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Category A & B · DIA fee included · From $119

DIA Authentication Service
in New Zealand.

Asked for an apostille and told you cannot have one? That happens when the country your document is going to never joined the Hague Convention. What you need instead is a DIA authentication, and it runs through more hands. We have handled DIA authentication New Zealand wide from Auckland since 2013, so we know where these files stall. We handle the whole chain — DIA, MFAT, and the missions on a Category B file — and you see the price in writing first. This page covers documents going to non-Hague countries. If yours is going to a Hague member country, the apostille route is quicker and cheaper.

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✓ Auckland-based since 2013
✓ We check your category free
✓ DIA fee included in the price
✓ We deal with the missions, not you
✓ 160+ languages in house
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Which Countries Need a DIA Authentication
Instead of an Apostille?

Any country that is not a member of the Hague Convention needs a DIA authentication. For those countries an apostille does not exist, so no office anywhere can issue you one. DIA gives you an authentication instead, and sorts it into Category A or Category B. We look your country up before you pay us anything, because that one answer changes the price, the steps and the wait.

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Where our authentication files usually go

Nepal and Bangladesh come up most often for us, followed by Egypt, Kuwait and Lebanon for people taking jobs there. Afghanistan, Ethiopia and Libya reach us too, and those sit in the heavier category. Nigeria, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar round out what we see.

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The list moves, so never trust an old one

Countries join the Hague Convention and switch to the apostille route. When that happens, every guide written before that date quietly becomes wrong. We still come across pages listing countries under the old category years afterwards. That is why we check the live list on every single order, rather than trusting anything we wrote before.

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You do not have to work it out

Tell us the country and we look it up against DIA's current list before you pay anything. If it turns out your country has joined the Convention, we will say so and point you at the cheaper apostille route — even though it is a smaller job for us.

If your country is a Hague member, stop here. An authentication would cost you more and take longer for no benefit. Our apostille services page covers that route, which is one step instead of three.

The Two Routes

What Is the Difference Between Category A
and Category B Authentication?

How many offices have to touch your document. That is the whole difference between the two document authentication routes. Category A stops after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Category B carries on to two more missions after that, which is why it costs roughly three times as much and takes far longer. We work both routes, so we can tell you honestly what each one will mean for you.

 Category ACategory B
Who sees itDIA, then MFATDIA, MFAT, a New Zealand mission abroad, then your country’s mission
DIA’s own fee$74 per certificate$223 per certificate
Faster serviceAvailableNot available at all
Typical waitShorter, and mostly predictableLongest of any route, and it depends on the mission

The fees shown are DIA’s own charges, not ours. Scroll sideways on a small screen to see both columns.

Why Category B takes so long

Two of the four stages happen outside New Zealand. Your file leaves the country, waits in a queue at one mission, then waits again at another. Nobody in Wellington can hurry those queues, and we will not pretend that we can either.

That is not a reason to avoid Category B. It is a reason to start early. People who reach us six weeks before a deadline usually make it comfortably. People who reach us with ten days left often do not, and no service anywhere can change that. Couples registering an overseas wedding hit this most often, because the date is fixed long before the paperwork is — our marriage certificate translation page explains how that document is usually prepared.

A mistake worth avoiding

Some people lodge a Category A application for a Category B country and hope it slips through. It does not. The file comes back, the fee is gone, and weeks have passed for nothing. The category is set by the destination country, not by what anyone applies for — so if we tell you it is Category B, that is not us upselling you.

Worth Asking

Can You Ask for Category A Instead of
Category B and Save Money?

Sometimes, yes. Some organisations in Category B countries will accept a Category A authentication if you ask them. DIA says so plainly in its own guidance. We raise it with every Category B customer before we quote, even though the shorter route earns us less, because it is the right advice.

One email that can save you $149 and several weeks

Write to the office that asked for your document and ask them this:

“Will you accept a Category A authentication from New Zealand, or does it have to be Category B?”

If they say Category A is fine, DIA’s fee drops from $223 to $74, the two overseas missions come out of the chain, and the faster service becomes available to you. If they insist on Category B, you have lost nothing but the time it took to send an email.

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What the saving actually is

DIA’s fee alone falls by $149. Add the mission fees you no longer pay and the courier legs you no longer need, and the gap is wider still. For a family sending several documents at once, it adds up fast.

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The time saving matters more

Category A stays inside New Zealand from start to finish. Category B leaves the country twice. Cutting those two stages out is usually worth more than the money to someone chasing a job offer, and degrees are the documents most often caught in that rush — see academic transcript translation for how those are handled.

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Get it in writing

Ask for their answer by email rather than over the phone, and keep it. If anyone later questions why the document took the shorter route, that message settles it. Send us a copy too and we will keep it with your file.

