1. Iran requires consular legalization
Iran is not a party to the Apostille Convention. Chinese documents destined for Iran require notarization, foreign ministry authentication, and Iranian embassy legalization.
Embassy legalization typically takes around fifteen working days.
2. The bundled requirement
Certificates of origin, commercial invoices and, where applicable, health certificates must be legalized together.
This is a chained requirement. Individually legalized documents are not accepted.
For food shipments, the health certificate becomes part of the set, and its procurement sits upstream of the legalization cycle.
3. Value-banded charges
Iranian legalization charges are banded by invoice value, with finer bands than most destinations.
The charge depends on the invoice value, and the bands step up in relatively small increments. For large shipments the legalization cost is a real component of the landed cost calculation.
Health certificate charges follow the same value-banded logic.
Where no invoice exists, a flat charge applies.
4. Consular district allocation
Documents issued in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai and Anhui go to the Iranian consulate general in Shanghai.
Other provinces go to the embassy in Beijing.
Submitting to the wrong district means return and resubmission.
5. Category determines the document set
For standard industrial goods, the invoice and certificate of origin are the set.
For food, the health certificate joins them.
For other regulated categories, additional certificates may be required. Confirm the set with the importer and the embassy before preparing.
6. The operational context
Iran is the destination where documentation is the least of a new exporter’s problems.
International settlement channels are restricted, with many banks declining to process Iran-related payments. Shipping and insurance arrangements face corresponding constraints.
These are not documentation issues and they are outside the scope of the certificate of origin and legalization work. But they determine whether a trade can happen at all.
The documentation work remains worth doing properly. When a route opens, a company with clean documentation can move; a company that has never handled Iran’s requirements cannot.
7. The health certificate question
Whether a health certificate is required depends on the product.
Food products generally require one. Processed foods, agricultural products and beverages typically fall within scope.
Non-food products generally do not.
The boundary is less clear than it appears. Food additives, certain health products and food contact materials may be treated as food-related by Iranian customs even where they are handled as standard goods elsewhere.
Where the classification is ambiguous, ask the importer. A query costs nothing. A missing certificate costs the shipment.
8. Common errors
Invoice without the certificate of origin
Required together.
Food shipments without the health certificate
Part of the required set.
Wrong consular district
Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai and Anhui go to Shanghai.
Underestimating timing
Fifteen working days at the embassy stage, plus notarization and foreign ministry authentication.
Contradictory documents
Where the invoice and certificate of origin are legalized together, contradictions between them are visible in one submission. Align them before filing.
9. Closing view
Iran’s documentation requirements are manageable and the process is clear.
The honest assessment is that documentation is not the binding constraint for most exporters considering the market. Settlement and shipping are.
For companies that have resolved those, the documentation work should be done properly and once.
*This article is based on the consular authentication guidance published by China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, updated October 2026. Exporters should confirm current requirements with the Iranian embassy.*