Chinese Document Authentication
Announcements
For foreign issued documents to be used in China legally, they had to be authenticated by Chinese Embassy or Consulates in the past. China has become a full member of the Hague Convention effective November 7, 2023, and foreign issued documents will NO longer need to be authenticated by the Chinese Consular Service. They will simply be apostilled by the state that has jurisdiction over the origination of the documents. USCCC continues to provide authentication services for other countries and apostille services with the states. For additional information, please contact our office
Siva Yam, CPA, CFA (312) 368-9030 or sivayam@usccc.org
Check out our Frequently Asked Questions about Chinese Document Authentication.
After successfully completing document authentication and getting a China work permit and visa during the pandemic, one of our customers wrote the following tip:
"After you know which documents you need, determine which states you will get them from. Look up which consulates hold jurisdiction for that state and work backwards. Reading the requirements of the consulate, the U.S. State Department (if applicable), the secretary of state, the county clerk (if applicable), and the institution you are requesting documents from. Take notes. Once you understand the requirements of each step, start the process." [Read full article]
Introduction
We can process documents for authentication by the Chinese Embassy and all Consulates in the United States so that may be used in China.
Document authentication is a process with a lot of steps. We want to help you avoid wasting time and money, after reading all the instructions below, please feel free to contact us early in the process if you have any more questions.
IMPORTANT
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Do not unstaple, write on, or otherwise tamper with the documents that have been notarized or sealed. This will void the seal and you will need to begin the process from the beginning.
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The notary seal on the document must be complete. Partial notarial seals will be rejected by the Chinese Consulate.
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Do not sign documents on top of printed areas.
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Documents must have proper wording. Please contact USCCC for samples of common documents like passport authentications, letters of authorization, and others
Embassy and Consulate Jurisdictions
Each Consulate has its own jurisdiction and can only process documents with Seals and Signatures of certain states. The tables below contain the list of states under the jurisdiction of each Consulate.
Since the closing of the Consulate in Houston, states under its jurisdiction now fall under the jurisdiction of the Embassy in Washington D.C. [Read more...]
Consulate in
Chicago
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Colorado
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Illinois
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Indiana
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Iowa
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Kansas
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Michigan
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Minnesota
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Missouri
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Wisconsin
Consulate in
San Francisco
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Alaska
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Northern California
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Nevada
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Oregon
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Washington
Embassy in Washinton D.C.
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Washington D.C.
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Delaware
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Idaho
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Kentucky
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Maryland
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Montana
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Nebraska
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North Carolina
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North Dakota
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South Carolina
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South Dakota
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Tennessee
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Utah
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Virginia
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West Virginia
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Wyoming
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Alabama *
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Arkansas *
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Florida *
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Georgia *
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Louisiana *
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Mississippi *
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Oklahoma *
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Texas *
** These states were previously under the jurisdiction of the Consulate in Houston.**
Consulate in
New York
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Connecticut
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Maine
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Massachusetts
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New Hampshire
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New Jersey
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New York
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Ohio
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Pennsylvania
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Rhode Island
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Vermont
Consulate in
Los Angeles
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Arizona
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Southern California
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Hawaii
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New Mexico
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Pacific Islands
Consular Forms
Starting November 15, 2017, the Chinese Embassy and Chinese Consulates will begin using a new Authentication Application Form. Previous version of the form will no longer be accepted. The new forms MUST be typed in capital letters and filled out completely. It must be signed by hand. Digital signatures are not accepted.
[Download Consular Application Form]
Please review our FAQs section for information on completing the document authentication application forms and for a list of common mistakes made when completing the forms.
Preparation of Documents
Prior to notarization by the consulate, your document must be:
1. Signed before a public notary
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Original documents issued from the State, County, City, or Court do to need to be notarized by the public notary and can be sent directly to the Secretary of State for authentication. Examples of these documents are marriage licenses, birth certificates, divorce decree, good standing, etc.)
2. A few states require the County Clerk to certify documents before sending them to the Secretary of State. Check with your Secretary of State for more requirements and details.
3. Certified by the Secretary of State in which the document is executed
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All documents submitted for authentication must be authenticated with the Seals and Signatures of the Secretaries of State.
4. If your document will be authenticated by the Chinese Embassy in Washington D.C., it will also need to be authenticated by the State Department.
Please note that the Consulate or Embassy has the right to request additional documents. This could delay the process, so please account for any delays when applying for authentication. If you have any questions regarding the authentication process, please contact our offices at early in the process.
Now USCCC provides document authentication services by the State Department; Secretaries of State of Illinois and other select jurisdictions.
Please note that documents with more than two pages must be properly bound as a volume to prevent tampering. Sealing wax, paging seal, or a steel seal should be applied to ensure the integrity of the documents. DO NOT take apart original documents as that voids the seal on them.
Submit the following documents to us:
1. One Authentication Application Form (Download Here)
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The owner of the document must fill out the application form. For business documents, the company's legal representative must complete the form.
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As on November 15, 2017, the Chinese Consulates and Embassy are using a new application form. The application form MUST BE TYPED in CAPITAL LETTERS and completed in its entirety. The document must be signed by hand.
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For New York Applications, please download the application form here.
2. Original Document(s) that needs to be authenticated by the Chinese Consulate and is already notarized by a public notary and the secretary of state.
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The owner of the document must fill out the application form. For business documents, the company's legal representative must complete the form.
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As on November 15, 2017, the Chinese Consulates and Embassy are using a new application form. The application form MUST BE TYPED in CAPITAL LETTERS and completed in its entirety. The document must be signed by hand.
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For New York Applications, please download the application form here.
3. A photocopy of the document(s) to be authenticated by the Chinese Consulate.
4. A photocopy of the applicant's passport or driver's license
5. For business/commercial documents, please include the following:
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A photocopy of the company's business license or certificate of good standing.
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An original authorization letter that authorizes the applicant to submit the documents for authentication.
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For Chicago only: Documents or copy of documents that show the signer of the authorization letter is an officer of the company like of Board of Directors resolution, etc.
Document Authentication Fees*
U.S. Department of State Authentication
(Necessary if and only if your documents are being authenticated at the Chinese Embassy in Washington D.C.)
* Each cost is per document.
Chinese Consular Authentication
*Each cost is per document. Processing fees vary by jurisdiction. Please contact our office for more information.
USCCC accepts cash, credit card or check. If you would like to pay by check, please make the check payable to US-China Chamber of Commerce. We accept MasterCard, Visa, American Express and Discover credit cards. Please note that a 4.9% credit card fee applies to the total cost.
* Any additional work required to complete a visa in a timely manner may be subjected to an additional charge. For example, additional trips to the Consulate or personal passport delivery. Processing documents during the pandemic will incur extra fees.
Shipping
Please call our office at (312) 368-9911 to make sure that your materials meet the requirements before sending us your application materials. You can also email us a copy of your documents at info@usccc.org, so we can check your application materials.
Once you have assembled all of the documents, you can send all material to:
ATTN: Document Authentication
U.S.-China Chamber of Commerce
19 South La Salle Street, Suite 601
Chicago, Illinois 60603 U.S.A.
USCCC can ship the completed original document and receipt using the applicant's FedEx or UPS shipping account. If the applicant does not have a shipping account, we will charge a shipping fee to cover the cost of shipping. The estimated shipping cost is $32.50.