Apostille: consular legalization is over

Apostille: consular legalization is over
Chinese consulates stopped legalising American documents on 7 November 2023. A U.S. public document now needs a U.S. apostille and nothing else. Anybody selling you «China legalization» is selling a service that no longer exists.

China acceded to the 1961 Hague Convention on 8 March 2023, and it entered into force between China and the United States on 7 November of that year. From that date the Embassy and all four consulates general ceased consular authentication. The notice is published on every one of their websites.

What replaced the old chain

Before 7 Nov 2023 Now
Notarise the document Notarise the document, if it is private
Certify with the County Clerk, in some states Certify with the County Clerk, in some states
Authenticate with the Secretary of State Apostille from the Secretary of State, or the State Department for federal documents
Legalise at the Chinese consulate Nothing. You are done.

The competent authorities for a United States apostille are listed by the Hague Conference. For a document issued by a state, it is that state's Secretary of State; for a federal document, the Authentications Office of the Department of State.

The part the change did not fix

An apostille certifies the signature and the seal. It does not guarantee that the receiving party in China will accept the document, and the consulates say so expressly.

A U.S. document for use in China: Notarize it; County clerk; Apostille; Send it
A U.S. document for use in China

Format, content, time limits and translation are set by whoever is asking for the document, and those requirements are worth confirming before you start.

Before you pay for anything
  • Ask the party in China what format and translation they need
  • Check whether the document has a time limit, many Chinese authorities will not accept one over six months old
  • Private documents such as a power of attorney still need notarising first to become public documents
  • Federal documents skip the state and go to the State Department
  • The Chinese consulate is not a step any more, in either direction
    •  Chicago still publishes the abolished procedure.  Its «Guidelines for Authentication», with the old notary–Secretary of State–consulate chain and a list of Secretaries of State by district, carries a 2025 date. It describes a service that ended in 2023.

    How long it takes now

    The old chain had three queues in it and could take a month. An apostille from a Secretary of State is usually days, and for federal documents the State Department publishes its own timescale. Removing the consular step removed both the longest wait and the fee that went with it.

    What has not changed is the notarisation at the start. A private document (an affidavit, a power of attorney, a declaration) is not a public document until a notary has signed it, and only public documents can be apostilled.

    All the proceduresFees and documents

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