Do you or your company need to authenticate and legalize documents for China?

If so, we highly recommend that you wait less than 90 days because it will save you a ton of money, effort, and time. We tell you this knowing we will make us a lot less money from you if you wait but as our grandma always said, “honesty is the best policy” and “good karma will always come back to you in spades.”

If you haven’t heard China officially joined the 1961 Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization, as of March 8, 2023.

The accession will go into effect on November 7, 2023, meaning you and/or your company will not have to go through the painful, long, and expensive three-step governmental process to legalize personal, business, or corporation documents for China anymore.

Currently, for China document legalization services this is the 5-step process of what you have to do for all STATE LEVEL documents: (birth certificates, divorce decrees, marriage certificates, death certificates, passports, visas, driver’s licenses, utility bills, and bank statements copies, power of attorney, contracts, diplomas, degrees, transcripts, single status affidavits, etc.)

1. Get a TEXAS authentication certificate issued on the document from the Texas Secretary of State (same business day service done by us for you).
2. Get a FEDERAL authentication certificate issued on the document from the U.S. Department of State in Washington D.C. Post COVID (March 2020) and depending on what type of document it is this will take them somewhere between 4-12 weeks (done by us for you) to issue a federal authentication certificate.
3.  You need to complete a Chinese application Embassy form. You can download it here:
   https://www.apostilletexas.org/faqs/embassy-legalization/where-can-i-download-the-chinese-embassy-legalization-application-form/ 
4. You need to scan and email us a color photocopy of your passport per the Chinese Embassy requirements.
5. Get a legalization certificate issued on your document from the Chinese Embassy in Washington D.C. (2-3 weeks it takes the China Embassy to issue legalized certificates once we hand-file your documents with them for you).

Currently, for China document legalization services this is the 4-step process of what you have to do for all FEDERAL LEVEL documents (Certificate of Naturalization, FBI criminal background checks, patents, trademarks, etc.):

1. Get a FEDERAL authentication certificate issued on the document from the U.S. Department of State in Washington D.C. Post COVID (March 2020) and depending on what type of document it is this will take them somewhere between 4-12 weeks (done by us for you) to issue a federal authentication certificate.
2.  You need to complete a Chinese application Embassy form. You can download it here:
   https://www.apostilletexas.org/faqs/embassy-legalization/where-can-i-download-the-chinese-embassy-legalization-application-form/ 
3. You need to scan and email us a color photocopy of your passport per the Chinese Embassy requirements.
4. Get a legalization certificate issued on your document from the Chinese Embassy in Washington D.C. (2-3 weeks it takes the China Embassy to issue legalized certificates once we hand-file your documents with them for you).

But after China officially joins The 1961 Hague Convention all you will have to do for STATE LEVEL documents is get them apostilled at the Texas Secretary of State which we can do for you in literally a few hours for you.

No kidding!

For FEDERAL level documents you will only have to submit your documents to the United States Department of State and depending on the document and the State Department’s current TAT it will take them 4-12 weeks to issue the federal apostille certificate once we file them on your behalf.

• No more copies of passports are needed.
• No more Chinese Embassy application forms to fill out.
• No more Chinese Embassy or consulate document filing fees to pay for.
• No more Chinese Embassy red tape and stonewalling.

This is why we say if you can wait (some people and companies can’t wait) until after November 7, 2023, your document dealings with the Chinese government will become infinitely easier, faster, less expensive, and more enjoyable.

To learn more about how Apostille Texas can help navigate through the Chinese document waters check us out here: https://www.apostilletexas.org/china-document-legalization-authentication-services/