Does Form 888 need to be witnessed, signed by a JP or certified?
Published by Form 888 Australia · Last checked 3 October 2026 · publisher and review details
General information, not legal advice. Form 888 Australia is not a law firm or migration practice.
As at October 2026: current edition design date 08/26 (Home Affairs listing updated 27 August 2026).
Form 888 does not need to be witnessed, signed by a JP or certified: since the 07/23 edition (mid-2023) the form has no witness section, and only the supporter signs and dates the current edition (design date 08/26).
For an online application the supporter's ID copy needs no certification either (certified copies are a paper-application rule), and the JP or other prescribed witness belonged to the statutory-declaration editions used before mid-2023.
These rules come from Home Affairs’ current Form 888, its previous editions and its partner and prospective marriage visa document instructions. The distinction is between the supporter signing their own statement, another person witnessing that signature, and someone certifying an attached copy.
Form 888 signing rules, previous and current editions, as at October 2026.
| Previous editions (10/18, 07/19, 10/20): statutory declaration | Current edition (08/26; same rules since 07/23): supporting statement |
|---|---|
| Witness or authorised person: Required in Australia: a person prescribed under the Statutory Declarations Act 1959 and its Regulations, for example a Justice of the Peace; an overseas supporter who was not a citizen or permanent resident used a witness under local practice. | Witness or authorised person: None. Home Affairs’ form has no witness section. |
| Who signs: The supporter, then the prescribed witness. | Who signs: The supporter only, with the date. |
| “Declared at”, “Before me”, “Signature of qualified person”: On the form, with the witness’s printed name, address and occupation. | “Declared at”, “Before me”, “Signature of qualified person”: Not on the form. |
| Certified copies of ID: “All copies must be certified.” | Certified copies of ID: A copy; Home Affairs requires no certification for an online application, but certified copies for a paper application. |
| Citizenship or permanent residency of the supporter: Required, unless an offshore applicant could not find a citizen or permanent resident. | Citizenship or permanent residency of the supporter: Not required; status evidence attached only where applicable. |
| Legal nature: Statutory declaration under the Statutory Declarations Act 1959. | Legal nature: Supporting statement; declaration under section 234(1)(b) of the Migration Act 1958. |
Does the Form 888 need to be certified?
No. The Form 888 does not need to be certified, and for an online application neither does the supporter’s ID copy: Home Affairs’ partner and prospective marriage visa pages say “You do not need to have any documents certified.” The current Form 888 (design date 08/26) asks for a copy, without certification wording.
A clear colour scan or photo of the ID is enough online. Home Affairs’ visa pages require colour scans or photographs that are clear enough to read, and its “Attach documents to your application” page accepts clear photos showing all the document information.
Certified copies are a paper-application rule: Home Affairs’ “Certified copy” page says, “When you apply on paper you must provide certified copies of your documents.” That requirement concerns document copies, not adding a witness to the current Form 888.
By contrast, the 10/20 edition’s information page said “All copies must be certified” and required attachments to be certified by a prescribed person.
What evidence each supporter attaches is a separate question from whether that copy needs certification.
Does a Form 888 need to be witnessed?
No. A Form 888 does not need to be witnessed by anyone: nobody else signs the current form. Home Affairs’ 08/26 edition provides “Your signature” and “Date” for the supporter, with no separate witnessing block.
Home Affairs still calls the person a 'supporting witness', but the current form has no witness section and nobody else signs it.
On Home Affairs’ partner visa pages, a “witness” means the supporter: someone who knows the couple and knows about their relationship. The instruction to provide “statements from 2 witnesses” does not mean finding two people to watch signatures.
The current form’s email line and the Home Affairs form listing also use “supporting witness”. In both places, the wording refers to the person making the relationship statement, not an additional signatory.
The current Form 888 available as a PDF from the Home Affairs form listing has a signature box for the supporter and no box for anyone else.
Does an overseas supporter need a witness?
No. An overseas supporter does not need a witness either: the current form has no witness section for anyone, in Australia or abroad. Home Affairs’ 08/26 Form 888 makes no separate overseas witnessing requirement.
The 10/20 edition said an overseas supporter who was not an Australian citizen or permanent resident could not make an Australian statutory declaration using that form. Their statement was to be “witnessed or certified according to the legal practices of the country in which you make the statement”, or, failing that, witnessed by a person of comparable occupation or qualification; that rule belonged to the previous statutory-declaration editions.
Does Form 888 need to be signed by a JP?
No. Form 888 does not need to be signed by a JP: the current form (design date 08/26) has no witness section, and the supporter alone signs and dates it. Home Affairs’ current signing block contains only the supporter’s signature and date.
For supporters in Australia, Home Affairs’ previous editions (10/18, 07/19 and 10/20) required a Justice of the Peace or another prescribed person as witness. A JP was needed then only because each previous form was a Form 888 statutory declaration; since the 07/23 edition it has been a supporting statement instead.
Who can witness or certify Form 888?
Nobody needs to witness or certify Form 888: the current edition has no place for a witness, and the online ID copy needs no certification. Home Affairs’ 08/26 form and its online visa document instructions set out those rules.
The 10/20 edition named persons “prescribed by the Statutory Declarations Act 1959 and Statutory Declarations Regulations 2018”, including a Justice of the Peace. The Statutory Declarations Regulations 2023 commenced on 1 January 2024 and repealed the 2018 Regulations, so the reference printed on that previous form now points to repealed regulations.
What did 'Declared at', 'Before me' and 'Signature of qualified person' mean?
'Declared at', 'Before me' and 'Signature of qualified person' were the witnessing fields of the previous statutory-declaration editions. Home Affairs’ 10/20 Form 888 used the following signing block:
“Declared at” : The place where the supporter made the declaration.
“On” : The day, month and year the declaration was made.
“Before me,” : The prescribed witness attesting that the supporter declared it in their presence.
“Signature of qualified person” : The prescribed witness’s signature, separate from the supporter’s “Your signature”.
“Details of person before whom the declaration is made in printed letters” : The witness’s name, preferred title, contact address, occupation or qualification, and telephone number.
The 10/20 edition’s declaration also cited section 11 of the Statutory Declarations Act 1959. None of these witnessing fields appears on Home Affairs’ current form; a Form 888 containing them is a previous edition.
If a supporter has already signed a previous Form 888 edition, use the current edition (design date 08/26) and have a migration lawyer check whether that statement should be redone. Home Affairs does not state whether a previously signed statutory-declaration edition is accepted or rejected as a relationship supporting statement.
Why a migration lawyer checks how each statement was signed
An Australian migration lawyer can identify statements signed on a previous statutory-declaration edition and check each document against its own signature and witness requirements before lodgement.
The separate Commonwealth statutory declarations used for partner visas are the two that some onshore applicants without a substantive visa must lodge under Home Affairs’ subclass 820 instructions and Schedule 1 item 1124B of the Migration Regulations 1994—from Australian citizens, permanent residents or eligible New Zealand citizens other than the partner, made within six weeks before lodging, with no Form 888 counting—and the sponsor’s declaration required by Home Affairs’ subclass 801 or 100 page; the Attorney-General’s Department says each can be made before an approved witness in person or by video link, or through myGov with Digital Identity without a witness.
The review can distinguish those declarations from supporters’ Form 888 statements and identify missing signatures, dates or required witnessing. Ask an Australian migration lawyer to check how each statement in your file was signed.
For Form 888 in Australia the rule is the simplest of all: the supporter alone signs and dates it, as shown on Home Affairs’ current form.