Originals, Copies and What a Notary Will Accept

An Australian notary will certify a copy only against the original document in front of them: the document as issued, not a scan, photocopy, phone photo or someone else's certified copy. A reissued certificate counts as an original. Electronic documents need a different route, and a copy of a copy proves very little.

Key takeaways

• A notarial certified copy says one thing: the copy is a complete and accurate reproduction of a document the notary had in front of them.
• A replacement certificate from the registry is a fresh original, not a copy of the one you lost.
• A registry or court document headed "certified copy" or "extract" is usually an original for the notary's purpose, because the issuer produced and sealed it.
• For electronic documents, ask first whether the receiving body can verify them online. That often removes the need for a notary.
• An Australian notary can copy a foreign document, but cannot vouch that the foreign issuer really issued it.

Why the original matters so much

Everything about what a notary will and will not accept follows from the sentence the certificate contains. If the thing in front of the notary is not the original, the certificate cannot honestly say what the receiving authority assumes it says. An overseas registry reading "certified true copy of the original" will take it that someone independent compared the copy with the real document. If that comparison did not happen, the certificate misleads the very person it is written for. That is why a notary must sight the original and will not bend on it, however urgent the matter. A notary never certifies that a document's contents are true, only that the copy matches.

What counts as an original

For a notary, the original is the document as issued by the body that issued it. Three things surprise people.

A reissued document is an original. A replacement birth certificate ordered from the registry last month is not a copy of the one you lost. It is a fresh original, issued under the registry's authority, and a notary will treat it as one. Often that is the simplest fix when the old one is lost or damaged. See when the original is unavailable.

A document called a "certified copy" by its issuer may be an original. Many registry and court documents are, in form, a certified extract or certified copy of an entry held on the issuer's record. The word "copy" on the face does not matter. What matters is that the issuer produced it and signed or sealed it.

Your own signed document is an original once you have signed it. A contract, declaration or letter you executed is itself an original, and a notary can certify a copy of it. That is a different act from witnessing your signature, which requires you to sign in front of the notary. See when the document is already signed.

Copies of copies

A notary will not certify a copy of a photocopy as if it were a copy of the original. The certificate would describe a comparison that never happened.

Practice differs on what a notary may do instead. Some will certify that a copy matches a document which was itself a copy, for example a photocopy certified by a Justice of the Peace, and word the certificate to say exactly that. The act is honest, but it proves very little: it tells the reader that one photocopy matches another. Receiving authorities rarely accept it, and DFAT does not legalise JP-certified copies. Treat it as a last resort and ask the receiving body before paying for it. The better course is almost always to get back to the original, or to obtain a fresh one from the issuer.

Documents issued electronically

A growing share of documents never exist on paper: police checks, academic transcripts, company extracts, bank statements, some government certificates. A PDF in your inbox is not an original in the sense the notarial copy was designed around. There are generally three ways through.

1. The receiving body verifies the digital document itself, through a link or the issuer's portal. No notary is needed. Ask this first: it is increasingly common and it costs nothing.
2. You obtain a paper version from the issuer, signed or sealed, and have it copied and certified in the ordinary way, or lodged with DFAT directly if it is a public document DFAT accepts.
3. The notary views the document on the issuer's own system and certifies a printout, with a certificate describing exactly what was sighted and how. Whether a receiving authority accepts that wording is its decision, not the notary's.

A notary will not describe a printout as though it were a signed paper original. If you are offered a certificate that does, it overstates what happened. DFAT itself accepts only a limited range of electronic documents, assessed when lodged, and a scan is never an electronic document for this purpose. Check the current position on Smartraveller. For certified copies arranged online, see online certified copies.

Common documents and what the notary needs

Document	What to bring	Note
Birth, marriage or death certificate	The registry-issued certificate, or a fresh replacement	DFAT can often apostille the original directly, with no notary
Passport	The current passport itself	The copy should include every page the receiver asks for
Degree or transcript	The original, or arrange university verification	For DFAT, a notarised copy must state the original was verified with the university
Police check issued as a PDF	Ask whether the receiver verifies it online first	Otherwise follow the issuer's and DFAT's current guidance
Bank statement	A statement issued or stamped by the bank	A printout from internet banking may not be treated as an original
Foreign passport or degree	The original	The notary can copy it but cannot vouch for the foreign issuer

Foreign documents in front of an Australian notary

An Australian notary can certify a copy of a document issued overseas, such as a foreign passport or degree, because certifying a copy is a comparison. It does not depend on who issued the original or what language it is in.

What the notary cannot do is vouch for the foreign document. The certificate says the copy matches what was produced, and says nothing about whether the foreign registry or university really issued it. Where a receiving authority needs the foreign document itself authenticated, that generally happens in the issuing country, under that country's procedures. DFAT does not legalise foreign education documents at all, even when an Australian notary has copied them. See certified copies of overseas documents.

What a notary checks on the original

• Completeness. Every page, and the reverse of every page. A grading key or an endorsement on the back is part of the document.
• Alterations. Erasures, overwriting, correction fluid or handwritten additions. A notary will not ignore them, and may describe them on the certificate or decline.
• Security features. Security paper that prints "COPY" when photocopied is normal. The notary may note it.
• Condition. A damaged or partly illegible original can still be copied, but the copy will reproduce the damage, and the notary may record it.
• Binding and attachments. The notary needs to know what belongs to the document, so the copy reproduces the whole.

Laminated originals can usually be copied, but a laminated public document cannot itself go to DFAT for legalisation: DFAT refuses laminated, framed or altered documents. Do not laminate anything you may need overseas.

Who makes the copy

Many notaries prefer to make or supervise the copy themselves. Where you bring copies, expect the notary to check them page by page against the original before certifying. That is not distrust; it is the act. If only part of a document is needed, the notary can certify an extract, but the certificate should say it is an extract. A partial copy presented as complete is a misdescription. If you need several certified copies, ask for them at the same appointment. See multiple certified copies, and our document notarisation page for what to bring.

Here is an illustration, not a real case

A man in Brisbane needs a certified copy of his birth certificate for a registry in Spain. He has only a photocopy his mother had certified by a JP years ago, and a scan on his phone. The notary cannot certify either as a copy of the original. He orders a replacement certificate from the registry instead, which is a fresh original. He then asks DFAT whether it can apostille that certificate directly, and it can. He never needs a notary, and the registry receives an apostilled original rather than a copy of a copy.

In short

A notary certifies a copy only against the original in front of them. Reissued certificates and issuers' sealed extracts count as originals; scans, photocopies and other people's certified copies do not. For electronic documents, ask whether the receiver verifies them online. For foreign documents, the notary can copy but not vouch. And check whether DFAT can take your public document directly before booking anyone.

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