Trade Fairs and Exhibitions Overseas: Company Documents

Exhibiting at a trade fair overseas rarely needs notarised documents. Organisers usually want a signed exhibitor contract and basic company details, and a plain copy of your ASIC extract or ABN record often does. A notary comes in when a consulate, customs office or local registry asks for a formal company letter, power of attorney or certified copy.

Key takeaways

• Most fair organisers accept ordinary company details and a signed contract; ask before paying for a notary.
• Business visa files may want a company letter; follow the consulate's checklist on whether it must be notarised.
• Goods for display may travel on an ATA Carnet, issued through the chamber of commerce network, not by a notary.
• A local freight agent or stand contractor may need a letter of authority or power of attorney to act for you.
• Staff who may sign deals at the fair should carry evidence of their authority to sign.
• Protect your brand before you show it: speak to an IP attorney well before the fair.

Do you need notarised documents to exhibit overseas?

Usually not. An exhibitor application is a commercial booking. The organiser wants to know who you are, what you will show and who will pay, and a signed contract with your company's name, ABN and address generally satisfies it. Some organisers, particularly for fairs in regulated sectors or in countries where companies must hold a local business licence, ask for a copy of a company registration document. For an Australian company, that is usually a current ASIC company extract, and a plain PDF is often all they want.

The honest advice is to ask the organiser exactly what form each document must take. If the answer is "a copy of your business registration", do not assume it means a notarised, apostilled copy. If it does, the organiser will normally say so in writing. Paying for formalities nobody asked for is the most common waste in trade fair preparation. If a certified copy is wanted, note that a copy certified by a Justice of the Peace is meant for Australian use; it is not generally accepted overseas and cannot be apostilled.

Who asks for which document?

Trade fair paperwork comes from several directions at once, and each party has its own rules. The table sorts the usual requests by who makes them.

Who asks	What they usually want	Notary needed?
Fair organiser	Exhibitor contract, company details, sometimes a registration document	Rarely; a plain copy is often enough
Consulate or visa office	Employer letter, organiser's invitation, passport, itinerary	Only where its checklist says so
Customs in the destination	ATA Carnet or temporary import papers for exhibits	No; carnets come from the chamber network
Local freight agent or stand builder	Letter of authority or power of attorney to act for you	Sometimes, if customs or a registry insists
A buyer or distributor you meet	Proof the person signing may bind your company	Sometimes, for a formal agreement
Local tax or trade authority, if you sell on site	Registration documents about your company	Sometimes; ask an accountant there

What about business visas?

Whether you need a visa to attend a trade fair depends on the destination and your passport, and the rules change. Check the destination's embassy or official visa site, and read Smartraveller's travel advice for the country before you book flights. Where a business visa is needed, the file commonly includes an invitation from the organiser or a local company, and a letter from your employer confirming your role, the purpose of the trip and who is paying for it.

That employer letter is a company document. Most consulates accept it signed on letterhead. A few ask for it to be notarised, and fewer again for it to be legalised as well. If the checklist asks, a director or other authorised officer signs the letter before a notary, who confirms their identity and authority to sign. The notary does not confirm that what the letter says about the trip is true; that is the company's responsibility. Our guide to consulate legalisation in Australia explains what happens after DFAT.

How do display goods get through customs?

Goods you take to a fair and bring back, such as samples, display equipment and demonstration machines, may be able to travel on an ATA Carnet. A carnet is an international customs document for the temporary admission of goods, accepted in the countries that belong to the carnet system. In Australia carnets are issued through the chamber of commerce network, not by a notary or DFAT, and the issuer will explain the security it requires. Not every country accepts carnets, and not every kind of goods can travel on one, so check with the issuer and your freight forwarder.

Where a carnet is not used, the goods go through the destination's own temporary import procedure, usually handled by a local customs broker or the fair's official forwarder. Consumables, food samples and goods you plan to sell at the fair are generally treated differently from display goods that come home. Our guide to notarising export documents explains where a notary fits in shipping paperwork, which is less often than people expect.

