A free notary public in Sydney?

Where can you find a free notary public in Sydney?

For some reason - and this is not necessarily a blessing - many people seem to think that we provide free notary public services. We don't. It's simply them misunderstanding what Google or any other search engine is telling them.

Just because you search for the term "free notary public" or "notary public for free" does not guarantee that your search results will actually reflect the search terms. In many cases, despite using the keyword 'free', search engines will return searches that relate to 'fee' which means that 'free notary' can also result in 'notary fee'.

What about a justice of the peace?

If you're actually looking for free services to witness or certify documents, you're probably looking for a justice of the peace. The justice of the peace is an honorary community service role and their services are without charge (ie, free). However, the justice of the peace generally will only be recognised for documents used in Australia and not for use overseas.

If you need to sign something for use overseas or you need to certify your documents from Australia for use overseas, then you're probably going to need notary public services. This is especially important if your document must also be stamped with an apostille or authenticated by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (and/or legalised by the foreign office of the intended destination country).

What about for documents going to India?

In most cases, documents that you need to sign or certify in Australia for use in India will need to be notarised by a notary public. Occasionally, you may be able to sign them or have them certified by a justice of the peace, however that's the exception and you're going to have to check it with your lawyer in India first. Some dealings with VFS specifically require you to have your documents notarised and sometimes you also need to have those documents stamped with an apostille from DFAT. All of these things involve the services of a notary public.

Paying for notary public services

There are recommended notary fees, but notaries may charge whatever they deem is appropriate. If you have something complicated, maybe the fees will be higher compared to something that is simple. Generally, a simple request like witnessing or certifying documents will attract a fixed nominal notary fee.

What next?

To obtain a quote on our notary public services for India, please visit https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/notary-fees/.

Acknowledgements

This blog is supported and maintained by Phang Legal. Phang Legal is a leading provider of notary public services in Sydney. With offices conveniently located in Parramatta, Phang Legal supports and services the Indian community across Sydney with readily available and easily accessible notary public services at highly competitive rates.

For more information regarding notary public services for documents going to India, view our notary publications at https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/jurisdiction/india-notary/.

Frequently asked questions regarding our notary public services can also be found at https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/faqs/.

For Hindi to English translation services by NAATI accredited translators, see https://hindi-naati-translation.blogspot.com.au/.

Ern Phang
Notary Public

Ern Phang is the solicitor director of Phang Legal and a notary public. Ern regularly writes about his experiences as a notary public, including the kinds of problems and solutions that his clients face when sending documents to India.

IMPORTANT: the information in this article is correct at the time of publication, however the law constantly changes. This means you should always refer to the most recent articles because we try to update this blog on a regular basis with the most current information.

What does notarisation, notary attestation, or consularise mean?

People often ask us about having their documents 'notarised' or 'attested' by a notary public or by the Indian Consulate, but what does that even mean?

In most cases, they don't know because that's just what their lawyer in India has asked and in this article, we discuss the meanings and give you tips on what you should be asking your lawyer in India to understand the exact requirement.

Notary. Notarised. Notarisation. Notary attested.

Many people use this word as both a noun and as a verb. But the simple fact is that a notary public is a position, title or a role - but it's not a verb. The verb is notarise, which means this is something that the notary public does. For example, the notary public notarises a document. But even the term 'notarisation' can include many different things.

Here are some things that can be considered to be notarisation:

• A notary public witnessing you sign a document.
• A notary public certifying a copy of a document.
• A notary public verifying the authenticity or information contained within a document.
• A notary public providing a notary certificate confirming a certain fact.

What about attested?

Occasionally, you may also hear the word 'attest' or 'attested' - but what does this mean? The word 'attest' specifically means that it something is declared to be true or is the evidence of truth. At the heart of what a notary public does is to provide confirmation of facts, whether that's to confirm someone's identity and to witness that they are the person signing a document, or it's to confirm that a document is a certified copy of an original document. Again, the word 'attest' or 'attested' is used in many different context but alone doesn't provide certainty as to what's specifically required.

