In line with international practice and consular practice in China, the purpose of consular authentication (legalization) is to ensure that notarial deeds issued in one country can be acknowledged by relevant authorities in another country, and the deeds can have its due legal effect, which shall not be affected by doubts on the authenticity of the seal or signature on the deeds.
The Chinese Embassy is responsible for legalizing notarial deeds and other documents that have been duly authenticated by the U.S. Department of State; the Chinese Consulate-General is responsible for legalizing notarial deeds and other documents that have been duly authenticated by the Secretary of State of the state over which it holds consular jurisdiction.
All notarial deeds and other documents issued in the U. S. need to be legalized for intended use in China. Documents intended to be used in Hong Kong SAR or Macao SAR do NOT need authentication by the Chinese Embassy/Consulate General. However they need to be duly apostilled by the U.S. Department of State or the Secretary of the State where the document is issued.
Table of Contents
Consular Authentication Procedure
STEP 1: Have your document notarized by a local notary public unless it is an original certified copy/certification issued by a competent Federal/ State/local Office.
STEP 2: The document needs further to be authenticated by the Secretary of the State where it is executed. Some states require that the document be certified by the County Clerk first. For Federally issued certifications, skip this step, go directly to Step 3.
STEP 3: If one of the Chinese Consulate-Generals holds consular jurisdiction over you state, you may submit your document to that Consulate-General for final legalization; if not, please get your document authenticated by the U. S. State Department before the Chinese Embassy can finally legalize it. (Please note that your legalization application may be rejected by the Embassy/Consulate General that does not hold consular jurisdiction over the state where your document is executed.)
NOTE:
1. Please make sure you have followed the all the steps required for authentication before submitting your document to the Chinese Embassy/Consulate-General for final legalization.
2. Your document must be authentic, intact and legitimate. The Embassy/Consulate-Generals will NOT authenticate a document that contains illegal contents under Chinese laws or may cause potential threats to China’s national or public interests.
3. A document containing two or more pages must be bound properly and securely, with sealing wax or paging seal/embossed seal to ensure the integrity of the document. The Embassy / Consulate-Generals will NOT authenticate a document if it is found illegitimate, or in any way forged, counterfeited, fraudulent or altered.
4. Single affidavits/certificates intended to be used for marriage registration in China and certain adoption documents regarding marital status, health status, or criminal records are only valid for six months from the date of issuance. The Embassy / Consulate-Generals will NOT authenticate a document if it becomes invalid.
Documents to be submitted
1. One duly completed and signed Authentication Application Form.
2. The document to be authenticated, submit both the original and a complete set of photocopy.
3. For individual documents, please provide one passport/driver license copy of the applicant; for corporate documents, please provide a cover letter and one passport/ driver license copy of the legal representative of the company.
4. If your application is submitted by an agent, please include one copy of the agents’ passport/driver license.
5. Other supporting documents a consular officer may request.
NOTE:
Authentication applicants can prepare the required documents, and submit by themselves or by agents to the Visa Office in office hours.
As of January 21, 2023, washington_gzrz@csm.mfa.gov.cn will no longer process authentication mailing applications. If the email application before January 20 has got the mailing guidance, the authentication documents can continue to be mailed to the Visa Office to complete the process.
Credit card (Master or Visa card only), money order or cashier’s check are accepted for on-site pick-up.
Address of the Visa Office :
2201 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Suite110, Washington, D.C. 20007 U.S.A.
Office Hours:
9:30-14:30 (Monday to Friday, closed on weekends and holidays)
Email address:
For Visa: washington_visa@csm.mfa.gov.cn
For Authentication: washington_gzrz@csm.mfa.gov.cn
Phone:
001-202-855-1555 (12:30-16:30, Monday to Friday, except for holidays)
To get more detailed information about Embassy and Consulars General service hours and addresses, please check out our article here.