Certified True Copy of Company Documents: Who Can Certify

A certified true copy is a photocopy that a qualified person has compared with the original, then signed.

For a company document, that person is often the wrong place to start: the registry may sell the certified copy itself.

The short answer

Three things to hold on to:

• The phrase covers two different documents.
• The certifier must have seen the original.
• The bank or registry receiving the copy has the last word.

Two documents share one name

The phrase names two objects, and most guides describe only one.

Registry-certified copy

Ordered from the registry that holds the filing.

• No original to present
• Priced on the registry's fee schedule
• For a certificate of incorporation or a filed document

Professionally certified copy

A professional compares the copy with the original.

• The certifier must see the original
• The certifier sets the price
• For a passport, a resolution or an internal register

In both cases, the institution receiving the copy decides what it accepts.

Use the registry route when:

• the document was issued or filed at the registry
• you no longer hold the original
• the recipient asks for an official copy

Use a professional when:

• the registry does not hold the document
• the document is personal, such as a director's passport
• the recipient names the profession it wants

When the registry sells the certified copy

For the formation document, the registry is usually the cleaner source.

Two notes on that table:

• Singapore. The Business Profile is what most counterparties accept there. Say so early if a foreign bank insists on a certificate.
• United States. For a US company document, the certified copy comes from the state.

The procedure itself, country by country, is covered in ordering a certified copy from the registry.

Who can certify: three regulators compared

Here are the texts, side by side.

No regulator publishes a closed list of certifiers. Each one gives examples, and the institution that receives the copy decides whose signature it accepts.

Hong Kong: the list in the Companies Registry guideline

The guideline sets one condition first: "for certification to be effective, the certifier will need to have seen the original documentation". It then gives a non-exhaustive list of appropriate persons:

1. an intermediary specified in section 18(3) of Schedule 2 to Hong Kong's anti-money laundering ordinance
2. a member of the judiciary in an equivalent jurisdiction
3. an officer of an embassy, consulate or high commission of the country that issued the document
4. a Justice of the Peace
5. another professional, such as a certified public accountant, a lawyer, a notary public or a professional company secretary

The banks' version, a Hong Kong Association of Banks FAQ updated on December 30, 2024, repeats the list with "chartered secretary" in the last line. It defines that as a current full member of the Chartered Governance Institute or its designated divisions.

Three rules from the same texts matter to a founder:

• Self-certification. "In general, it is not sufficient for the copy documents to be self-certified by the customer."
• The exception. A professional inside the client company, bound by a professional body's conduct rules, may certify in that professional capacity.
• Scope. The bank FAQ says that, in general, only the identification document "should be subject to certification".

That FAQ counts a certificate of incorporation and a certificate of incumbency issued by a registered agent as identification documents. It adds that banks are not expected to require certification for every other document.

Singapore: the list in the MAS guidelines

The reference for banks is the Guidelines to MAS Notice 626, dated March 28, 2024 and revised on July 1, 2025. Paragraph 6-6-6 applies when a customer cannot produce the original. The bank may then accept either:

• a copy "certified to be a true copy by a suitably qualified person (e.g. a notary public, a lawyer or certified public or professional accountant)"
• a copy on which a bank employee, independent of the customer relationship, confirms having seen the original

Two more points from the same guidelines:

• A key document in a foreign language should be translated into English by a qualified translator, or by an independent bank employee fluent in that language.
• The MAS lists "lack of sign-off by relevant certifying parties such as an auditor or notary public" among the signs of a forged document.

On the company secretary, provider guides say a Singapore secretary can certify company documents, without citing a provision. Many recipients do accept the secretary for internal documents. Ask before relying on it.

United Kingdom: the GOV.UK rule and its limit

GOV.UK says a document is certified as a true copy "by getting it signed and dated by a professional person, like a solicitor". The certifier can be a professional person or someone "of good standing" in the community. Its examples:

• bank or building society official
• councillor
• minister of religion
• dentist
• chartered accountant
• solicitor or notary
• teacher or lecturer

The certifier must not be:

• related to you
• living at the same address
• in a relationship with you

Now the limit. That page deals with personal documents, such as passports, driving licences, bank statements and bills, and says nothing specific about company documents. It also tells readers to check with the organisation, which "may have specific rules for who can certify a document".

For a UK company's own filings, the Companies House certified copy at 22 GBP avoids the question.

	Hong Kong	Singapore	United Kingdom
Notary public	Named	Named	Solicitor or notary
Lawyer	Named	Named	Solicitor
Accountant	Certified public accountant	Certified public or professional	Chartered accountant
Company secretary	Professional company secretary	Provider guides only, no provision cited	Not among the examples
Bank employee	Not among the professions named	If independent and has seen the original	Bank or building society official

None of the three lists is closed. Each gives examples, and the recipient decides.

The wording to put on the copy

Two of the texts spell out what the certifier writes. They agree on almost everything.

A complete copy carries:

1. The statement, written on the copy itself.
2. The certifier's signature.
3. The date.
4. The name in capitals under the signature.
5. The profession or capacity.
6. An address and a telephone number.

What gets a certified copy refused

Check each line before you send anything.

On the last line, none of the texts sets a validity period. The recipient decides how fresh the copy must be.

In Hong Kong, the provider that accepts a copy stays responsible for its own checks, and must be careful with copies certified in a higher risk country or by an unregulated entity.

Certifying from abroad, and when an apostille follows

Two entries on the Hong Kong list are abroad by nature:

• a member of the judiciary in an equivalent jurisdiction
• an embassy or consulate officer of the country that issued the document

Whether a notary or lawyer in your own country is enough is the recipient's call. Work in this order:

1. Ask the recipient, in writing, which certifiers it accepts.
2. Order the registry's certified copy where one exists.
3. Take the remaining originals to an accepted professional.
4. Ask whether the copy must then be legalized.

Step 4 is where certification stops being enough. A copy cannot be apostilled directly. It must first be certified by a notary, and the notary's certification is what gets apostilled.

So if the copy will cross a border, choose a notary from the start. The rest of that chain is in when a certified copy also needs an apostille.

The summary