Certifying Documents
You might need to provide someone a certified copy of a document, or your identification. A certified copy is a photocopy that has been stamped and signed by a person who confirms that the copy is a true copy of the original document.
Statutory declarations
A statutory declaration is a written document that must be completed in front of an authorised witness. You may be given a declaration form to fill in or you can write it yourself.
Affidavit
An affidavit is a written document, setting out your evidence in a legal matter. It may be either sworn on oath or by way of affirmation in front of an authorised person. An oath is sworn on a religious book such as the Bible or Qur’an. An affirmation is an oral statement declaring that the written contents are true, instead of taking an oath.
Who can help you?
Certain people are authorised to certify documents and take statutory declarations and affidavits:
- Lawyers (like us) - find one
- Justice of the Peace - find one
- Notary Public (there may be a cost) - find one
- Deputy Registrar at a court - find one
If you would like us to help you with one of these, please call our office to make an appointment.
Please note, we are****not Notaries Public. Some international documents need to be notarised, or even authenticated by the Department of Internal Affairs - find out more here.
We generally don’t charge for these services, but this is on the understanding that you have already have copies of everything printed out, and it should only take us about 5 minutes. Let us know if this isn’t the case.