The Next Desk

What Does MFAT Do After DIA
Authenticates Your Document?

MFAT checks DIA’s work and adds its own page to the file. It is a second layer of proof for a country that has not agreed to accept the first one on its own. This step is why an authentication cannot be done in a single day, and why we build it into the date we give you rather than hoping it goes quickly.

1

DIA checks the signature

Staff compare the signature or seal on your document against the specimen file they hold. If it matches, they certify it. If it is not in that file, a notary has to sign first — and we check for this before your document goes anywhere, because finding out later costs weeks.

2

MFAT verifies DIA

The file goes across to Foreign Affairs, who confirm the DIA certificate is genuine and attach a covering page of their own. Everything is then ribbon-tied and sealed.

3

Category A ends here

Sealed, finished, and couriered to the address you gave. Nothing else is needed and no embassy has to see it. This is where most of our authentication work stops.

4

Category B keeps going

On to a New Zealand mission overseas, then to your country’s own mission for their stamp. Each has its own queue and sometimes its own fee. We chase both of them, so you are not the one sitting on hold in the middle of the night.

Why a notary sometimes has to go first. DIA only recognises signatures it already holds. A registrar’s signature is on file, so a birth certificate sails through. A letter you wrote, a company resolution, or a translation is not on file, so a Notary Public signs it and DIA follows the chain from there. Our legal translation page covers the wording side of those documents.

Clear Pricing

How Much Does Document Authentication
Cost in New Zealand?

From $119 for Category A, and DIA’s own certificate fee is already inside that number. Category B costs more because two extra missions are involved and each one charges for its part. We show you the whole cost in writing before you commit, so nothing lands on you later.

Category A
From $119
per document · GST inclusive
🏛 DIA and MFAT, already in English
  • ✓DIA certificate fee included
  • ✓We check your category first, free
  • ✓Lodged, tracked and followed up
  • ✓Couriered to any address you give us
Most Chosen
Category A + Translation
From $169
per document · GST inclusive
🌐 The other country wants their own language
  • ✓Everything in Category A
  • ✓Full certified translation, 160+ languages
  • ✓Signed Certificate of Accuracy
  • ✓Notary arranged when the file needs one
Category B
From $249
per document · GST inclusive
✈ Two missions on top of DIA and MFAT
  • ✓We deal with both missions for you
  • ✓Progress updates at every stage
  • ✓Translation added where it is needed
  • ✓We check first whether Category A would do

The prices above are starting prices. Every authentication is different — which country the document is going to, whether a notary has to sign it first, how many documents you have, and where they need to be sent. Upload your document and we send you a written quotation with the exact final price and the date it will be ready. Nothing is charged until you approve it, so there is never a surprise.

Category B also involves your country’s own mission, so the final price there depends on which mission is handling it and what they charge. Companies putting a tender pack together should send the whole bundle at once — our business translation page explains how those sets are priced.

Not sure which category you are in?

Send us the document and the name of the country. We check it against DIA’s current list and tell you the category, the steps and the cost. Free, inside 30 minutes, with no obligation to order.

Overseas courier is charged at cost and shown in your quotation. Prices last reviewed: 18 September 2026. All prices include GST.

Timing

How Long Does a DIA Authentication Take,
and Can You Get It Urgently?

Category A can be rushed. Category B cannot — DIA’s faster service does not cover it at all, no matter who asks or what they pay. That single rule decides how early you need to start, and we would rather tell you now than take your money and disappoint you later.

Category A can be moved up the queue

DIA runs a faster service for Category A files. There is an extra government fee, and we tell you whether your file qualifies before you commit to it. One condition catches people out: the application must not include a translation for DIA to do. Getting the translation done first keeps that door open for you.

Category B has no fast lane

Not a slower fast lane — none at all. Two of the stages sit in other countries and DIA has no say over them. If anyone promises you an urgent Category B result, they are promising something nobody in New Zealand controls.

What actually causes delay

Rarely the offices themselves. Most delays in document authentication come from a missing signature, a photocopy where an original was needed, or a form with an empty box. A returned file loses its place and starts again, which is why we check everything before it goes anywhere.

Working to a deadline?

An urgent service is available on Category A files. Send your document as early as you can and tell us the date you need it by. We will confirm what is realistic for your country and put it in your written quotation. If we cannot make your date, we will say so rather than take the order. If this document is one part of a larger visa or residence file, mention that as well — our immigration document translation page shows how a full set is handled together.

What We Handle

Which New Zealand Documents
Can Be Authenticated?

The same range that qualifies for an apostille. Document authentication in New Zealand is not limited by the type of paper you hold. What changes is the road the document takes afterwards, not what DIA will accept in the first place. These are the ones that come through our door most weeks.

Civil records for family matters

Birth, marriage and death certificates, usually for registering a family event back home or claiming an inheritance. These are the smoothest files because the registrar’s signature is already known to DIA.