And consularise?

Is 'consularise' an actual word/verb? Many clients ask for documents to be consularised which presumably means they want it to be stamped by the consulate. In Australia, the consular services for the Indian Government has been outsourced to VFS. In many cases, before VFS will stamp your document, it will need to be notarised by a notary public and sometimes also stamped with an apostille from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).

As both India and Australia are members of the Apostille Convention (see more here), then documents from Australia stamped with an apostille will be recognised in India. However, often despite this official position, some people in India will still want the document to be stamped by VFS before it will be accepted in India.

So what should you ask for?

As you can see, some of these terms aren't actually real words - and that makes it confusing when clients ask for help.

A good idea is to think that when you need notary public services, you need to clearly state whether it involves a person (ie, identifying someone, witnessing their signature, taking an oath or affirmation) or it involves the contents of the document and not specifically the person (ie, certifying a copy, verifying the information).

The difference between the two kinds of service will determine what steps need to happen in order to notarise or attest the documents.

What next?

To obtain a quote on our notary public services for India, please visit https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/notary-fees/.

Acknowledgements

This blog is supported and maintained by Phang Legal. Phang Legal is a leading provider of notary public services in Sydney. With offices conveniently located in Parramatta, Phang Legal supports and services the Indian community across Sydney with readily available and easily accessible notary public services at highly competitive rates.

For more information regarding notary public services for documents going to India, view our notary publications at https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/jurisdiction/india-notary/.

Frequently asked questions regarding our notary public services can also be found at https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/faqs/.

For Hindi to English translation services by NAATI accredited translators, see https://hindi-naati-translation.blogspot.com.au/.

Ern Phang
Notary Public

Ern Phang is the solicitor director of Phang Legal and a notary public. Ern regularly writes about his experiences as a notary public, including the kinds of problems and solutions that his clients face when sending documents to India.

IMPORTANT: the information in this article is correct at the time of publication, however the law constantly changes. This means you should always refer to the most recent articles because we try to update this blog on a regular basis with the most current information.

Why do you need a power of attorney for India?

One of the challenges of living in Australia but buying or selling property in India is being able to sign the various legal documents necessary for the transaction to happen. Since most of the legal documents are still in paper form (ie, not electronic), it requires your signature - or perhaps someone to sign on your behalf.

Appointing someone to sign legal documents on your behalf can only really be done by a power of attorney.

If you're living in Australia and appointing someone in India by power of attorney to sign documents on your behalf, then that power of attorney must be notarised by a notary public.

Who writes the power of attorney?

In most cases, your lawyer or whoever is looking after your transaction in India should write the power of attorney for you. Sometimes it may just be a standard document or standard form, and sometimes it may be something specific to your situation or to your transaction. If you need to have a power of attorney to apply for a loan with a bank, sometimes the bank will have a standard power of attorney form that you can just download from the internet - but always make sure you know what you're signing.

Many clients download documents and forms from the internet (sometimes from different countries) and assume that they will 'work' in India - this is wrong and it's dangerous. Different countries have different legal requirements and different legal consequences. Don't assume that something you can download from the internet will work for your situation. Even a power of attorney based on the standard forms available in Australia isn't necessarily going to work or work properly for what you want to do in India. Check with your lawyer in India and if you don't have a lawyer, maybe it's about time you engage someone to assist you with your transaction. The cost of the process in Australia and the risk you face in sending an incorrect document to India isn't worth the risk.

Why does the power of attorney need to be notarised?

Documents signed in Australia but used in India generally need to be notarised. Depending on who you're sending the power of attorney to, they may also need the power of attorney to be stamped with an apostille from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and stamped by VFS (ie, Indian Consulate stamp). Unfortunately, despite assisting clients sending documents to India for many years (nearly 20 years) everyone does it differently or they're asked for different things by their lawyer or whoever they're dealing with in India. What's common between all is having the document notarised - but after that, you'll just need to check.

What does notarisation involve?

