DFAT & Apostilles:

('Legalisation' or 'Consularisation' of the Notary's Signature) 

As discussed on our online booking page, as an insurance policy against fraud, most non-Commonwealth jurisdictions require certification—  usually by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) — of the notary's seal and signature, which are held on file at DFAT and by many consulates.  NIDS can advise which of the following steps apply to your documents:

Step 1:          A notary's seal and signature.

Step 2a:        DFAT Apostille ($60) — re: step 1

Step 2b:        DFAT Authentication ($20) — re: step 1

Step 3:          'Consularisation' — re: steps 1 and/or 2


As a very general rule of thumb, Commonwealth Countries require only Step 1, 'Apostille Countries' require only steps 1 and 2a, and all other countries require steps 1,  2b and 3. However there are a significant number of important exceptions. NIDS can, together with your overseas advisors, advise you whether your situation falls into such an exception. 

The exceptions depend, firstly, on the laws of the destination country and, secondly, on the current practice of relevant foreign embassies or consulates. Sometimes, the requirements of the receiving office (either public or private) are different again. Our online booking form has further helpful guidance about these steps. Note that the above fees are DFAT fees. NIDS charges additional fees in relation to steps 2 and 3. Most regular clients (that is, onshore, non-corporate clients)  with small numbers of documents prefer to attend to these steps themselves. Please contact us if you require a quote for our post-notarisation apostille and authentication service.

More about apostilles

The affixing of an Australian apostille certifies that DFAT has checked the signature (and seal, where relevant) of an official signatory, for example — a notary or a Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages. If it matches what DFAT has on file an apostille can be added near the official's signature — often on the back of the page. For an example of an Australian apostille, see above. Many countries, including Australia, are signatories to The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (1961). Member countries keep records of the signatures and seals of public notaries and other public office holders and issue apostilles for signatures which match their records. At present, only DFAT is authorised to affix Australian apostilles. The apostille process  is designed to eliminate step 3, above. However — illogical though it may seem — some apostille countries' consulates still do require step 3 consularisation.


More about consularisation

Note that a step 2b 'authentication' ($20) — from the perspective of DFAT  — is administratively almost identical to a step 2a 'apostille' ($60). Step 3, consular certification (for which step 2b is invariably a prerequisite) is usually, but not always, possible in Australia. Consularisation — often called 'legalisation', can vary greatly for one country to another. Most charge per seal/authentication, however others — for example, the UAE, charge per page.