Certifying your identity documents

If you need to certify documents before you submit them to us, you will need to take the original and a copy to one of the people listed below.

People who can certify proof of identity documents

People who can certify proof of identity documents in Australia are:

  • any person who is entitled to witness a Commonwealth of Australia Statutory Declaration as prescribed in the Statutory Declaration Regulations 2023 (see below)
  • a CASA delegate or employee
  • a CASA appointed Designated Aviation Medical Examiner or Designated Aviation Ophthalmologist.

People who can certify proof of identity documents overseas are:

  • a notary public
  • staff at your nearest Australian embassy, high commission or consulate
  • staff at your oversighting National Aviation Authority
  • a person who occupies the role of key personnel of an organisation approved by CASA, whether the person is called an accountable manager, responsible manager or similar, and the person holds a current ARN
  • a foreign government official.

Each copy should be certified as a true and correct copy by the person certifying the document by:

  • sighting the original document
  • stamping, signing and annotating a copy of the document to state 'I have sighted the original document and certify this to be a true and correct copy of the original document sighted'
  • writing their name, date of certification and position.

People who can witness a Commonwealth of Australia Statutory Declaration

People who can witness statutory declarations in Australia are:

  1. A person who, under a law of the Commonwealth, a state or territory, is currently licensed or registered to practise in Australia in an occupation listed in Part 1 of Schedule 2 of the Statutory Declaration Regulations 2018 below:
    • Architect
    • Chiropractor
    • Dentist
    • Financial adviser or financial planner
    • Legal practitioner
    • Medical practitioner
    • Midwife
    • Migration agent registered under Division 3 of Part 3 of the Migration Act 1958
    • Nurse
    • Occupational therapist
    • Optometrist
    • Patent attorney
    • Pharmacist
    • Physiotherapist
    • Psychologist
    • Trade marks attorney
    • Veterinary surgeon.
  2. A person who is in the following list in Part 2 of Schedule 2 of the Statutory Declaration Regulations 2018:
    • Accountant who is :
      • a fellow of the National Tax Accountants’ Association or
      • a member of any of the following:
        • Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand
        • the Association of Taxation and Management Accountants
        • CPA Australia
        • the Institute of Public Accountants
    • Agent of the Australian Postal Corporation who is in charge of an office supplying postal services to the public
    • APS employee engaged on an ongoing basis with 5 or more years of continuous service who is not specified in another item of this Part
    • Australian Consular Officer or Australian Diplomatic Officer (within the meaning of the Consular Fees Act 1955)
    • Bailiff
    • Bank officer with 5 or more continuous years of service
    • Building society officer with 5 or more years of continuous service
    • Chief executive officer of a Commonwealth court
    • Clerk of a court
    • Commissioner for Affidavits
    • Commissioner for Declarations
    • Credit union officer with 5 or more years of continuous service
    • Employee of a Commonwealth authority engaged on a permanent basis with 5 or more years of continuous service who is not specified in another item in this Part
    • Employee of the Australian Trade and Investment Commission who is:
      1. in a country or place outside Australia and
      2. authorised under paragraph 3(d) of the Consular Fees Act 1955 and
      3. exercising the employee’s function at that place
    • Employee of the Commonwealth who is:
      1. at a place outside Australia and
      2. authorised under paragraph 3(c) of the Consular Fees Act 1955 and
      3. exercising the employee’s function at that place
    • Engineer who is:
      1. a member of Engineers Australia, other than at the grade of student or
      2. a Registered Professional Engineer of Professionals Australia or
      3. registered as an engineer under a law of the Commonwealth, a state or territory or
      4. registered on the National Engineering Register by Engineers Australia
    • Finance company officer with 5 or more years of continuous service
    • Holder of a statutory office not specified in another item of this Part
    • Judge
    • Justice of the peace
    • Magistrate
    • Marriage celebrant registered under Subdivision C of Division 1 of Part IV of the Marriage Act 1961
    • Master of a court
    • Member of the Australian Defence Force who is:
      1. an officer or
      2. a non-commissioned officer within the meaning of the Defence Force Discipline Act 1982 with 5 or more years of continuous service or
      3. a warrant officer within the meaning of that Act
    • Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy
    • Member of the Governance Institute of Australia Ltd
    • Member of:
      1. the Parliament of the Commonwealth or
      2. the Parliament of a state or
      3. a territory legislature or
      4. a local government authority
    • Minister of religion registered under Subdivision A of Division 1 of Part IV of the Marriage Act 1961
    • Notary public, including a notary public (however described) exercising functions at a place outside:
      1. the Commonwealth and
      2. the external territories of the Commonwealth
    • Permanent employee of the Australian Postal Corporation with 5 or more years of continuous service who is employed in an office providing postal services to the public
    • Permanent employee of:
      1. a state or territory or a state or territory authority or
      2. a local government authority
      • with 5 or more years of continuous service, other than such an employee who is specified in another item of this Part
    • Person before whom a statutory declaration may be made under the law of the state or territory in which the declaration is made
    • Police officer
    • Registrar, or deputy registrar, of a court
    • Senior executive employee of a Commonwealth authority
    • Senior executive employee of a state or territory
    • SES employee of the Commonwealth
    • Sheriff
    • Sheriff’s officer
    • Teacher employed on a permanent full time or part time basis at a school or tertiary education institution.
Last updated:
5 Feb 2024
Online version available at: https://www.casa.gov.au//index.php/licences-and-certificates/aviation-reference-numbers/certifying-your-identity-documents
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