Does the local agent need a power of attorney?

A customs broker, freight forwarder or stand contractor acting in your company's name may need written authority from you. Often a signed letter of authority on the agent's own form is enough. Sometimes, when customs or a local registry insists, the authority must be a power of attorney signed before a notary and then apostilled or legalised. Use the agent's form where they have one, list exactly what they may do, and set an end date that covers the fair and the return of goods.

Who can sign deals at the fair?

Fairs are where agreements start, and occasionally where they are signed. Before the trip, decide who may sign what. A buyer or distributor may ask whether the person across the table can bind your company, and for anything formal they may want evidence. A letter of authority or a board resolution naming the staff who may sign, with a certified copy in the fair folder, answers that question. Where the counterparty's country expects it, the resolution can be notarised and apostilled before you leave. Our guide to certified copies of board resolutions explains the options.

Signing is not the same as being ready to sign. A memorandum of understanding may be harmless; a distribution agreement governed by foreign law is not. Have a lawyer review any agreement you expect to sign, before the fair if you can, and consider signing "subject to contract" on the stand. Our guide to using a notary for contracts explains when a notary adds anything to a signed agreement.

Should you protect your brand first?

Showing a product at a foreign fair puts it in front of competitors as well as buyers. If your trade mark or design is not yet protected in that country, speak to an IP attorney well before the fair about what can be filed, and in what order. The filing itself is the attorney's work; where their foreign office needs a power of attorney or declaration, it may come to a notary. Our guide to documents for entering a new market covers trade mark filing alongside other set-up paperwork.

When does a document need an apostille?

Only when the receiving body asks. If it does, the document is notarised first where it is a private company document, and then sent to DFAT, the only body in Australia that legalises documents. DFAT's page on documents it can legalise says it can deal with original government documents, including ASIC documents, and with private documents once notarised. For a Hague Convention country, DFAT issues an apostille; for others, it issues an authentication certificate and the country's embassy then legalises it. Check the HCCH status table on the day.

How do you prepare, step by step?

1. Ask each party what it needs. The organiser, the consulate, the freight forwarder and any local authority, in writing.
2. Sort the answers. Plain copies, signed letters, notarised documents and legalised documents, in separate piles.
3. Start with the slowest. Anything needing embassy legalisation, and any trade mark filing.
4. Prepare company evidence once. A current ASIC extract and a board resolution naming who may sign.
5. Book one notary appointment. For every document that needs one, signed by the authorised officers.
6. Send notarised documents to DFAT. Then to the embassy where the country is outside the Hague Convention.
7. Pack the fair folder. Originals where an office wants them, scans of everything else.

Common mistakes to avoid

The most common mistake is notarising and apostilling a company extract for an organiser who only wanted a PDF. The second is leaving the visa letter to the last week, when the consulate's checklist wanted it notarised. The third is sending staff to a fair with no clear authority to sign, so either they sign something they should not, or a willing buyer walks away. The fourth is assuming a carnet covers goods you plan to sell; it is designed for goods that come home. Our guide to documents for importing goods covers the other side of the border.

Here is an illustration, not a real case.

An Adelaide wine equipment maker books a stand at a European fair. The organiser accepts its company details and ABN with a signed contract. The chamber of commerce issues a carnet for the demonstration press, and the fair's forwarder handles clearance on its own authority form. Before leaving, the board resolves that the sales director may sign distribution agreements up to a set limit, and the director carries a certified copy. A distributor asks to see it, and the parties agree terms subject to a lawyer's review.

In short

Trade fairs overseas rarely need notarised documents. Organisers usually accept ordinary company details, carnets come from the chamber network, and forwarders often use their own forms. A notary is needed when a consulate, customs office or registry asks for a formal company letter, power of attorney or certified copy, and DFAT then legalises it if required. Decide in advance who may sign at the fair, and protect your brand before you show it. Our document notarisation page explains how company documents are notarised.

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Asked for a notarised company letter or authority for an overseas fair? Send us the request and who made it, and we will explain each step before you book.