Authentication is also called certification or legalization. It is a governmental act by which a designated public official (e.g. a consular officer at an Embassy or a consul in a Consulate) certifies the genuineness of the signature and/or seal and the position of the person/official who has executed, issued or authenticated (a copy of) a document. A consular authentication in no way attests to the authenticity of the contents of a document.

 

The Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles only authenticates documents that are executed in America and have been certified by authorities in our consular jurisdiction (namely Southern California, Arizona, Hawaii, New Mexico and American Pacific islands) and will be used in China.

 

Procedure:

1.  Sign the document before a notary public.

2.  Have the document certified by the clerk of the county in which the notary public is commissioned.

                (Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, County of Los Angeles:
12400 Imperial Highway, Norwalk, CA 90660,Tel: 562-4622060)

3.  Have it certified by the Secretary of the State (Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii, Attorney General of Guam and of the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands) of the relevant state in which the document is executed.

               (Office of the secretary of state of California in Los Angeles:

               300 south Spring Street, Room 12513 Los Angeles, CA 90013-1233, Tel: 213-8973062)

4.  Have it authenticated by the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles.

 

Document Requirements

1. Original and one photocopy of the complete document to be authenticated, including certification and notarization pages from the first 3 steps in the above Procedures.

2. One truthfully completed Authentication or Notarization Application Form

3. In cases of commercial documents authentication, one copy of a formal document showing the TYPE OF BUSINESS of the company and the certificate of good standing are also required. In other cases, one copy of the applicant's ID is required.

 

Pickup and Payments

1. Regularly it takes 4 business days to process the application. No appointment is required.

2. Authentication fees are $40 per document regarding business, finance or property and $20 per other civil document.

3. The applicant may request expedited processing. Additional fees of $20.00 per document will be charged for 2- or 3-business-day process. The same-day process is not applicable.
4. Please pay in cash or VISA/MasterCard. Checks are not acceptable.

 

Application by Mail

Please refer to Instructions on Applications by Mail

 

The above information is subject to change without notice.

 

 

link

China Center of Adoption Affairs   http://www.china-ccaa.org