China Embassy Legalization

China-Document-Attestation-CertificationDo you need your documents legalized from the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C.?

Legalizing your documents for the country of China is a multi-step process which involves the Secretary of State, the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., and the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C.

In order to begin the process of authentication, you will need to know what documents are being requested by the government of China.  Documents written only in Chinese must be translated to English and notarized.  We recommend personal documents to be written in both English and Chinese.  For example, if a power of attorney has been prepared for you to sign, it should be written in both Chinese and English.

Documents issued by the County or State do not require notarization as these documents are already signed by an official from the State.  These documents include: Birth Certificates, Death Certificates, Marriage Certificates, Divorce Decree (Court Documents/Superior Court), Articles of Incorporation, Statement of Information, etc…

Below, we have provided a simple illustration detailing the steps involved.

Step 1: U.S. State Certification – Because China is not a member of the Hague Apostille Convention, your documents will receive a certification from the State and not an Apostille.  Each State’s certificate differs from the other.  In the United States, we have 50 different certificates.   For example, if you have a birth certificate from California and another from Florida, they will not look the same.  As one of the leading document authentication services companies in America, we can process documents issued from all 50 U.S. States and the U.S. Federal Government.

The processing time and fee can vary for each State.  For example, we can certify documents in California, Washington, D.C., New York, Maryland, and Nevada in 1-2 business days.  For all other states, Please Contact Us for a price quote and estimated time for completion.

Step 2: U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. – The very next step is to certify your documents through the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C.  You can see an example of a certificate issued by the Department of State by clicking this link: U.S. Department of State Certificate Example

The processing time with the U.S. Department of State is currently 3-4 business days. Please Contact Us for a price quote and estimated time for completion.

Step 3: Chinese Embassy Legalization – The Embassy of China is located in Washington, D.C.  In order for the Embassy to legalize your documents, they must first be certified by the State and the U.S. Department of State.

The processing time with the Chinese Embassy is one week.  Please Contact Us for a price quote and estimated time for completion.

Here is an example of the seal the Chinese Embassy will place onto the back of the U.S. Department of State certificate.

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.

United States Apostille

 

Kuwait Document Attestation

We provide fast document authentication, certification, attestation, and Kuwait Embassy legalization services.

Because Kuwait is not a member of the Hague Apostille Convention, your documents must go through a three-step-process before your documents can be presented the Kuwait Embassy in Washington, D.C.

The very first step depends on the type of documents you need authenticated. If your documents requires notarization (Example: Power of Attorney, Affidavit, etc..), you will need to meet with an experienced 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.  Please, be sure the notary is experienced.

Please note: If your documents are written in Arabic, please find a certified translator in your State to translate the documents to English. We recommend that your documents be written in English and in Arabic. You must also ask the translator to have his/her signature notarized on the document. You can find a certified translator by visiting the American Translator’s Association website.

Documents issued by the State or County Clerk do not need notarization as these documents are already signed by a State or County Clerk official. These documents include: Birth Certificates, Death Certificates, Marriage Certificates, Divorce Decree (Court Documents), Articles of Incorporation, Statement of Information, etc…

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

Step 1: U.S. State Certification – Because Kuwait is not a member of the Hague Apostille Convention, your documents will receive a certification from the State and not an Apostille. Each State’s certificate differs from the other. In the United States, we have 50 different State certificates and two different certificates from the District of Columbia. We can process documents issued from all 50 U.S. States including the U.S. Federal Government.

The processing time and fee can vary for each State. For example, we can certify documents in California, Washington, D.C., New York, Maryland, and Nevada in 1-2 business days. Certifying your documents through the State of Nevada has a higher cost than California. For all other states, Please Contact Us for a price quote and estimated time for completion.

Step 2: U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. – The very next step is to certify your documents through the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. You can see an example of a certificate issued by the Department of State by clicking this link: U.S. Department of State Certificate Example

The processing time with the U.S. Department of State is currently 3-4 business days. Please Contact Us for a price quote and estimated time for completion.

