Apostille Certification
China joined the Apostille Convention on 8 March 2023, in force from 7 November 2023. Chinese documents bearing an Apostille are accepted in all 130 Contracting Parties without consular legalization.
Key Points
- Only notarized civil documents and CCPIT commercial certificates qualify
- 31 provincial Foreign Affairs Offices are designated to issue Apostilles
- An Apostille replaces consular legalization in all Contracting Parties
- Processing takes 5 to 10 working days
- The Apostille certifies the signature, not the content, of the document
Legal Basis
Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents.