An official copy is a (often photocopied) copy of the main document that has the support or certificate that it is the original copy of the primary document. It does not state that the primary document is original, only it is the original copy of the primary document.
Official copies are often used in English-speaking common law countries as an easy way to provide copies of documents. Usually cheap to get. Official copies may be required for official government or court purposes and for commercial purposes. This avoids the owners of important documents (especially identity documents) who submit those documents which may mean the risk of losing or damaging them.
It has some similarities to certified copies, which are forms used in some countries, and especially in some states of the United States. A signed copy is signed by a notary (not to be confused with a notary in a civil law country).
An official copy shall be signed by a person nominated by the person or institution requesting it. Usually, the person is referred to as an authorized person. The person authorized to sign the certificate will vary between countries. Sometimes a person is authorized by law to do so (such as a court official, lawyer, or public notary), but this is not always the case. In some countries, such as England and South Africa, identity documents may also be certified by authorized Post Office staff.
Copies of primary documents to be used internationally may have to be in the form of certified copies and not official copies. A certified copy may be more expensive to obtain. Copies of documents to be used internationally may also have to comply with specific rules - The Hague Convention Eliminates Legalization Requirements for Foreign Public Documents.
If the main document should be translated, additional certificates are usually required. For example, a birth certificate in Russian will be used in an English-speaking country. Typically, documents must be professionally translated and certified to the professional accuracy attached to the translation along with copies of the main document. Then, the main document, translation, and certificate of accuracy are photocopied in certified copy. In the case of birth certificates in English for use in Russia, it is possible that a certified copy will be required.
Video Certified copy
In Australia
In Australia, official copies are solely the creation of administrative practice. There are no special laws at the federal, state or territory level.
Official copies have long been used to provide authenticity veneers to a photocopy of a primary document. In practice, they are very easy to obtain virtually no cost other than photocopying, and are used in various situations, especially with identity documents.
In practice, and purely for convenience, copies can usually be certified by people capable of witnessing official statements under federal statutes on Statutory Statements. The categories of persons listed in Schedule 2 of Statutory Declarations Regulations 1993 (Cth). Schedule 2 states that Chiropractors, Dentists, legal practitioners, medical practitioners, nurses, ophthalmologists, Patent lawyers, pharmacists, physiotherapists, psychologists, trademark lawyers and veterinary surgeons may authorize a copy. Section 2 of this List includes various professions and other positions, members or residents who may also authorize copies (for example, Judges, Police Officers and Members of Parliament).
A typical certificate that is supported on a photocopy, often typed or stamped except for a signature -
CERTIFIED COPY TRUE FROM ORIGINAL
I certify that this is a genuine copy of the original document.
Signed: Date: Authority to sign: Phone number:
Official copies can be very basic in Australia due to lack of legislation. Details are more often needed by the person or institution requiring them. Sometimes the person or agent will contact the person authorizing the copy to limit the possibility of fake copies.
In some States and Territories, police and library stations have arrangements to enable documents to be certified or witnessed by a Peace Judge. This service is free.
Maps Certified copy
In Botswana
Photocopies can be certified free of charge at the Police Station. Official copies, such as "Omang" country identity cards, are widely used, and are often required for job applications, etc.
In India
In India, under section 2 (j) (ii) of the Information Rights Act, 2005, the Compulsory Information Officer (PIO) 'is required to provide certified documents or records to the applicant. "In such a case, the PIO simply states that a copy of the document or recording is a genuine copy of the document stored on the 'X' page of the 'X' file of the Public Authority, regardless of the original source.
In Sri Lanka
In Sri Lanka, official copies or original copies of original documents may be proven by lawyers, notaries or peace justice.
In the United States
Except for public notaries in some states, no official in the US is authorized to make official copies of any type of document presented to them. If a person is in a state in which a public notary is not authorized to make an official copy, a person must deal with the entity issuing the original document to obtain an official copy.
Copy certification by U.S. notary.
Some states in the United States permit a notary to authorize a copy; laws or officials governing the notary should be consulted for details. The US State Department in 2005 drew up a table summarizing state laws and regulations. In the table below, the records from the Department of Foreign Affairs table have been omitted for countries that do not authorize a notary to authorize a copy.
Notaries in many states keep a journal of all of their notarial deeds. The table shows that in some state notaries may make official copies of their journals but may not make other official copies.
Notary Copies of Identification in a Non-Certified Country
In cases where a foreign bank, government agency or consulate requires a "certified copy of the photo identification", and the state prohibits a notary from making an official copy, many of these institutions will receive a copy with the form of a written statement from the holder of the identification of the photo himself proving its authenticity, which then notarized. So, all that a notary does is to take and sign a statement and not authorize a copy. The example below is acceptable
STATE OF MINNESOTA COUNTY OF HENNEPIN
I BERYL MATHILDA D'SOUZA, properly duly inaugurated, declare and say: That the valid photo identification photo instrument above is a valid copy, valid and unchanged from the original legal document, my US Passport, where I am the guardian of the instrument , given the name and picture in it; and I present the original of the above pictorial instrument to the undersigned notary as a satisfactory proof of my identity.
X______________________________
BERYL MATHILDA D'SOUZA
Sworn before ______ day from _______________, 20____,
__________________________________ (Notary Public)
Notarial Wording
United States
Not all official copies are prepared by a notary. In the case of a copy certified by a notary, the certificate itself is subject to very varied words. In America.:
- I, A.B., a notary, certified that on DATE, I carefully compiled the attached copy of DOCUMENT with the original document. This is a full and original copy of the original.
- I certify that this is a true and correct copy of the document owned by A.B. (NH)
- On this DD Day, YYYY I certify that the ______ document is a true, correct, complete and unchanged original copy. (Mass)
- On this DD Day, YYYY, I hereby declare (1) that the above document [or attached] is an accurate and unchanging copy of NAME DOC submitted to me by AB, the document keeper, and (2) ) that, to my knowledge, the documents copied are not public recordings or public records. (Utah)
- I, (name & quality of attestor) , states that the above is a genuine and faithful copy of the original (today shown to me), the same thing has been thoroughly checked by me and compared with the original word and find agreeing with word for word and number for image. (US Consulate or Embassy)
Canada
- I certify that this photocopy is a genuine copy of true and original, and has been thoroughly checked by me, as opposed to the original, and found to agree it word for word and number for the image. (NW Territory)
- ... states that the annotated photostatic reproduction is an original copy of the DOC NAME DATE NAME OF CUSTODIAN and that I have carefully compared the photostatic reproduction with the original document mentioned. (Toronto)
- CERTIFIED OF TRUE COPY FROM ORIGINAL [personal date, signature and stamp of public notary; seal must bear the name and expiration date of notary commission] (Saskatchewan)
- ... DO HERE CERTIFY that the writing written here for annexation, every page branded with my seal impression, is a true and correct photostatic copy of the resulting document and shown to me from Custodian prison and claiming to be a DOC NAME , dated DD Month day, YYYY, a photostatic copy that is said to have been compared to me, the page for the page, with the original document mentioned, the action requested, I have granted the same under the Notary and Office seal forms to serve and exploit as events should or may require. IN TESTIMONY WHERE... (notarial copy)
English
- ... CERTIFY that the document here for annexation is a copy of the original document originally meant as a copy, I have collected and compared the copy to the original and found the same to agree with it. IN THE FAITH AND TESTIMONY WHERE......
- This copy is the original resemblance to the original. (Post Office)
- All documents, such as in Canada, need to include authority details:
- Signature - Print name - Position - Contact Information - Date of document has been certified
References
See also
- Exemplary copies
Source of the article : Wikipedia