Apostille

Apostille

The process of Apostille is very complicated. Our notary lawyers will provide you with a quality one-stop Apostille service so that you can get the documents you need quickly and easily.

The Apostille process：

Step 1: Sign the document by a notary public (normally will be completed within 1-2 working days upon receipt of materials). To make an appointment with a notary public, please call 03 9590 6808. Please note this step is not required for the original federal or state government documents.

Step2: Obtain a certification by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) (average 1 week)

The Firm declares∶

• Our firm is unable to provide the exact processing time of the second and third steps, and the processing time provided above is for reference only
• Clients who performing Apostille need to confirm the contents of the certification document by themselves and provide them to our firm. The content must not be changed or it will be re-billed once documents are signed by a public notary lawyer.

Apostille Q&A

What is Apostille Certificate?

• Apostille Certificate is an official government Certificate. Apostille certifications are issued by different authorities in different countries. Apostille certifications are usually issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Supreme Court or the State Government of the country. If both the issuing country and the country where the instrument is to be used are members of the Apostille Convention, then the applicant only needs to have Apostille certifications, i.e. the instrument is Apostille certified by a notary lawyer and certified (countersigned) by the diplomatic service of the issuing country or state government.
• Both Apostille certification and consular certification are a system of authentication for the interchange of domestic and foreign documents. Both certifications are only for the authentication of the signature of the issuer of the document, not for the authentication of the content of the document. In contrast to consular certification, Apostille certification omits the step of consular certification, making the certification process more concise and saving the applicant time; Apostille certification can be used in all contracting states (Apostille Convention), whereas consular certification can only be used in one country of destination. The purpose of Apostille is to “eliminate the need for diplomatic or consular authentication of foreign public documents”. The transmission of documents between contracting countries can be handled through the Apostille Procedure for Certification, while the transmission of documents between non-contracting states is subject to the consular authentication procedure.
• The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) typically issues Apostille and Authentication Stamps on documents notarized by a notary public. However, some original government documents do not require Apostille certification.