Certified Passport Photos

[molly_n_schugger]

Hello -

I have a question for Americans who have been able to obtain certified passport photos, as needed for VETASSES and state sponsorship applications. I just spent an hour with a very confused notary who told me, after many consultations with reference materials and phone calls to colleagues, that he was not able to certify a photograph. He thought it might take a trip to the Australian consulate to generate certified passport photographs. I'm having a hard time believing this is the only way to certify a photo, but haven't been able to come discover a simpler way of doing it.

Thanks for your help!
Molly

[Misho]

I am in Florida and got same confused look from a Notary but went UPS store where a notary certified them. I just explained what it meant to certify passport photos..I taped passport photos to a piece of paper with my signature and he certified them. i used them for VETASSES and it worked fine. Just check a few if one doesn't want to do them.

[molly_n_schugger]

Originally Posted by Misho

I am in Florida and got same confused look from a Notary but went UPS store where a notary certified them. I just explained what it meant to certify passport photos..I taped passport photos to a piece of paper with my signature and he certified them. i used them for VETASSES and it worked fine. Just check a few if one doesn't want to do them.

Hi Misho -

Thanks for the response. Just FYI for anyone else who might search this topic later, here is the response I received from VETASSES.

----
Dear Molly:

To certify photographs, you need to visit such authorised persons as a Lawyer, Notary Public, Police Officer etc.

The authorised person will write or stamp on the back of the photograph the following:

Certified as a true likeness of _______. Signature of certifying officer, date, printed name/official stamp, position title.

Alternatively, they may choose to affix the photographs to a sheet of paper and partially stamp one of the photographs, writing the following:

Photograph of _______________ affixed below and duly attested as being a true likeness of ____________ by signature of certifying officer. Date, printed name/official stamp, position title.

This is a common format, which may slightly vary from place to place.

The identity of the person certifying your documents should be clear and include:

Original signature of the certifying officer
Full name and title of the certifying officer
Stamp/registration number - if applicable
Contact details including the certifier's address and telephone number

[kaz101]

Thanks for sharing that Molly.

[karlom]

Hi Molly (& all others),

thanks for that detailled posting, although it does leave me somewhat confused.

We have a migration agent, and we are currenly getting ready to send our documents to her for onward processing. Only yesterday I gor our documents certified by a solicitor and did not get our photos certified as our agent said that we did not need to have them done?

My qualifications are being assessed by the National accountancy body, maybe they are different to Vetassess?

thanks

Karl

[molly_n_schugger]

Hi Kari -

I'd imagine the requirements are different for VETASSES and the National Accountancy Body. "Certified passport-sized photos" were specifically called out on the VETASSES list of necessary documents, and if your agent advised you that certified photos were not needed, it would seem that you're in the clear.

Good luck with your application!
Molly