Certified copy

In Australia, certified copies are solely the creation of administrative practice. There is no specific legislation at federal, state, or territorial level.

Certified copies have long been used to give a veneer of authenticity to a photocopy of a primary document. In practice, they are very easy to obtain at almost no cost other than the photocopy, and are used in a wide range of situations, especially with identity documents.

In practice, and purely for convenience, a copy may usually be certified by a person who is able to witness a statutory declaration under federal legislation about Statutory Declarations. Categories of people are listed in Schedule 2 of the Statutory Declarations Regulations 1993 (Cth).[2] Schedule 2 states that chiropractors, dentists, legal practitioners, medical practitioners, nurses, optometrists, patent attorneys, pharmacists, physiotherapists, psychologists, trade mark attorneys and Veterinary surgeons may certify copies. Part 2 of the schedule lists various other professions and positions, the members or occupants of which may also certify copies (for example, judges, police officers and members of parliament).

A typical certificate endorsed on the photocopy, often typed or stamped except for the signature:

CERTIFIED TRUE COPY OF THE ORIGINAL

I certify that this is a true copy of the original document.

Signed:
Dated:
Authority to sign:
Telephone number:

Certified copies can be quite basic in Australia due to the lack of legislation. More detail is often required by the person or agency requiring it. Sometimes the person or agency will contact the person certifying the copy to limit the possibility of a fraudulent copy.

In some states and territories, police stations and libraries have arrangements to enable documents to be certified or witnessed by a justice of the peace. This service is free.

Photocopies can be certified free at a police station. Certified copies, for example of the "Omang" state identity card, are widely used, and are often required for job applications, etc.

In India, under section 2(j)(ii) of The Right to Information Act, 2005, the Public Information Officer (PIO) is mandatorily 'required to provide the appellant "Certified copies of documents or records."' In such a case, the PIO is only certifying that copies of documents or records are true copies of those held on a 'X' page of a 'X' file of the Public Authority, irrespective of their original source.

In Sri Lanka, certified copy or true copy of an original document can be attested by an attorney, a notary public or a justice of the peace.

Certified copies of public records, such as birth and marriage certificates, must be obtained from the office that holds the record.[3]

In most U.S. states and territories, notaries public are authorized to certify copies of any documents that are not public records.[4] For example, they may certify copies of passports, identification cards, driver licenses, statements and contracts.[3] In this case, the notary signs a statement directly certifying that the copy is true.[5] In other states, notaries are not authorized to certify copies, or may certify copies of only a few types of documents such as their own notary journals.[4] In case the notary is not authorized to certify a copy, it is possible to perform an alternative procedure, known as "copy certification by document custodian", where the holder of the document signs a statement affirming that the copy is true, and the notary only certifies that the holder signed and affirmed this statement.[4][5]

To certify that the copy is true, some states require that the notary personally make or supervise the photocopying process, while others allow the notary to visually compare a copy presented by the requester to the original document.

Example of copy certification by notary:

State of ________________, County of ________________

I certify that this is a true and correct copy of a record in the possession of _______________________________.
Dated _______________________________

_______________________________           (Notarial stamp, including name,
(Notary Public)                           title, and commission expiration) 

Example of copy certification by document custodian:

I, _______________________________, hereby declare that the attached reproduction of _______________________________ is a true and correct copy of the original document.

_______________________________
(Document custodian)

State of ________________, County of ________________

Signed and sworn to (or affirmed) before me on _______________________________ by _______________________________.

_______________________________           (Notarial stamp, including name,
(Notary Public)                           title, and commission expiration) 

In Vietnam, a certified copy or true copy of an original document can be attested by a Ward/District or higher People's Committee or Notary Office, not only Vietnamese official documents but also foreign documents.

• Exemplified copy