Certifying Documents

Registration

You may be required to provide certified copies of original documents in support of an application for registration, endorsement or for other purposes required by the National Law. The application form will outline which documents must be certified.

A 'certified copy' of an original document is a copy that has been verified as being a true copy of an original document. This is done by a person who is authorised to certify copies of original documents.

The following certification process is for the purposes of Ahpra and the National Boards, if you are required to provide certified documents for other purposes that are not related to Ahpra or the National Boards, you must check that organisations’ requirements.

You must follow the process as outlined on the PDF instruction guide available on this page to certify a copy.
For hard copy application forms, certified copies will only be accepted in hard copy by mail or in person (not by fax, email, etc). Photocopies of previously certified documents will not be accepted.

For online application forms, certified copies of documents can be uploaded with your online application.

Any documents containing a photograph (e.g. a passport, driver’s licence, etc.) must be certified by an Authorised Officer with the statement ‘I certify that this is a true copy of the original and the photograph is a true likeness of the person presenting the document as sighted by me.’

Certifying documents instructions

Please print the guide 'Certifying Documents (466 KB, PDF)’ and take it with you to an Authorised Officer when certifying your documents.

Who can certify documents?

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In Australia:

Registered health practitioner: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioner, Chinese medicine practitioner, chiropractor, dental practitioner, medical practitioner, medical radiation practitioner, midwife, nurse, occupational therapist, optometrist, osteopath, paramedic, pharmacist, physiotherapist, podiatrist, psychologist
Public servants: federal, state or territory, or local (employed for 5 years or more)
Teacher (full-time or part-time) at a school or tertiary education institution
Legal professions: legal practitioner, patent attorney, trade marks attorney
Court positions: bailiff, justice of the peace, judge, magistrate, registrar or deputy registrar, clerk, master of a court, CEO of a Commonwealth court
Commissioner for Affidavits, or Commissioner for Declarations (dependent on jurisdictions)
Elected government representatives: federal, state or territory, or local
Bank officer, building society officer, credit union officer, finance company officer – employed for 5 years or more
Veterinary surgeon
Accountant (member of ICA, ASA, IPA or CPA, ATMA, NTAA)
Minister of religion, or marriage celebrant
Member of:
- Chartered Secretaries Australia
- Engineers Australia, other than students
- Australian Defence Force (an officer; or a non-commissioned officer with 5 years or more of continuous service; a warrant officer)
- Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy
Notary public
Holder of a statutory office not specified in another item in this list
Police officer
Sheriff or sheriff’s officer

Outside Australia:

Notary public
Employee of the Commonwealth or the Australian Trade Commission who works outside Australia
Justice of the peace
Legal professions: legal practitioner (includes lawyer, solicitor and barrister), patent attorney, trade marks attorney
Australian Registered health practitioner: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioner, Chinese medicine practitioner, chiropractor, dental practitioner, medical practitioner, medical radiation practitioner, midwife, nurse, occupational therapist, optometrist, osteopath, paramedic, pharmacist, physiotherapist, podiatrist, psychologist
Australian consular officer or Australian diplomatic officer (within the meaning of the Consular Fees Act 1955) - Documents certified by an Australian consular officer or Australian diplomatic officer, which have a photograph, must include an Identity Certificate. Ask for the Identity Certificate when your documents are being certified. The Identity Certificate must be included when you submit your certified documents.

What does an Authorised Officer need to do to certify your documents?

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An Authorised Officer should do the following in the presence of the applicant:

inspect the original document to ensure that it is an original document;
inspect the copy to ensure it is identical to the original document;
write or stamp (if relevant) the copy with the words, ‘I have sighted the original document and certify this to be a true copy of the original’ on the first page;
write or stamp (if relevant) the photograph on photographic documentation (e.g. licence, passport, etc.) with the words ‘I certify that this is a true copy of the original and the photograph is a true likeness of the person presenting the document as sighted by me;’ sign and date the copy;
write or stamp (if relevant) the copy with:
- your full name
- your occupation or profession (including your occupation or profession number, if relevant) and
- your phone number.

Certified documents must:

be signed by the Authorised Officer
on documents with more than one page, be initialed on every page and all pages numbered (i.e. page 2 of 5)
be annotated on the first page with the words ‘I have sighted the original document and certify this to be a true copy of the original’, and
list the name, date of certification, contact phone number and occupation or profession (including occupation or profession number, if relevant) and have the stamp or seal of the Authorised Officer (if relevant).

Any documents containing a photograph must be annotated by the Authorised Officer with the statement, ‘I certify that this is a true copy of the original and the photograph is a true likeness of the person presenting the document as sighted by me.’

When are documents not required to be certified?

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Each application form outlines what documents are to be certified copies.

For online applications, all proof of identity documents must be certified as above.

Please refer to the online application for detailed information of these requirements.