Individuals and companies may have to go through the process of document attestation for China. This is required if there may be a need to use official US government documents in China if you are there for personal or business reasons.
There are multiple steps involved in obtaining document attestation for China. Each of these steps must be completed before the next step, which can be a long and drawn-out process if you are not familiar with the requirements.
Most companies and individuals choose to use a service specializing in document attestation. It is important to note that China is a Non-Hague Convention country, which means they do not accept apostilles, which is the more common form of document verification process between governments.
The Basics
The basic steps in the process of document attestation for China begin with local notarization of the documents. In some cases, county authentication may also be required, but in all cases, a certification from the Secretary of State and the US Department of State is required.
These are often the steps that require the most time. Your state’s Secretary of State completes the certification, which is then sent to the US Department of State for their authentication. Depending on the number of requests for document attestation and the time of year, this can take a few days or much longer.
Finally, the Chinese Embassy in the United States must also authenticate the documents before the individual or company can use them as official documents in China.
The process of document attestation for China is complicated, and it can be confusing and time consuming. US Authentication Services can make it streamlined and simple. For more information, reach us at usauthentication.com.
