Solicitor certificate
Your lender asked for a solicitor’s certificate. Here’s what that means.
A solicitor’s certificate is the document confirming you received independent legal advice before signing a guarantee. Different lenders use different names for it — we issue it online, Australia-wide, usually the same day.
One document, many names
Same certificate, different labels.
If your bank or broker has asked for a “solicitor’s certificate”, they’re asking for the same thing as an independent legal advice certificate. Lenders across Australia use a handful of terms for the identical document:
- Solicitor’s certificate;
- Solicitor’s guarantee certificate;
- Certificate of independent legal advice;
- Independent legal advice (ILA) certificate.
Whatever it’s called, the substance is the same: a qualified solicitor, acting only for you, certifies that you received independent legal advice about the guarantee and understood your obligations before signing. See exactly what the certificate confirms.
More than a signature
A solicitor’s certificate isn’t a rubber stamp. Before it can be signed, the solicitor has to actually review your documents and advise you. Depending on your lender, the appointment may also involve witnessing your signature on the guarantee, the mortgage, and a statutory declaration confirming the advice was given.
Witnessing and signing
- Witnessing the guarantee and indemnity;
- Witnessing a mortgage where your property is offered as security;
- Witnessing a statutory declaration, including online by audio-visual link;
- Providing a wet-signed original by post where a lender requires it.
Why choose us
A specialist, not a stamp.
Banking & finance focus
Advice from a lawyer who spent his career in lending, so guarantees are explained by someone who knows them intimately.
Genuinely independent
We act only for you — never the borrower or the lender — which is what makes the certificate valid.
Electronic or wet-signed
We match your lender’s requirement, whether that’s an e-signed certificate or a posted original.
Same-day, Australia-wide
Video appointments anywhere in the country, with the certificate issued the day we meet.
Common questions
Solicitor certificate questions.
My lender’s form has its own template. Can you use it?
Usually, yes. Many lenders provide their own certificate template. Send it to us when you book and we’ll complete the lender’s form as part of your appointment.
Can you witness my documents online?
Yes. We can witness the guarantee, mortgage and statutory declaration via audio-visual link, or exchange wet-signed documents by Express Post where required.
Do you act for the borrower too?
No — and we can’t. The certificate only carries weight because the solicitor is independent of the borrower and the lender. We act for the guarantor alone.
How quickly can I get it?
Same day in most cases. Book with your documents ready and we can generally meet and issue the certificate the same afternoon.
What does it cost?
A fixed $595 including GST, per guarantor — covering the review, the appointment and the certificate, with no hourly billing.
About the founder
Advice from Kevin Yau.
Your advice is provided by Kevin Yau, founder of this service and principal of LW Williams and Associates. Kevin has worked as a banker and a mortgage broker, and now practises as a lawyer in banking and finance law — regularly advising both individuals and financial institutions on matters requiring independent legal advice.
LW Williams and Associates is a law firm with a 90-year history spanning four generations, so the person explaining your guarantee is backed by a practice that has advised Australian families and businesses for decades.
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Ready when you are
Get your solicitor’s certificate today.
Send your lender’s form and your documents, choose a time, and we’ll handle the rest.