Justices of the Peace (JPs) are volunteers appointed by the Governor of New South Wales. The primary roles of a JP are to witness a person making a statutory declaration or affidavit, and to certify copies of original documents. JPs come from all sections of the community and are available across NSW.
A statutory declaration is a written statement which a person declares to be true in the presence of an authorised witness. Various organisations such as banks, insurance companies and superannuation providers often require information provided to them via a statutory declaration.
An affidavit is a written statement for use as evidence in court proceedings. A person making an affidavit must promise he or she is telling the truth in the presence of an authorised witness.
A certified copy of an original document may be required by various organisations. This avoids the need of a person to submit original documentation such as a birth certificate or academic qualifications.
Our Service runs as many days as our office is open, we will assist you in certifying documents, we can also witness you making a statutory declaration or an affidavit, please be aware this is on a voluntary basis and we keep appointments to a maximum of five minutes.
Please ensure that you have all documentation before your appointment ready for sighting and that you have your proof of identity available before our Justice of the peace can assist you.
If you are certifying documents, please ensure you bring along your originals and to the page you need verified. Also bring in your own photocopies of the pages needing certified.
