Do you need your documents certified and legalized for China?

Certifying and legalizing documents for China is a three step process. Your documents must first be certified by the State, the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., and the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C. If your documents requires notarization, please have them notarized before you mail them in to our office for processing.

For example, let’s say you need your New York birth certificate certified and legalized for China.  This three step process would require your birth certificate to be certified by the New York Department of State, the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., and the Chinese Embassy. This process is necessary in order for the country of China to accept your documents. If your documents requires notarization (Example: Power of Attorney, Affidavit), then your documents requires notarization, State certification, U.S. Department of State certification, and Embassy or Consulate Legalization.

Translation of your documents should always be performed after you receive the completed documents from our office. The Chinese Embassy or Consulate does not require your documents to be written in Chinese. We recommend that you have your documents translated after you receive them from our office.

For the country of China, we can process your documents through the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C.

The very first step depends on the type of documents you need authenticated. If your documents require notarization, you will need to meet with an experienced local notary near you to notarize your signature on the documents. It’s important to inform the notary that the documents will be authenticated by the State and to follow the notarial laws in their State to avoid any delays or additional costs. We recommend that you choose a notary who is a member of the National Notary Association. Notaries who are members of the National Notary Association (NNA) can download the notary forms from the NNA website.

Please note: If your documents are written in Chinese, please find a certified translator to translate them to English.  Some States and the U.S. Department of State will require that you have a translation of your documents to English. You can find a certified translator by visiting the American Translator’s Association website. Remember, if the translator is in another State, you can sign and notarize the document in your State.

Common documents we certify and legalize for China are: Birth Certificates, Death Certificates, Marriage Certificates, Divorce Decree (Court Documents), Articles of Incorporation, Statement of Information, Certificate to Foreign Government, Certificate of Good Standing, Contracts, etc…

You can read more on the type of documents we authenticate for China by clicking this link: China Document Legalization

As mentioned earlier in this article, legalizing documents for China is a three-step-process. We’ve put together a small illustration below to help you understand the process.

Note: The processing time with the Chinese Embassy is 1-2 business days with expedited service. Please Contact Us for a price quote and estimated time for completion.

International Apostille Services, Inc. is the leader in document authentication services. We process documents from all 50 U.S. States including documents issued by the U.S. Federal Government.