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Notarial services – witnessing and certifying copies of documents

The ACIO offers the following notarial services:

• witnessing signatures on documents in English (such as statutory declarations) to be used in Australia that require witnessing by an Australian consular officer (no appointment required);
• witnessing the execution of legal documents in English to be used in Australia – such as wills or powers of attorney (appointment required);
• witnessing affidavits and administering oaths or affirmations (appointment required); and
• certifying copies of original documents in English (no appointment required).
 

Under the Consular Fees Act 1955 and Consular Fees Regulations 1990, fees are payable for witnessing and certification services (details below).

Please note that Notaries Publics in Taiwan offer the above services, as well as a range of other services that the ACIO is not able to provide (contact details of a Notary Public Office in Taipei are below).

Witnessing signatures

ACIO consular officers can witness signatures on documents in English (such as statutory declarations) and witness the execution of legal documents in English – such as wills or powers of attorney – for use in Australia. ACIO consular officers can witness signature(s) on commercial documents dealing with property or finance, but does not guarantee that the document will be accepted by other parties.

It is your responsibility to present the document to be witnessed by ACIO in the correct form and to provide the correct instructions for witnessing. If you are unsure of the legislative requirements relating to witnessing signatures on a particular document, you should seek independent legal advice. Please note, by witnessing a signature on a document neither the Australian Government nor the ACIO guarantees the legal effectiveness of the document or the accuracy of its contents.

Witnessing affidavits and administering an oath or affirmation

ACIO consular officers can witness affidavits and administer an oath or affirmation. The ACIO bears no responsibility for the correctness of the statements contained in any document sworn or declared before them.

Certifying copies of original documents

ACIO consular officers can certify copies of original documents in English. However, a consular officer is only able to state that the copy of the document is a "true copy" of an original document sighted by them on a certain date. It is your responsibility to ensure that the end user of the certified copy of a document will accept the statement made by an ACIO officer on a copy of a document presented to them.

Clients requesting an ACIO consular officer to perform notarial services by appointment should contact the ACIO's Passport and Consular Section as follows;

Tel : +886 2 8725 4100
Fax : +886 2 8789 9599
Email: consular.taipei@dfat.gov.au
 

Notaries Public in Taiwan

A Notary Public in Taiwan can also witness signatures, certify copies of original documents and administer oaths or affirmations. For services in Taipei you may contact:

Taiwan Taipei District Court Notary Public Office
Address: 248 Chung Hsin Rd, Section 1, Hsin Dien City, Taipei County
Switchboard: +886 2 8919 3866 (voicemail: ext. 388; service centre: ext. 204 or 205)
Fax: +886 2 2915 5089

Documents issued in Australia which are for use in Taiwan may need to be notarised by a Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Australia.

Fees for Notarial services

Consular Fees at ACIO Taipei. Under the Consular Fees Act 1955 and Consular Fees Regulations 1990, fees are payable for witnessing and certification services. The ACIO can only accept payment by cash in New Taiwan Dollars (NTD) only. We apologise for any inconvenience. We will give you a receipt immediately for any payment made.

Please note that we may adjust our Taiwan dollar fees on the first working day of the month to take into account movements in the exchange rate.