For the power of attorney going to India, notarisation generally means you must sign the power of attorney in front of the notary public. The notary public can witness your signature and then sign/stamp your power of attorney confirming that they witnessed you sign it.

Do you need stamped paper?

Some clients who have their lawyers in India prepare the power of attorney and send it to them in paper form have their power of attorney printed on stamped paper (or bonded paper). This is like a form of pre-paid duty.

Stamped paper for isn't available in Australia so if you intend to sign a power of attorney printed on stamped paper then you'll need to arrange for it to be prepared in India and sent to you here. Alternatively, most clients print their power of attorney on standard A4 paper and have their signatures notarised on that type of paper. Duty is still payable in India but instead of pre-paid duty if your power of attorney had been printed on stamped paper, then your lawyer would need to arrange for it to be post-paid after the power of attorney arrives in India.

Does the power of attorney need to be stamped with an apostille?

Technically, as Australia and India are both member countries of the Apostille Convention (see here for more information) documents like the power of attorney sent from Australia to India, or any other member country, should be stamped with an apostille in order to be recognised.

Practically, the majority of power of attorney that we've notarised over the years have been used in India without an apostille. If you're not sure, please check with your lawyer in India.

What next?

To obtain a quote on our notary public services for India, please visit https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/notary-fees/.

Acknowledgements

This blog is supported and maintained by Phang Legal. Phang Legal is a leading provider of notary public services in Sydney. With offices conveniently located in Parramatta, Phang Legal supports and services the Indian community across Sydney with readily available and easily accessible notary public services at highly competitive rates.

For more information regarding notary public services for documents going to India, view our notary publications at https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/jurisdiction/india-notary/.

Frequently asked questions regarding our notary public services can also be found at https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/faqs/.

For Hindi to English translation services by NAATI accredited translators, see https://hindi-naati-translation.blogspot.com.au/.

Ern Phang
Notary Public

Ern Phang is the solicitor director of Phang Legal and a notary public. Ern regularly writes about his experiences as a notary public, including the kinds of problems and solutions that his clients face when sending documents to India.

IMPORTANT: the information in this article is correct at the time of publication, however the law constantly changes. This means you should always refer to the most recent articles because we try to update this blog on a regular basis with the most current information.

Do you always need a notary public? What about a justice of the peace?

Why notarised?

In most cases, if you're sending documents back to India - you're going to need to have your documents notarised. The concept of having documents notarised is central to many transactions in countries all over the world, especially if you're transacting across different country borders.

Technically, for documents originating in Australia (ie, signed in Australia or Australian government documents), India should only accept them if they're stamped with an apostille issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). DFAT will only stamp a document with an apostille if it's an original Australian government document or if the document has been notarised by a notary public in Australia.

What's an apostille?

An apostille is a stamp issued according to the Apostille Convention (see more here) and recognised by member countries - such as Australia and India. Simply put this means if your document is stamped with an apostille on behalf of the Australian government, then government offices in India should recognise it as being a valid document. This is the formal approach and as stated, technically the correct process and procedure that all documents from Australia to India should follow.

Why only technically?

In practice, not everything strictly follows the technical requirements. Maybe whoever you're dealing with in India isn't familiar with the technical requirements or they have/follow their own requirements. For example, some people are asked to obtain the 'Indian Consulate' stamp which is only available from VFS (on behalf of the Government of India) and this may also involve obtaining an apostille as well. However, the majority of clients that we assist only need to have their documents notarised and stamped by a notary public.

What about a justice of the peace?

A justice of the peace is not a notary public. While signing or certifying documents in front of a justice of the peace in Australia can be used in Australia, it wouldn't be commonly accepted overseas in other countries - including India. Generally, the minimum requirement (aside from the apostille or 'Indian Consulate' stamp) for documents from Australia going to India would be to have them notarised. Some forms and documents can be stamped by a justice of the peace if you are submitting them to VFS, but if you're sending your document directly to India then consider having them stamped by a notary public.