Police certificates for overseas jobs

Employers in the Middle East ask for these constantly, and they rarely give much notice. Order the certificate itself early, because it has its own waiting time before an authentication can even start — that is the step we most often see people forget. Our police certificate translation page covers that document on its own.

Degrees and academic records

Sent to overseas employers, ministries and universities. If the person who signed your degree is not in DIA’s specimen file, a notary has to go first. Graduates almost never expect this one, so we look at the signature before we quote you a date.

Powers of attorney and sworn statements

For property, court matters and family business handled from a distance. Written by you or your lawyer, so a Notary Public signs them first. Worth getting right the first time, because a rejected one usually means starting the whole chain again.

Company and trade paperwork

Certificates of incorporation, company extracts and board resolutions for a tender or a new branch. Businesses usually send a bundle, and one combined file costs far less than several separate ones. Every one of these is a private document, so a notary signs before DIA sees it.

Proof of life and single status letters

Small documents that quietly hold up pensions and weddings. Several countries want a fresh one every year, so make a note of how long yours took — next year you will know exactly when to start.

Order Of Steps

Should You Translate Your Document
Before or After the Authentication?

Before. A finished authentication is ribbon-tied and sealed, so nothing can be added to it afterwards. Translate first and the file moves forward. Translate second and you start again, and pay for the whole thing twice. This is the mistake we spend the most time saving people from.

Ask the receiving office one thing first

Ask them whether they want the authentication on the original only, or on the translation as well. Countries differ and there is no way to guess it. Their answer decides how we build the job, and getting it wrong is the most expensive mistake we see on this whole service.

Why a translation is treated like a private document

A translation is written by a translator, not a government office, so DIA holds no signature for it. If the translation itself has to be authenticated, a Notary Public signs it first. We arrange that for you rather than sending you off to find one yourself.

You may not need a translation at all

If your document is already in English and the receiving office reads English, the authentication on its own may be enough. People pay for translations nobody asked for more often than you would think. We check before quoting, and if you can skip it, we will tell you so.

Families moving abroad usually have a stack of civil records to deal with rather than one. Sending them together costs less than sending them one at a time — our birth certificate translation page shows how that document is normally handled.

Categories, fees and processing times are set by the Department of Internal Affairs and can change. Please confirm the current position on the official government page before you rely on a date or a figure. Last checked: 18 September 2026.

Still Wondering

What Else Do People Ask
About Document Authentication in NZ?

My country just joined the Hague Convention. Does my old authentication still work?

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Your DIA authentication normally does still work, because it was valid when it was issued. The change matters for your next document, not the one already done. If an office queries it, a fresh apostille is usually quicker than arguing the point. That route is open to you now, and it costs less than what you paid last time.

Can I authenticate several documents on one application?

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Yes, and it is much cheaper on this route than on any other. Each document still needs its own certificate, but they travel as one file through every stage, so you pay one set of courier and handling costs instead of several. On a Category B job that saving is significant.

Do I have to visit an embassy myself?

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No. That is the part of Category B people dread, and it is the part we take off you. We deal with the missions, chase them when they go quiet, and tell you where your file is. You will not be queuing at a counter or calling a number that rings out in another time zone.

I am living overseas. Can I still get this done?

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Yes. Courier the original to us with tracking and we take it from there, with the finished file sent to your address abroad. Give us that address at the start, because it is written into the application and is awkward to change once the file is moving.

What happens if a mission rejects the file?

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We find out why and fix whatever sits on our side at no charge. Missions sometimes have requirements they do not publish, and nobody can promise an outcome from another government. What we can promise is that a problem with our work never costs you a second fee.

Is my original document safe while it is with you?

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It is tracked from the day it reaches us. We confirm arrival, tell you when it is lodged, and update you as it moves between offices. On a Category B file that reporting matters more than on any other job, because the document is out of your hands for longer.
In The Same File

Which Other Documents
Usually Need Sorting at the Same Time?

An authentication is rarely the only item on the list. These are the pages people open next.

📑
Apostille Services
From $99 · Hague countries
 💍
Marriage Certificate
From $49 · Family records
 🎓
Academic Transcript
From $99 · Degrees & records
 ✈
Immigration Documents
Full document sets

Tell Us the Country.
We Will Tell You the Category and the Cost.

A photo of your document and the name of the country is all we need. A real person here in Auckland checks it against DIA’s current list. We work out whether Category A would be accepted instead of B. Then you get a written quotation with the final price and the date. Free, inside 30 minutes, with no obligation. We have been doing this since 2013, and if something on our side goes wrong we put it right at our cost.

Get My Free Check → WhatsApp Us

Auckland-based since 2013 · Open 7 days · Category A and B · Sent to any address worldwide