What the consulate still notarizes

What the consulate still notarizes
Notarisation and authentication are not the same thing. Authentication ended in 2023; notarisation did not, and it is still done at the counter.

This is the distinction the abolition notice left behind, and it confuses people who read that the consulate «stopped doing documents». It stopped certifying the seals of American authorities. It still acts as a Chinese notary for documents that will be used in China.

What that covers

A Chinese consular notarial certificate is what you need when a declaration you make in the United States has to have legal effect in China: a power of attorney for a property sale, a declaration of marital status, a statement of kinship, a signature on a contract.

The consulate is acting for the Chinese legal system, not certifying an American document.

Practical points
  • Notarial applications go to the office for your consular district, like everything else
  • Each office publishes a separate email address for notarial work. It is not the visa address
  • You will normally have to appear in person to sign, because the consulate is witnessing the signature
  • Bring valid identity documents: a Chinese passport for a Chinese national, a passport or driver’s licence otherwise
  • Fees are not published in English by any of the five offices, ask when you write
    •  An American document going to China is not notarised here.  That goes to a U.S. notary and then to the Secretary of State for an apostille. The consulate's notarial work is for statements made to the Chinese system, which is a different direction entirely.

    The two directions, side by side

    Almost every question about consular documents resolves once you work out which way the paper is travelling. A document made in the United States that has to be believed in China follows one route; a statement made to the Chinese system by somebody standing in the United States follows another.

    Which way is the paper going?
    Which way is the paper going?

    They share no steps at all.

    The document is Route Consulate involved?
    A U.S. birth or marriage certificate for use in China Secretary of State apostille No, not since November 2023
    A U.S. private document, such as an affidavit U.S. notary, then apostille No
    Your own declaration, to have effect in China Chinese consular notarial certificate Yes
    A Chinese document for use in the U.S. Chinese apostille, issued in China No

    The fourth row is the mirror image and it changed on the same date: documents issued in China for use in the United States now carry a Chinese apostille rather than an American consular legalisation.

    All the proceduresAppointments and walk-ins

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