Apostille · China
Apostilles for U.S. documents going to mainland China
Since November 7, 2023, U.S. public documents within the Convention's scope need only a U.S. apostille to be used in mainland China, and the Chinese Embassy and Consulates-General in the U.S. no longer legalize them. We prepare the apostille for New Jersey documents and route federal ones to the U.S. Department of State; the Chinese office that receives it still decides on format, translation and how recent it must be.
The Chinese Embassy's notice (dated October 24, 2023) says that from November 7, 2023 such documents "only need to apply for a U.S. apostille before they can be sent to Chinese mainland for use," and that the Embassy and Consulates-General stop providing consular authentication for them. It says the Convention "continues to apply to the Hong Kong SAR of China and the Macao SAR of China."
It also warns that an apostille does not guarantee acceptance, and advises checking the format, content, time limit and translation with the Chinese party first. Do that before you order anything.
The route from New Jersey
- Public record (birth, marriage, court record): a certified copy, then the New Jersey apostille.
- Private document (power of attorney, affidavit, declaration): signed before a New Jersey notary, then the New Jersey apostille on the notary's signature.
- Federal document (FBI check): the U.S. Department of State issues it.
Every apostille job gets a stage tracker on your request status page: received, documents checked, submitted, returned and shipped, with an email at each step. · Check another country
We handle the paperwork steps only. We are not lawyers or immigration consultants, we never prepare USCIS forms, and nothing here is legal, immigration or tax advice. The receiving office decides what it accepts, so no acceptance or turnaround is guaranteed.
Sources
Questions
Who decides what China accepts?
The office in China that receives the document. Ask it what certificate, translation and age of document it wants before you order anything.
Can you translate the document too?
We arrange certified translation through a partner from $29 per page. Ask the receiving office whether the translation goes before or after the certificate.
Do you prepare immigration forms?
No. We never prepare USCIS or other immigration forms and don't give immigration advice. We handle the certification steps for documents you already have.