How Do You Certify Documents for an AHPRA Application?

The AHPRA documents checklist tells you which documents to gather. This article covers how each copy must be certified so AHPRA accepts it the first time. AHPRA's own instruction sheet is blunt: incorrectly certified documents will not be accepted and will cause delays.

Sources: AHPRA's Certifying documents page, its printable instruction sheet (March 2025), and its Translating documents and Proof of identity pages. Print the instruction sheet for the certifier.

What a certified copy must show

AHPRA defines a certified copy as one "verified as being a true copy of an original document by someone authorised to certify copies of original documents". On a single-page document the authorised officer must write or stamp all of the following on the copy:

1. The statement, word for word: "I have sighted the original document and certify this to be a true copy of the original."
2. The date.
3. Their signature.
4. Their full name.
5. Their contact phone number.
6. Their occupation or profession, with their profession number if applicable (for a doctor, their AHPRA registration number).
7. Their stamp or seal, if relevant.

The every-page rule. On a document with more than one page, the officer writes the statement and details on the first page, then initials and numbers every page (for example "page 2 of 5"). The instruction sheet adds: the statement must appear on each separate document, and where both the front and back are required (a driver's licence, a two-sided certificate) both sides need it.

What the officer checks. In your presence, they inspect the original to confirm it is an original, check that the copy is identical, and compare your face with the photograph on any identity document.

Who can certify inside Australia

AHPRA publishes two lists. The first group can certify in or outside Australia:

• A health practitioner registered in Australia — 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 or psychologist.
• Legal professions — legal practitioner (includes lawyer, solicitor and barrister), patent attorney, trade marks attorney.

The second group can certify in Australia only:

• Public servant (federal, state, territory or local) employed for five years or more.
• Teacher (full-time or part-time) at a school or tertiary education institution.
• 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 jurisdiction).
• Elected government representative (federal, state, territory or local).
• Bank officer, building society officer, credit union officer or finance company officer employed for five years or more.
• Veterinary surgeon.
• Accountant who is a member of ICA, ASA, IPA or CPA, ATMA or NTAA.
• Minister of religion, or marriage celebrant.
• Member of Chartered Secretaries Australia; Engineers Australia (other than students); the Australian Defence Force (an officer, a non-commissioned officer with five or more years of continuous service, or a warrant officer); or the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.
• Notary public.
• Holder of a statutory office not specified elsewhere in the list.
• Police officer.
• Sheriff or sheriff's officer.

Check AHPRA's current page before relying on a particular person.

Who can certify outside Australia

Applying from overseas, AHPRA accepts certification by:

• A notary public.
• An employee of the Commonwealth or the Australian Trade Commission working outside Australia.
• A justice of the peace.
• An Australian Consular Officer or Australian Diplomatic Officer (within the meaning of the Consular Fees Act 1955) — in practice, the Australian embassy, high commission or consulate.

Plus the "in or outside Australia" group above — for UK, Irish, Canadian, US or New Zealand doctors, usually a local solicitor, attorney or notary. A health practitioner qualifies only if registered in Australia; a GMC- or IMC-registered colleague does not.

In person only — no video certification

Both the web page and the instruction sheet are explicit: documents must be certified in person. Certification over an audiovisual link such as Zoom or Teams is not accepted.

Translations

Any document not in English — identity documents, certificates of good standing, degrees, transcripts — must be accompanied by an English translation:

• In Australia, the translator must be NAATI-accredited.
• Outside Australia, the translator must be approved by the authorities of the country where the translation is made. AHPRA can still require a NAATI translation if, in the National Board's opinion, yours is incomplete or inaccurate.
• Full document only. "Extract translations" of parts of degrees, diplomas, certificates and transcripts are refused, as are translations by relatives, friends, acquaintances or volunteer agencies.
• The translator's statement. Working from the original or a notarised photocopy, the translator signs a statement, in English, that the translation is accurate and that they belong to an approved organisation in that country. It carries their identification number or seal on every page, plus printed name, address and telephone number.
• What you upload. Three items together: the certified copy of the source document, the translation, and the signed statement.

If a non-English document reaches AHPRA directly (a certificate of good standing sent by your regulator), AHPRA asks you to nominate a NAATI-accredited translator in writing. You pay for every translation.

Name changes

Your identity is checked online through AHPRA's provider InstaID+ after you submit, and that is where a name mismatch surfaces. If the name on your degree or overseas registration differs from your passport, you must provide evidence of the change during the identity check. Without it, AHPRA registers you, and lists you on the public register, under the name on your passport (or your "commencement of identity" document if applying from within Australia). A foreign-language name-change document needs an English translation too.

Common rejection reasons and how to avoid them

• Wrong wording. "Certified true copy" is not AHPRA's statement. Hand over the instruction sheet.
• Missing certifier details. The phone number and the profession number are most often left off. Check all seven items before you leave.
• Pages not initialled and numbered, or a two-sided document certified on one side only.
• The wrong certifier for the location — a teacher or bank officer overseas, or a doctor not registered in Australia.
• Certified from a copy rather than the original, or certified remotely.
• Translation problems — an extract translation, no signed translator statement, or a translation uploaded without its certified source document.
• Name mismatch across documents with no change-of-name evidence at the identity check.

Before you upload — a step-by-step check

1. Copy every document on the checklist, both sides where the back carries information.
2. Take the originals, the copies and the printed instruction sheet to an authorised certifier for your location.
3. Watch them write the exact statement, date, signature, name, phone number, occupation (with number) and stamp on each document, and initial and number every page.
4. For each non-English document, obtain the full translation and signed translator statement.
5. Confirm the name on every document matches your passport, or gather change-of-name evidence for the InstaID+ check.
6. Scan each certified copy so every annotation is legible, then upload through the AHPRA portal.

What to do if a document was certified wrongly

AHPRA's guidance describes no way to repair a defective certification, and its instruction sheet says such copies will not be accepted. The fix is a fresh copy, certified correctly from the original — do not add missing details yourself or ask the certifier to amend a copy they signed earlier. If AHPRA has already asked for it, upload the new copy and reply promptly.

Where this fits in your pathway

Certification sits in the AHPRA application stage on every pathway — Stage 4 of the AMC Standard Pathway, or the registration step of the Competent Authority pathway for UK and Irish, Canadian, US and New Zealand doctors. Return to the documents checklist for the full list, or map the stages in the pathway explorer.

Sources: AHPRA — Certifying documents · AHPRA — Certifying documents instructions (PDF) · AHPRA — Translating documents · AHPRA — Proof of identity · Medical Board of Australia