If your document needs to be stamped with an apostille, DFAT won't recognise a stamp or signature of a justice of the peace - it has to be an original Australian government document or a document that's been notarised by a notary public.

To obtain a quote on our notary public services for India, please visit https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/notary-fees/.

Acknowledgements

This blog is supported and maintained by Phang Legal. Phang Legal is a leading provider of notary public services in Sydney. With offices conveniently located in Parramatta, Phang Legal supports and services the Indian community across Sydney with readily available and easily accessible notary public services at highly competitive rates.

For more information regarding notary public services for documents going to India, view our notary publications at https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/jurisdiction/india-notary/.

Frequently asked questions regarding our notary public services can also be found at https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/faqs/.

For Hindi to English translation services by NAATI accredited translators, see https://hindi-naati-translation.blogspot.com.au/.

Ern Phang
Notary Public

Ern Phang is the solicitor director of Phang Legal and a notary public. Ern regularly writes about his experiences as a notary public, including the kinds of problems and solutions that his clients face when sending documents to India.

IMPORTANT: the information in this article is correct at the time of publication, however the law constantly changes. This means you should always refer to the most recent articles because we try to update this blog on a regular basis with the most current information.

IDLV helps - but how?

So why do you need to verify your Indian drivers licence?

If you're looking to convert your Indian drivers licence to an Australian drivers licence, one of the common problems faced by many Indians is when their name in the Indian drivers licence and their Indian passport is different.

In Australia, the primary form of identification (aside from a drivers licence) would be a passport and so if the name on the passport is different from the licence, there's an issue - it potentially means the passport and the licence belong to different people unless there's proof that they're actually the one and the same person.

For Indians who obtain their drivers licence as teenagers, and the name appearing on the licence is based on their Year 10 marksheet, sometimes this name is different from their legal/formal name that eventually appears on their passport. This could be due to many reasons, like nicknames, short names, common names, family names or just the way their name was registered when they started school.

Whatever the reason, the difference between the name on a drivers licence and the name on the passport will cause a problem when it comes to proving that the licence and passport belong to the same person.

If your name on your licence and your passport is different, you won't be able to show that you have a licence (in your name) or that you have driving history. This means if you apply for a licence in Australia, you'll start from the start again - meaning you'll be a learner licence holder (with the licence in the name that appears in your passport) and then must complete the various levels of assessment and criteria to eventually unlock your full and unrestricted licence.

If you don't want to start again, as most people don't, and you want to have your driving history (even under your Indian drivers licence) recognised in Australia, then one of the options to prove that you're the one and the same person is to engage a notary public. That's how we can help you. Check out this and our other websites to preview some of our services relating to the Indian Drivers Licence Verification.

To obtain a quote on our notary public services for India, please visit https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/notary-fees/.

Acknowledgements

This blog is supported and maintained by Phang Legal. Phang Legal is a leading provider of notary public services in Sydney. With offices conveniently located in Parramatta, Phang Legal supports and services the Indian community across Sydney with readily available and easily accessible notary public services at highly competitive rates.

For more information regarding notary public services for documents going to India, view our notary publications at https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/jurisdiction/india-notary/.

Frequently asked questions regarding our notary public services can also be found at https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/faqs/.

For Hindi to English translation services by NAATI accredited translators, see https://hindi-naati-translation.blogspot.com.au/.

Ern Phang
Notary Public

Ern Phang is the solicitor director of Phang Legal and a notary public. Ern regularly writes about his experiences as a notary public, including the kinds of problems and solutions that his clients face when sending documents to India.

IMPORTANT: the information in this article is correct at the time of publication, however the law constantly changes. This means you should always refer to the most recent articles because we try to update this blog on a regular basis with the most current information.

Why is identification important for notarised documents going to India?

The necessity of identification

As a notary public, one of our main functions is to identify the person signing a document (ie, we witness them signing). 

By witnessing them sign, we certify that they are who they say they are and that they have signed the document in front of us. To do this we must first identify them according to their identification documents.

