Providing Certified Documents

As part of our identity verification process which Private Box is required to complete as part of our compliance with New Zealand's Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009. Staff may ask customers to provide certified documents.

This is usually required if:

• It is not possible to meet the customer, by video call or in person
• Photo ID is not from the list of accepted photo IDs
• Further identity verification is required

Certified documents are a copy of your original documents witnessed by a trusted referee.

The process

1. Private Box staff will request that you provide certified documents
2. Collate documents
3. A trusted referee to certify the documents. A translation will also be required if the documents are not in English (See Procedure below)
4. Provide certified documents to Private Box - The original signed copies will need to be sent.
5. Private Box contacts the trusted referee
6. Certified documents accepted or declined

Who is a trusted referee?

Below will describe who a trusted referee is in New Zealand and overseas. There are exclusions to who cannot be a trusted referee. 

In New Zealand

In New Zealand a trusted referee must be at least 16 years of age and one of the following:

1. Commonwealth representative (as defined in the Oaths and Declarations Act 1957)
2. Member of the police
3. Justice of the peace
4. Registered medical doctor
5. Kaumātua (as verified through a reputable source)
6. Registered teacher
7. Minister of religion
8. Lawyer (as defined in the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006)
9. Notary public
10. New Zealand Honorary consul
11. Member of Parliament
12. Chartered accountant (within the meaning of section 19 of the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants Act 1996)
13. A person who has the legal authority to take statutory declarations or the equivalent in New Zealand

Referees overseas

When certification occurs overseas, copies of international identification provided by a customer resident overseas must be certified by a person authorised by law in that country to take statutory declarations or equivalent in the customer’s country. There is a list of international notaries that we recognise.

We will need to contact your notary to confirm this happened - so please use someone who is contactable and speaks English.  It will also be a great help if you can please provide the contact details of your notary. 

Exclusions

In addition, the trusted referee must not be:

1. related to the customer; for example, a trusted referee cannot be their parent, child, brother, sister, aunt, uncle or cousin
2. the spouse or partner of the customer
3. a person who lives at the same address as the customer
4. a person involved in the transaction or business requiring the certification.

Procedure

And finally what the procedure the trusted referee must perform in order to have the documents accepted.

1. The trusted referee must sight the original documentary identification, and make a statement to the effect that the documents provided are a true copy and represent the identity of the named individual (eg. they need to link the documents to the presenter).
2. Certification must include the name, signature, and the date of certification. The trusted referee must specify their capacity to act as a trusted referee (eg. doctor, public notary etc).
3. Certification must have been carried out in the three months preceding the presentation of the copied documents.
4. If the document is not in English then a certified translation of the document will also be required.

Submitting documents to Private box 

You can submit your documents digitally to get the process underway.  However we also need to receive the original physical signed copies.  See: How to submit documents for how to submit digital copies.

Please post the original signed copies to:

Private Box Verification Team

PO Box 83090

Johnsonville

Wellington  6440

NEW ZEALAND