Chinese Consulate Document Authentication

Last revised on 2011/12/11

What is document authentication

Legal documents executed in US must be authenticated by the Chinese consulate in order to be used in China. What the consulate does is to verify that the last signature (usually from the Secretary of State Office) is true and valid. This process is usually called document authentication, and sometimes also called certification or legalization.

Type of documents can be authenticated include but not limited to:

birth/death certificates, marriage certificates, diplomas
power of attorney
adoption application papers
business license, financial statements, etc
copies of documents, passport, email, invoice, etc (see true copy)

How we may help you getting documents authenticated

Our agency may act as your agent to obtain authentication from the Chinese Consulate in Houston, for documents from southern 8 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Flordia, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas.

We charge a service fee ($31.96) per document authenticated (volume discount available). We will be happy to answer your general questions no matter you use our service or not.

2010/11/10: The consulate is becoming more strict and requires more supporting documents, often based on the content of the document to be authenticated. Please allow more time and plan accordingly.

Due to changes at the consulate, we will not be able to submit your authentication orders the same day as we receive them. Please plan accordingly.

This page is aimed for general Americans and businesses. If you were born in China, you may check out the Chinese version, which has more targeted information specifically taylored to the needs of your group.

How to apply

please follow the "step by step procedures" at lower portion of this page.

Warning: All information provided on this web site, through email communications, or over the phone, are for reference only and do not constitute legal advice. We shall not be held responsible if loss or damage occurs. For document authentications, we strongly suggest that customers seek legal advice from lawyers.

General Procedures

Prepare your document, then sign before a notary public.
- Certain government or court document can be certified directly by the Office of Secretary of State, like Court Decree, Marriage License, Birth Certificate, etc. Please contact Secretary of State Office of your state for details.
- Any notary public is fine. Your bank may offer free notary service.
Certified by the Secretary of State Office (or Department of State) of the state where the document is executed.
- Please refer to the web site of the Secretary of State of your state for information on how to do this step.
- Some states require the notarized document to be sent to the notary public's county clerk for verification before presenting to the Office of Secretary of State. Please contact Secretary of State Office of the state where your document is executed for details.
- Some states only certify government or court documents issued within last 1-2 years (e.g. Oklahoma).
Certified by the Chinese consulate. This is the step we can help you with. Your application must be submitted to the correct Chinese consulate which holds consular jurisdiction over your state.
The Consular District of the Chinese Consulate General in Houston covers: Alabama, Arkansas, Flordia, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas. We only accept authentication applications for documents certified by the Secretaries of State Office of the above 8 states (click for their contact info).

Documents to be included

One Authentication Application Form (G1). The form must be completed and signed by the applicant.
The applicant is the person who submits the application -- he/she may or may not be person who owns/signs the original document to be authenticated, but must be the person who signs on the Authentication Application Form (G1).
2010/11/10: it is highly recommended that the person who owns/signs the original document to be authenticated to serve as the applicant. For company documents, if the applicant's name is not on the original document, it is advised that the company president, VP or manager writes a letter stating the position of the application in the company (or an outside lawyer hired by your company) and that he/she is authorized to submit authentication applications on behalf of your company (e.g. To whom it may concern: xxx is the vice president of yyy company and is authorized to apply for authentication on behalf of the company).
Photocopy of the applicant's passport. For Chinese passport holder, please also provide copy of immigration document (e.g. green card, I-20, H1B).
The "original" (see note) and photocopy of the document to be authenticated. A complete photocopy of all pages of the "original" documents must be enclosed.
Some special requirements:
For authentication of corporate/company documents, please provide a copy of Articles of Incorporation, unless the document to be authenticated is the Articles of Incorporation -- from Oct. 2010, only one copy is needed no matter how many documents you need to authenticate.
For birth certificate authentication of a child, currently the consulate requires that the child be the applicant, but a parent sign parent's name on G1 form, and provide copies of child passport AND both parents' passports.
For Marriage certificate authentication, please provide copies of passports of both husband and wife.

Important notes:

The "original document" means the document coming from the Secretary of State Office, usually binded together, and with the signature of the Secretary of State on the first page. Please do NOT take them apart when making copies -- doing so will invalidate the document.
The consulate "authenticates" the signature of the Secretary of State by attaching a certificate onto the back of the page with the signature of the Secretary of State.
If you want to authenticate multiple copies of the same document, you need to get multiple copies from your Secretary of State.
For business documents, please attach a photocopy of your company's Articles of Incorporation, unless the document to be authenticated is the Articles of Incorporation.
Certificate of single status (marriage status) must be submitted to the consulate for authentication within 3 months of notarization. Certificates related to adoption must be submitted within 6 months of notarization.