Identification documents include:

• Passport (Australian and/or foreign)
• Australian drivers licence or photograph identity card

For Indian clients, sometimes identification documents may also include:

• PAN card
• Indian Drivers Licence
• OCI

In all cases, we will compare the photograph in the identification documents with the person who appears before us to sign the document to ensure that they are the one and the same person. When we sign the document to confirm that we witnessed that person sign the document, we also write the person's name as it appears in the identification documents. Sometimes the name can be different and so it is really important that whoever is dealing with the document in India is aware of the name written in the identification documents to avoid any issues when the documents are sent back to India.

To obtain a quote on our notary public services for India, please visit https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/notary-fees/.

Acknowledgements

This blog is supported and maintained by Phang Legal. Phang Legal is a leading provider of notary public services in Sydney. With offices conveniently located in Parramatta, Phang Legal supports and services the Indian community across Sydney with readily available and easily accessible notary public services at highly competitive rates.

For more information regarding notary public services for documents going to India, view our notary publications at https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/jurisdiction/india-notary/.

Frequently asked questions regarding our notary public services can also be found at https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/faqs/.

For Hindi to English translation services by NAATI accredited translators, see https://hindi-naati-translation.blogspot.com.au/.

Ern Phang
Notary Public

Ern Phang is the solicitor director of Phang Legal and a notary public. Ern regularly writes about his experiences as a notary public, including the kinds of problems and solutions that his clients face when sending documents to India.

IMPORTANT: the information in this article is correct at the time of publication, however the law constantly changes. This means you should always refer to the most recent articles because we try to update this blog on a regular basis with the most current information.

It's red! The importance of the notary seal for documents going to India

Did you know that the majority of our clients will have no problems with documents notarised in Australia?

With every country, there's a formal process that should be followed in order for documents signed or certified in Australia to be valid in that country. Generally, this means documents must be stamped with an apostille or authenticated and then legalised by the foreign office of that country in Australia. For India, the requirement is apostille.

If the document that you're sending is NOT an original Australian government-issued document, then that document would generally need to be notarised - and that's what we do. For example, if you're appointing someone in India to act on your behalf, then you would normally need to sign a general power of attorney or a special power of attorney (depending on the circumstances). If you are signing these documents in Australia, then they'll need to be signed, witnessed and notarised. If you're not sure of the specific requirements in India for what you're doing, then you need to ask your lawyer.

The majority of our clients sending documents to India will just have their documents notarised without going to the further step of having them stamped with an apostille or by the Indian Consulate/VFS - and that's because they've either been told that their documents only need to be notarised (and nothing else) or when they send their documents to their lawyers or counterparts in India, they're told that the red notary stamp is sufficient. In other words, it looks official enough and that's all.

Of course, you shouldn't just send your documents to India (especially not the original hardcopy document) without checking with your lawyer, and these days it's quite simple/easy to scan or even take a photo of your document.

To obtain a quote on our notary public services for India, please visit https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/notary-fees/.

Acknowledgements

This blog is supported and maintained by Phang Legal. Phang Legal is a leading provider of notary public services in Sydney. With offices conveniently located in Parramatta, Phang Legal supports and services the Indian community across Sydney with readily available and easily accessible notary public services at highly competitive rates.

For more information regarding notary public services for documents going to India, view our notary publications at https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/jurisdiction/india-notary/.

Frequently asked questions regarding our notary public services can also be found at https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/faqs/.

For Hindi to English translation services by NAATI accredited translators, see https://hindi-naati-translation.blogspot.com.au/.

Ern Phang
Notary Public

Ern Phang is the solicitor director of Phang Legal and a notary public. Ern regularly writes about his experiences as a notary public, including the kinds of problems and solutions that his clients face when sending documents to India.

IMPORTANT: the information in this article is correct at the time of publication, however the law constantly changes. This means you should always refer to the most recent articles because we try to update this blog on a regular basis with the most current information.

Notary public services in 2019

Happy New Year! We look forward to serving you again in 2019. For notary public services for documents intended for India (including documents required by VFS), please call 02 9687 8885 to make an appointment.