apostille or authentication certificate. If the finished document is going to a country where English is not an official language, the receiving authority may want those English pages translated too, not only the underlying document. Some want the whole bundle translated in their own country after it arrives; others accept a translation arranged in Australia, attached before the apostille is applied.

The order matters. A translation attached after the apostille is not covered by it, while a translation attached before notarisation can be bound into the notarised bundle and so fall under the notary's certificate and the apostille that follows. Ask the receiving authority which order it expects, and tell the notary and translator before either starts. Some notaries can prepare a bilingual certificate where the document calls for it, but whether that is possible depends on the language and the notary. Our guide to notarising translated documents for overseas use covers the combined bundle in more detail.

How do you get the right certification?

1. Ask the receiving authority. Find out whether it wants a certified translation, a notarised translation, an apostille, or a sworn translation in its own country.
2. Choose a credentialled translator. For Australian use, a NAATI certified translator in the right language pair, with a current credential.
3. Give the translator the right source. Provide a clear copy of the whole original, including stamps and the back of each page.
4. Check the finished translation. Confirm names, dates and numbers match your passport and other documents.
5. Book the notary only if asked. Bring the original, the translation, and the translator if their signature is to be notarised.
6. Legalise if needed. Lodge with DFAT for an apostille or authentication, then the embassy if the country is outside the Hague Convention.

Common mistakes to avoid

The most common mistake is paying for a notarised translation when the Australian body only wanted a NAATI certified translation. The second is the reverse: sending a plain NAATI translation to a foreign authority that wanted a notarised and apostilled one. The third is assuming a notary has checked the translation because it carries a notarial seal. The fourth is misspelt names: a translation that spells your name differently from your passport can cause more trouble than no translation. Finally, check whether the destination insists on its own sworn translators before commissioning anything in Australia.

Here is an illustration, not a real case.

Lucia, in Adelaide, needs her Australian police check and marriage certificate in Spanish for a residence application in Spain. The Spanish authority says it accepts apostilled Australian documents and wants the translations done by a sworn translator in Spain. So Lucia has the originals apostilled by DFAT in Australia, after checking Spain on the HCCH table, and commissions the translations in Spain. No Australian notary is involved at all.

In short

A certified translator vouches for accuracy. A notary vouches for a copy or a signature, never for the translation or the contents. DFAT vouches for the notary's, or sometimes the translator's, signature and seal. For Home Affairs and most Australian bodies, a NAATI certified translation is enough. For foreign authorities, ask what they want before you book anything. Our document translation page covers the translation itself.

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Not sure whether your translation needs a notary, an apostille or neither? Tell us the document, the language and where it is going, and we will explain each step before you book.