When you notarise documents through a public notary, you may need to obtain an additional Apostille Certificate from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) from the Melbourne Passport Office before the document can be used overseas. You can contact our Public Notary in Melbourne if you require information about whether an Apostille Certificate is required for your document. Countries who are signatories to the Hague Convention will recognise an Apostille Certificate. We can also prepare a Notarial Certificate and obtain an Apostille Certificate from DFAT.
DFAT issues Apostille Certificates from their Melbourne Passport Office and this certificate is printed or stamped onto the notarised document. DFAT issues Apostille Certificates only after a Notary Public has notarised the document (i.e. a Notary Public signs, seals or stamps a document) as they are authenticating the seal, stamp and/or signature of the notary public. This means you must first go to a Notary Public if you need an Apostille Certificate from DFAT. Our Public Notary Kin Wee Chua is recognised by DFAT as a notary public with lawful authority to notarise documents for use overseas. Please note that an Apostille Certificate does not authenticate or confirm the contents of a document.
Prior to the introduction of Apostille Certificates, it was difficult for international governments, law courts, universities and other businesses to ascertain whether a document was authentic. In 1961, many countries joined together and created a simplified method of “legalising” documents for universal recognition, and enforced the Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents. Pursuant to this Convention, Members of the Conference, referred to as the Hague Convention, adopted a document referred to as an Apostille that would be recognized by all member countries.
As of July 2022, there are 124 countries that are signatories to the Hague Apostille Convention, including:
Albania, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burundi, Cape Verde, Chile, People’s Republic of China, (Hong Kong & Macao Only), Colombia, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lesotho, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malawi, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niue, North Macedonia, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom of Great Britain, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu and Venezuela.
As of July 2022, the countries listed below are not members of the Hague Apostille Convention and any document requested by these countries will receive a certification AND may require additional legalization by a Consulate or Embassy office.
Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina, Faso, Burma Myanmar, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, China, Congo Republic, Congo, Democratic, Ivory Coast, Cuba, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Haiti, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Libya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Myanmar Burma, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Taiwan, Tanzania, Togo, Thailand, Turkmenistan, UAE (United Arab Emirates), Uganda, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Countries not a part of the Hague Apostille Convention might need DFAT to authenticate a notarised document of a Notary Public in Melbourne. Authentication by DFAT is required for documents to be used in China.
Please call our office on 03 9602 3988 for a quote. Alternatively, please send us an email at chuatan@tpg.com.au . You can read more about what we do here .