China has not joined the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents. Public documents from China will be recognized abroad if they undergo consular legalization - the procedure authenticating the signature and the seal of foreign documents.
Competent authority is the respective embassy of the country in which the document shall be used.
The necessary pre-requisite for the consular legalization of a document originating from China is its issuance by a public notariat of the People's Republic of China explicitly for use abroad. The notary should then issue a notarial document on the basis of the original containing a notarially certified copy of the original as well as a confirmation of its authenticity. The notary certified documents must then be certified by the Office for Foreign Affairs responsible for the notary's official residence. Finally, the document is eligible for the legalization by the German Consulate General.
The following documents can be legalized:
- Extracts from the commercial register
- Certificates of civil status (certificates of birth, death, marriage and divorce)
- Education documents (school reports, certificates, diplomas)
- Court decisions
- Notary certified copies of documents
- Notary certified translations
- Further notarial documents (authorizations, last will, declarations)
Apostille for Hong Kong and Macao
Hong Kong and Macao have acceded to the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents. In 1997, China confirmed the validity of the Convention for Hong Kong, in 1999 - for Macao. Therefore, no diplomatic authentication or consular legalization of documents from Hong Kong and Macao is needed for successful legal communication with other member states of the Convention. The documents only need to be attested by an apostille certificate with an "apostille" stamp on it by the issuing state's authorities in order to be valid in the state of destination.
The apostille is a stamp of rectangular shape. It should be filled in in the official language of the issuing authority. The heading "Apostille (Convention de la Haye du 5 octobre 1961)" written in French is a necessary requirement for the apostille's validity.
On average, processing the documents takes up to 14 days.
Courier services are charged and invoiced separately according to the courier service’s rates.
You can pay for our services by PayPal, bank transfer or credit card.
Price for consular legalization of documents from China: by request
