By Ern Phang, Solicitor & Notary Public
Director of Phang Legal. Solicitor since 1998 and notary public since 2005.
Example: the situation
Lakshmi retired from a government job in Chennai and now lives with her daughter in Westmead. Her pension is paid into a bank account in India, and the bank has written to say it needs a life certificate from her, or the payments may stop.
If you receive a pension from India, the paying bank or pension office will want regular proof that you're still alive. That proof is a life certificate. When you live in Australia, you can't walk into the branch in India to show yourself, so you'll usually sign the certificate in front of someone here who can vouch for you. Let's discuss this in further detail.
Who decides which life certificate form you sign for a pension in India?
The bank or pension office paying you decides. It's not up to us. It may send you its own form, tell you to download one, or accept a certificate in a particular format. It also decides who can sign as the witness, how often it needs a new certificate and whether it must be sent with anything else.
Ask the bank or pension office for its instructions in writing if you can, so that you bring exactly the right form to your appointment. We don't prepare life certificates, and we can't tell you what a pension office in India will accept.
Many of our clients receive forms that are supposed to be signed by a doctor. But most recipients in India will ask for it to be notarised instead.
What does our notary do with your life certificate?
A life certificate is one of the simplest documents we see. Our notary confirms who you are from your photo identification, sees that you're present in person (which is the whole point of the certificate), witnesses you sign and then notarises the form.
Unlike a power of attorney, a life certificate doesn't ask you to understand a legal transaction. Our notary needs to be satisfied of your identity and that you're alive, so elderly clients whose families now help them with paperwork can usually still have one done.
Most forms that we've seen from India require the person to sign, but technically you don't have to sign to prove that you're still alive. In fact, a notary should be able to simply see you (and possibly interact with you) to confirm that you're still alive. Despite this, if the recipient requires you to sign, then you should sign. If you're unable to sign for whatever reason, you need to make sure they'll accept some other form of proof (ie, like a life certificate signed by the notary, but not by you).
For most of our clients, the pension office also asks for one or more of the following:
- A notarised copy of your passport, so the office can match your photograph with its records.
- Your pension or account details written on the form. Fill these in before your appointment, but leave the signature blank.
- A recent photograph, if the form has a space for one.
Will your life certificate need an apostille?
Possibly. India and Australia are both Apostille Convention countries, so an apostille is the recognised way to prove our notarisation to an office in India. Many banks never ask for it, though, so wait for the bank or pension office to tell you before adding one.
If the office instead wants attestation from the Indian High Commission or Consulate, that's a different process, and we'll look at it in another article.
Where an apostille is requested, we arrange it through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) once our notary has finished.
What to bring to your appointment
- The life certificate form from your bank or pension office, completed except for your signature.
- Your passport. An expired passport can still be used for up to two years after expiry if the photo still looks like you. Otherwise, bring your Australian driver licence or photocard.
- A passport-size photograph, if the form needs one.
- The letter or email setting out the pension office's requirements.
What next for your pension?
Example: the solution
Lakshmi's daughter booked an appointment and brought the bank's form, already filled in with her mother's pension details. Lakshmi signed it in front of our notary, who notarised it with a copy of her passport. Her daughter collected the documents the next week and sent them to the bank, and the pension payments continued.
Is your life certificate due? Ask us to quote, or chat to us on WhatsApp.
About Us
This blog is maintained by Phang Legal, a boutique law firm with offices in Parramatta and Rouse Hill. We help clients from across Sydney and beyond with personal, professional and timely Legal Services, Notary Services and Apostille Services.
As a leading provider of notary services in Sydney, we have 1k+ Google Reviews (4.9) (updated July 2026) with many clients happy to share their experience in using our services.
Phang Legal — Parramatta6/83 George Street
Level 3, 87 Marsden Street (from 1 March 2026)
Parramatta NSW 2150
Phang Legal — Rouse Hill
214/80 Main Street
Rouse Hill NSW 2155
Call 02 9687 8885 | WhatsApp | Request quote
About the author
Ern Phang — Solicitor & Notary Public
This article was written by Ern Phang, a director of Phang Legal, a solicitor since 1998 and a notary public since 2005.
Ern has been a member of the Society of Notaries of NSW since 2005, a Fellow of the Australian and New Zealand College of Notaries since 2013, and a member of the Law Society of New South Wales since 1998.
Ern regularly writes about his experiences as a notary public and the practical issues his clients face when sending documents from Australia to India and other countries all over the world.
Using information in this article
This article provides general information. Requirements, forms, fees and service arrangements may have changed since its original publication. Check the receiving organisation’s current requirements and obtain advice relevant to your circumstances.
