What to Do When the Original Document Cannot Be Released

An overseas authority wants your original degree, or your original passport, or the original title document — and you cannot give it up. Either it will not be returned, or you need it here, or it is not yours to send, or it is the only one in existence.

Start with the most useful fact in this article: you almost never need to send the original. In most chains, the notary sees the original, certifies a copy, and the copy is what gets apostilled and posted. The original goes home in your bag. The situations where that does not work are narrower than people expect.

Cause 1: you must keep the original for your own use

A passport you are about to travel on. A trade licence you must display. A document you will need again in three weeks.

Fix: a notarial certified copy. The notary compares the copy against the original in the room, certifies the copy, and it is the certified copy that proceeds to DFAT and, if required, to an embassy. Nothing leaves your possession.

Cause 2: the original is held by a third party

A university that will not release a parchment, a bank holding a security document, an employer holding personnel records, a court holding a file.

Fix: two routes. Either take the notary to the original — some institutions will allow a copy to be certified on their premises — or obtain the institution's own certified extract or replacement, which is often what the overseas authority prefers anyway. Courts can generally issue a sealed or exemplified copy of a document on their file, and that carries its own authority.

Cause 3: sending it would put it at risk

International post goes missing. A replacement parchment can take months; a replacement historical registry record may be impossible.

Fix: certified copy as above, and if the receiving authority insists on the original, ask them in writing whether a notarial copy authenticated by apostille satisfies them. Many intake officers will accept one once asked directly; the demand for "the original" is often boilerplate.

Cause 4: there is no original left

Lost in a move, destroyed in a flood or fire, or never issued to you in the first place.

Fix: a reissue from the source — the registry, the university, the professional board. A notary cannot certify a copy of a document that does not exist, and will not certify a copy as a true copy of an original they have not seen. Some notaries will certify a copy of the copy you produce, with the certificate saying exactly that — but an overseas authority that asked for a certified copy of the original will often refuse it. Where reissue is genuinely impossible, the substitute is usually a statutory declaration setting out what the document was and what became of it, supported by whatever secondary evidence exists. Confirm acceptability before relying on it.

Cause 5: the original cannot legally be copied or marked

Some documents carry a prohibition on copying, and some notarial practice involves marking or binding that an issuer will not permit on an original.

Fix: an issuer's certified extract, which exists precisely for this. Ask the issuer what they provide for overseas use — many have a standard product and a standard process that avoids the problem entirely.

Cause 6: the destination genuinely requires the original

It happens — some registrations, some property transactions, some court filings.

Fix: if the original must travel, send it by a tracked international courier, keep a certified copy for yourself before it goes, and record every identifier on the document. Make the decision consciously rather than by default.

Working out how far back to go

Situation	Restart from
You need it for your own use	The notary — certified copy, original stays with you
Held by a third party	The holder — their certified extract, or a copy certified on site
Too risky to post	The notary — copy, and ask the destination in writing
Original lost or destroyed	The issuing body — reissue, full restart
Cannot be copied or marked	The issuing body — their extract
Original genuinely required	Courier it, after taking your own certified copy

What to bring to the appointment

The original, the copies you want certified (the notary will check them page for page), photo identification, and the instruction sheet from the receiving authority. If the document is multi-page or double-sided, copy every page and both sides — a certified copy that omits a blank reverse is a common and avoidable rejection.

Do not unbind or unstaple a notarial copy after it is issued. The binding is tamper evidence, and a document that looks interfered with is void regardless of why it was opened.

Frequently asked questions

Can a notary certify a copy from a scan I was emailed? No. Copy certification requires the original in front of the notary. If the original is overseas, the copy should be certified there, by a notary in that country, and authenticated under that country's rules.

Is a notarial copy as good as the original? For most overseas purposes, yes — that is what the chain is designed to produce. For a few purposes, no. The receiving authority is the only body that can tell you which you are dealing with.

Can I get the apostille on the original instead? An Australian apostille attaches to a document signed or sealed by a recognised Australian official. Where the original carries such a signature, it can sometimes be apostilled directly without a notary; where it does not, the notarial copy is the route. Which applies depends on the document.

Can someone in Australia arrange this while I am overseas? Only if they hold the original. A notary can certify a copy against an original presented by anyone — the copy certification is about the document, not about who brought it. Witnessing a signature is different, and requires the signatory.