Step 3: Kuwait Embassy Legalization – The Embassy of Kuwait is located in Washington, D.C. In order for the Embassy to legalize your documents, they must first be certified by the State and the U.S. Department of State.

The processing time with the Kuwait Embassy is one to two weeks. Please Contact Us for a price quote and estimated time for completion. Document issued from: Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Alaska, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Hawaii, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana will be completed through the Kuwait Consulate in Los Angeles.

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.

Authentication Document Requirements

The US Department of State – Office of Authentication provides document authentication for countries who are members of the Hague Apostille Convention and for countries who are NOT members.

If your documents have been issued or notarized by a US State, you’ll need to have those documents authenticated by the Secretary of State of the State that issued or notarized the documents before it’s eligible for authentication by the US Department of State in Washington DC.

For example, if you need your California Birth Certificate authenticated by the US Department of State for use in Brazil, you’ll need to first have the Birth Certificate authenticated by the California Secretary of State (State who issued the document). In this example, the birth certificate will receive a California Certification because Brazil is not a member of the Hague Apostille Convention. Once the document has received the certification from the State of California, you can then mail your document to our office in Washington, DC so we can authenticate it by the US Department of State. The US Department of State is only located in Washington, DC. If needed, we can also legalize your document at the consul or embassy office.  We hand delivery documents directly to the US Department of State’s office.  Once completed, your documents will be picked up 1-3 days.

Here is a list of document which will require authentication by the Secretary of State:

General Documents (Most require notarization):
Affidavits
Agreements
Articles of Incorporation
ByLaws
Commercial Invoices
Copy of US Passport (page with your picture and signature)
Deeds of Assignment
Diplomas
Home Studio
Income Verification
Power of Attorney
Single Status
School Transcripts
Other Business Documents

State & Local:

Birth Certificates
Death Certificates
Marriage Certificates
Divorce Decree
Probate Wills
Judgments

Federal Issued Documents:

Federal issued documents do not require State authentications because these documents have been issued by a U.S. Federal Agency.  If you have the original, you can forward the documents to our office for processing.

U.S. Department of Agriculture

  • Animal/Plant Certifications
  • Animal Health certifications

U.S. Department of Justice

  • FBI – Back ground check
  • U.S. Federal Court Documents
  • U.S. Bankruptcy Court

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

  • Immigration Certifications

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

  • Certificate of Foreign Governments
  • Certificate of Pharmaceutical/Export

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

  • Trademark

Environmental Protection Agency

Social Security Administration

Office of Personnel Management

 

Washington DC Document Legalization Process

Document Legalization is the process of authenticating documents for use in a country that is NOT a member of the Hague Apostille Convention.   This is a more complex process than the simple Apostille issued by any of the 50 States.

Apostilles are issued for countries who are members of the Hague Apostille Convention whereas a Certification is issued for countries who are NOT members.  If the destination country is NOT a member, then a certification will be applied at the Secretary of State level, the U.S. Department of State level followed by legalization by the Embassy or Consul.

The chart to your right helps clarify the steps involved.  Please keep in mind that not all documents require notarization and not every country will ask you to complete all the steps.  The destination country will provide you a checklist on what you need to do.

Once your documents have been certified at the Secretary of State’s Office of your state, the next step is to have your documents certified at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C.  Our affiliate office is located in this district allowing us to process your documents quickly (1-3 business days).

The U.S. Department of State will authenticate the signature of the Secretary of State and a certificate will be attached.  Once complete, your documents are now ready to be legalized at the Embassy or Consulate office.

Every industry has their own special lingo.  Some of the following words are used interchangeably by others so we’ll help clarify the real meaning.

1. Apostille – A document issued by the Secretary of State which is destined to a country who is a member of the Hague Apostille Convention.

2. Certification – A document issued by the Secretary of State which is destined to a country who is NOT a member of the Hague Apostille convention.

3. Authentication – This is what the Secretary of State and the US Department of State does.  They authenticate the signature of the person who signed the document.

4. Legalization – Refers to what the Consul or Embassy does.

5. Attestation – Refers to being sworn in that everything is true and correct written on the document.  Basically taking an oath.