Apostille for China: What Replaced Consular Legalization and How U.S. Documents Are Prepared Now

The consulate step is gone. The state and federal steps are the whole process.

Before November 7, 2023, mainland China was outside the Hague Convention, so an American public document needed the full legalization chain: certification by the state, authentication by the U.S. Department of State, then legalization by the Chinese embassy or a consulate. Each step had its own fee, form and queue, and a single document routinely took six to eight weeks.

On that date the Convention entered into force for the People’s Republic of China. An apostille issued by a state Secretary of State, or by the Department of State for federal documents, is now the final step. The Chinese embassy and consulates in the United States stopped legalizing documents for use in the mainland the same week. Documents legalized before that date remain valid.

What did not change is everything before the apostille. A diploma still needs a notarized copy or a registrar’s certification. An FBI check is still federal and still goes to Washington. A Delaware certificate of incorporation is still apostilled in Dover, not Boston. And Chinese authorities still want Chinese translations, usually produced in China by a licensed translation company. Our apostille vs legalization guide explains the two systems side by side.

China did not lower its standards for foreign documents. It removed one office from the queue.

How a Massachusetts document reaches a Chinese office now

1. Get the exact list from the receiving side

The Foreign Experts Bureau in one city, a notary office in another and a bank in a third do not want the same things, and local bureaus adopted the apostille at different speeds through 2024. Ask the employer, lawyer or bureau for the list in writing, including whether the translation is to be done in China and whether the apostille must be on the original or on a notarized copy.

2. Prepare the document for its authority

Private documents, diplomas, TEFL certificates, powers of attorney, passport copies, are notarized by a Massachusetts notary and go to the Commonwealth. Public records, birth, marriage, death, court judgments, corporate certificates, are certified by the issuing office and go to the Commonwealth. Federal documents, FBI checks, USCIS records, go to the Department of State. Our state versus federal guide sorts every type.

3. Apostille

Massachusetts documents are apostilled at One Ashburton Place, same day on a walk-in, two to three weeks by mail. Federal documents are authenticated in Washington, about five weeks by mail or seven to ten business days through our agent. Out of state documents go to their own capitals.

4. Translate in the right place

Most Chinese authorities want a Chinese translation produced by a licensed translation company in China, with the company’s stamp. A translation made in the United States is sometimes accepted if notarized and apostilled as well, which adds a second apostille. Ask before paying for a translation here. The translation sequencing guide explains the two apostille case.

Timing the criminal record check

Chinese bureaus want the record check issued within six months of the work permit application, and some within three. Request the FBI check after the employer has confirmed the application date, then send it to Washington the day it arrives. An FBI check ordered early to “get it out of the way” is the most common reason a China file is redone. The health check, by contrast, is done in China after arrival and does not need an apostille.

Names, pinyin and matching documents

Chinese offices read every document against the passport. A diploma issued in a maiden name, a marriage certificate in a married name and a passport in a hyphenated name will be questioned. Where the documents differ, the record that explains the change, usually the marriage certificate or a court order, is apostilled and added. For Chinese nationals with U.S. documents, the pinyin spelling on the American record should match the passport exactly, and a notarized statement of the Chinese characters is sometimes requested by notary offices in China.

5. Deliver

Chinese bureaus want the original apostilled document, not a scan, though many accept a scan to start processing. We ship tracked to addresses in China daily, and we keep a photo of every apostille before it leaves.

What a China document package costs now

With the consulate step gone, the government fees are $6 per Massachusetts apostille, $20 per federal authentication and $30 for a Delaware apostille. Our Massachusetts service starts at $149.95 per document including notarization, the walk-in at One Ashburton Place, courier and tracking. Our federal service starts at $249.95 including the Department of State fee and our Washington agent. Taiwan authentication through TECO is quoted separately, as is international shipping. Every quote is itemized before you pay. Documents issued outside New England are routed through our sister service, Apostille Depot, which covers all fifty states.

See the full pricing page and the cost guide.