Fee and processing time

$20 consulate fee for personal/civil documents, e.g. adoption, power of attorney, marriage, birth/death, kinship certificate, etc.
From March 2010, the power of attorney document that you entrust somebody else to buy/sell house for you in China is considered to be "personal".
$40 consulate fee for business/commercial documents, e.g. business license, labor agreement, etc.
The service fee of our agency is $31.96. Volume discount available.
The regular processing time is 4 working days. For express service, additional fees are required. [See fee table for details] (Note: The consulate no longer provides same day service for property related or business documents since 2006/12/01).

How to apply: Step by step procedures

Download Chinese document authentication application form (G1) and prepare your application based on information in the "Documents to be included" section.
Fill out the online order form of our agency. You order ID, our mailing address, payment information and other instructions are shown on the confirmation page. Print two copies of the confirmation page.
Mail documents to us: consulate document authentication application form (G1), copy of applicant's passport, original and copy of documents to be authenticated, supporting documents, payment, and a copy of order confirmation page.
Tell us the time and method you mailed your documents, including tracking number, so that we can track the movement of your mail.
We submit your document authentication application to the consulate, pick it up, and mail it back to you.
We update your order status by email and online when we: a). receive your documents; b). submit your application to the consulate; c). pickup and mail back your documents. We usually send emails and update status in the evening hours, but if there is anything goes wrong, we may contact you during the day.
You may track order status or submit additional information online at any time.

Link: Contact infomation for Secretaries of State Office of Alabama, Arkansas, Flordia, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas.

Questions and Answers

If you wish to authenticate personal (non-business) documents and you read Chinese, you may check out the Chinese version of this authentication page, which contains more detailed information pertaining to the needs of your group.

Q: Why you only serve clients in Southern 8 states for document authentication, but serve other states as well for visa applications?

A: Document authentication must strictly follow justisdiction of the consulates. Secretary of State of each state only files his/her signature and seal with the Chinese consulate that has jurisdiction over that state. Houston consulate does not have information from other states and thus cannot authenticate the signature of the Secretary of State from a state outside of its jurisdiction.

Q: Why should we use your service?

A: We are experienced. We have been serving our clients on their document authentication needs since 2005.

A: Compared to visa applications, document authentication applications are complicated in that the consulate often asks for supporting documents based on the type of, and sometimes exact wording of the document to be authenticated. We examine every document before submitting to the Chinese consulate.

A: We found that there is a much higher rate of missing supporting documents in authentication applications than in visa applications. Missing documents may be returned by the consulate, causing you money and time. We help you avoid most common mistakes, and, if other supporting documents are needed, we can quickly relay information to you, thus saving you valuable time and money.

Q: Our company would like to open an operation in China, what documents do we need to provide?

A: You will need at least two documents authenticated: articles of incorporation and good standing. You may also need a letter from your bank. Find out exactly what you need first to avoid wasting valuble time and money -- we frequently see companies do these documents one at a time.

Q: I now live in Michigan, and I want a birth certificate from Florida to be authenticated. Which consulate should I use? Can I use your service?

A: Since the document was from Florida, and bears the signature of the Secretary of State of Florida, it needs to be authenticated in Houston consulate. Yes, we can help you.

Q: The office of the Secretary of State stapled the document together. Can I take them apart in order to make copies?

A: No, please do not -- taking them apart will invalidate the document. We saw this happening from time to time.

To avoid the difficulty of copying, you may make copies before you send the documents to the office of the Secretary of State.

Q: I have some business documents (e.g. invoices) that need to be authenticate by the Chinese consulate. How can we do that?

A: It should follow the same general procedure. The first step is to make a certified true copy of original documents. Please follow the "procedures for making a true copy certification".

Q: I have some electronic documents, like invoices, email communications that are needed to be authenticate by the Chinese consulate. How can we do that?

A: Email communication and other electronic records are relatively new. In the spirit of the relevent laws, the notary public should print, or supervise someone to print a copy of the email or electronic record and then certify the "true copy" of the electronic documents or emails.

Q: I printed an electronic certificate from the Secretary of State's web site stating my company is in "good standing", can I use that for authentication at Chinese consulate in Houston?

A: The answer is No. Electronic certification of good standing is pretty common, but for consulate authentication purpose you still need to request a paper copy. For authentication, the consulate verifies the signature and seal of the Secretary of State on a certificate printed on special papers with security features. If the copy is not directly from the Secretary of State's office, the consulate will have the burden to verify every details in the document you provided against the SOS web site, which is an error prone process and defeats the whole purpose of multiple stage certification/authentication.

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Born in China? read

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Notarization & Authentication
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Tips

Documents can only be authenticated at a consulate based on the state that issued the documents, not where you live now.

We only serve AL, AK, FL, GA, LA, MS, OK and TX, but you will be happy to answer your general questions.

We may help with your Chinese visa application no matter which state you live in.

The consulate charges $40 for commercial documents and $20 for personal documents.