Trusted referees

Who is a trusted referee?

A trusted referee must be over 16 years old and a person from the list of approved certifiers for documents.

Only a trusted referee can certify your identification documents.

The list of trusted referees is available for New Zealand and for Overseas

The trusted referee must not be:

• related to the client as a parent, child, brother, sister, aunt, uncle or cousin;
• a spouse or partner of the client;
• a person living at the same address as the client; or
• a person involved in the transaction or the business requiring the certification.

Certified copies

Certified copies of documents presented to us (photo identification, proof of address, source of wealth/funds) must have been carried out in the three months preceding the presentation of the documents.

The requirements for certifying documents as true and correct are as follows:

• The trusted referee must sight the original documents in your presence.
• A copy will be signed with a statement that the document provided is a true copy and represents the identity of the named individual.
• The copy must be of high quality and in colour in order for us to clearly see the photo ID.
• Certification of each document must clearly include the printed name, signature, date of certification and the trusted referee’s position or capacity to act as a trusted referee (e.g. Justice of the Peace, Chartered Accountant).
• Where relevant, it should also include the official stamp of office (e.g. Notary Public).

New Zealand

Overseas

The verification and certification must be carried out by a person authorised by law in that country to take statutory declarations or the equivalent in the customer’s country.

It must be possible to verify the identity of a trusted referee through official sources.

Certification must also have been carried out in the three months preceding their presentation to us for identification purposes.