How to Notarise a Reference Letter in Australia

To notarise a reference letter in Australia, first find out which of three acts the receiving body wants. A certified copy needs only you and the signed original. A notarised signature or a sworn reference needs the referee to attend the notary. For overseas use, DFAT then adds an apostille or authentication.

Key takeaways

• "Notarised reference" can mean a certified copy, a notarised signature or a sworn reference. Only the last two need the referee to attend.
• A certified copy proves the copy matches the letter. It proves nothing about who wrote it or whether it is true.
• A notary never confirms that what a reference says is true, and confirms a referee's job title only when shown evidence of it.
• For an Australian visa, references usually go to Home Affairs without a notary.
• A referee who lives overseas signs before an official where they live. An Australian notary cannot witness a signature made elsewhere.

When are reference letters notarised?

Reference letters are sent for notarisation in three main situations. The first is an employment reference for a job abroad or a foreign licensing body. The second is a character reference for a foreign court, adoption authority or immigration department. The third, less often, is a landlord or professional reference for renting or registering overseas.

In every case the same question decides what you need, and most people get it wrong the first time. Is the receiving body asking for a certified copy of the letter, or for the referee's signature to be notarised? They are different acts, and only one of them lets the referee stay at home.

What are the three things "notarised reference" can mean?

A certified copy. You bring the signed original letter. The notary sights it and certifies that the attached copy matches it. The referee does not attend. This proves the copy is faithful. It proves nothing about who wrote the letter, whether the letterhead is genuine, or whether anything in it is true.

A notarised signature. The referee brings the letter unsigned, proves their identity, and signs in front of the notary. The notary then certifies that this identified person signed it. This is what a body means when it asks for a reference "signed before a notary".

A sworn or declared reference. The referee makes the statement as an affidavit or declaration, swearing or declaring that its contents are true. The notary administers the oath or witnesses the declaration. Foreign courts and adoption authorities often want this form, because a false statement then carries legal consequences for the referee.

How do you read the receiving body's wording?

Read the request closely, and look for the formality word. It usually tells you which of the three acts is wanted.

The request says	It usually means	Who attends
"Certified copy" or "certified true copy"	A copy checked against the original	You, with the original
"Signed in the presence of" or "attested"	A notarised signature	The referee
"Notarised signature"	A notarised signature	The referee
"Sworn", "affidavit" or "under oath"	A sworn or declared reference	The referee
Only "notarised"	Unclear	Ask before booking

If the request only says "notarised", ask the receiving body which it means, in writing if you can. The answer changes who has to attend, and a referee who has taken a morning off work for the wrong appointment rarely offers to do it twice.

How do you arrange a reference from start to finish?

1. Get the request in writing and find the formality word: certified copy, signed before a notary, or sworn.
2. Agree the wording with the referee. The referee should write the reference, or at least approve every sentence of it.
3. Book the right person. For a certified copy, you attend with the signed original. For the other two, the referee attends with the letter unsigned.
4. Attend the notary with photo identification. The notary checks identity, understanding and free will, then completes the certificate.
5. Send it to DFAT for an apostille or authentication, and then to the embassy or a translator if the destination requires it.

Steps 1 and 3 are where most wasted appointments come from. A certified copy made when a notarised signature was wanted has to be done again, this time with the referee.

What happens if the referee must attend?

The referee books the appointment, or at least attends it. You can arrange it for them, but the notary deals with the person signing. The referee brings:

• the letter, unsigned;
• current photo identification, ideally a passport;
• for an employment reference, evidence of their position, if the receiving body wants the notary to record it.

That last point matters for company references. A notary witnessing a signature confirms who signed. The notary does not confirm that the signer is the HR manager or a director, or that the company authorised the letter, unless shown evidence and the certificate says so. If an assessor wants the referee's authority confirmed, raise it when booking. Company versus individual notarisation explains how that evidence works.

The notary also checks that the referee understands the document and is signing freely, and may decline if not satisfied. A referee who is being pressed to sign something they did not write is exactly the case a notary is there to catch. It is better for everyone if the referee writes, or at least approves, the words before the appointment.

If the referee lives overseas, an Australian notary cannot help. The referee signs before a notary or equivalent official where they live, and the document is authenticated there. Plan for that early, because it depends on someone else's time and someone else's country's procedures.

How do you get a certified copy?

This is the simpler route, and the right one when the receiving body only wants a copy it can keep. Bring the signed original and your own identification. Bring every page, including any attachments the letter refers to. For the general rules on copies, see document notarisation.

Many references now arrive as a PDF. A printout of a PDF is not an original. A notary asked to certify it as a true copy of an original may decline, or may word the certificate so narrowly that it is of little use. If you need a certified copy, ask the referee for a signed paper original. If you need a notarised signature, the referee has to sign in person anyway, so the PDF does not matter.

If the referee has already signed the letter, that is fine for a certified copy. For a notarised signature, the referee will usually need to sign a fresh copy in front of the notary. See what to do when a document is already signed.

Do you need a notary at all?

For an Australian visa, character and supporting references normally go to the Department of Home Affairs without a notary. Partner visa supporting-witness statements, for example, are made on a Home Affairs form as Commonwealth statutory declarations, which many authorised witnesses can witness. The Attorney-General's Department lists who may witness a Commonwealth statutory declaration. Check the current form and its instructions rather than paying for a notary you do not need.

For use inside Australia, a Justice of the Peace can often witness a referee's signature for free. For use overseas, a JP is generally not the right witness: a JP's certification is not recognised abroad and cannot be apostilled. The notary becomes necessary when the reference is going overseas to a body that needs a signature and seal the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) can verify.

How does the apostille or legalisation step work?

The notarial certificate is an Australian act. DFAT then verifies the notary's signature and seal. If the destination is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, checked against the HCCH status table on the day, DFAT issues an apostille. If not, DFAT authenticates it, and the destination's embassy or consulate legalises it. Only DFAT issues apostilles in Australia. See apostille and authentication for how that step is arranged.

What if the reference must be in another language?

If the reference must be in the destination's language, decide before signing. The referee can sign an English letter that is then translated, or sign a bilingual one. A referee should never sign a translation they cannot read without a translator's certificate attached. Notarising a document in a language you do not read covers that case. Ask the receiving body whether the translation comes before or after the apostille, and whose translation it accepts.

The hidden cost of references is coordination. Three referees attending separately means three appointments. If several references are needed, ask whether the referees can attend together.

Here is an illustration, not a real case

A Canberra couple adopting a child from overseas are asked by the foreign adoption authority for three character references "sworn before a notary and apostilled". Each referee drafts a short statement about the couple, approves the final wording, and attends a notary with their passport. Each swears their statement, and the notary completes a certificate for each. DFAT apostilles the three documents, and a translator the authority recognises translates them. The couple did not attend any of the three appointments, because the references were the referees' statements, not theirs.

In short

A "notarised reference" is one of three acts: a certified copy, a notarised signature, or a sworn reference. Read the request's wording, and ask if it only says "notarised". A certified copy needs only you and the signed original; the other two need the referee, unsigned letter and photo ID in hand. The notary never vouches for what a reference says. For overseas use, DFAT then adds an apostille or authentication.

People also search for

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• How does company notarisation differ from individual?
• What if a document is already signed?

Asked for a notarised reference? Send us the receiving body's wording, and we will explain each step before you book.