APOSTILLE CERTIFICATES
These are government-to-government documents (Manual Sect 3.5) and are not part of a JP’s role. There have been two incidences recently where Justices of the Peace, independently of each other have, certified copies of documents submitted for ‘apostille certificates’. Justices of the Peace have no authority to administer these documents.
An apostille certificate is a state-to-state authentication of a Government-issued document such as a birth or death certificate. The Department of Internal Affairs and Notary Publics ARE able to administer these documents. Therefore it continues to be very important for the JP to ask who is going to be the recipient of a copy, just as we do to clarify if AML wording is required.
Please refer these clients to the Department of Internal Affairs or a Notary Public. A list of Notary Publics can be found on the AJPA website by clicking this LINK.