Starting from November 7, public documents within the scope of the Convention issued by the U.S. only need to apply for a U.S. apostille before they can be sent to Chinese mainland for use.

1. On March 8, 2023, China acceded to the 1961 Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents (hereinafter referred to as the Convention). On November 7, 2023, the Convention will enter into force between China and the United States. The Convention will continue to apply to the Hong Kong SAR of China and the Macao SAR of China.

2. Starting from November 7, public documents within the scope of the Convention issued by the U.S. only need to apply for a U.S. apostille before they can be sent to Chinese mainland for use. There is no need to apply for consular authentication by the U.S. and the Chinese Embassy and Consulates-General in the U.S.

3. Starting from November 7, the Chinese Embassy and Consulates-General in the US will cease consular authentication services. For documents issued by the U. S. intended to be sent to Chinese mainland, please apply for apostilles from the U.S. competent authorities (For contact information, please log on to https://www.hcch.net/en/states/authorities/details3/?aid=353 ).

4. According to the provisions of the Convention, an apostille issued by a country is used to prove the authenticity of the signature on the public document, the identity of the signatory of the document at the time of signing, and to confirm the authenticity of the seal on the document when necessary. The completion of the U.S. apostille does not guarantee the acceptance of the public document by the relevant user in China. It is recommended to check in advance with the relevant party in China about specific requirements for format, content, time limit, translation, etc. before going through the relevant procedures.

1. On 8 March 2023, China officially acceded to the Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents (hereinafter referred to as the Convention). The Convention will enter into force between China and the UK on 7 November 2023. The Convention will continue to apply to the Hong Kong Special Administration Region and the Macao Special Administration Region of China.

2. From 7 November 2023 onwards, public documents produced in the UK after obtaining an apostille issued by the competent authorities of the UK, can be used in the Chinese mainland directly without the need to apply for consular legalization. The public documents produced in China to be used in the UK will still handle it in the original way.

As the designated authority, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China will issue apostilles onto the public documents produced in China. Certain foreign affairs offices entrusted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China can also issue apostilles onto the public documents produced within their own administrative jurisdictions (List of Foreign Affairs Offices That Can Issue Apostilles is enclosed).

Apostilles can be verified online at https://consular.mfa.gov.cn/VERIFY/. For the procedures and requirements for applying for an apostille in China, please visit http://cs.mfa.gov.cn/ or the official websites of relevant foreign affairs offices.

3. From 7 November 2023 onwards, consular legalization at the Chinese Embassy and Consulates in the UK will no longer be provided. For public documents produced in the UK to be used in the Chinese mainland, please apply for apostilles from the competent authorities in the UK. For detailed procedures, please visit https://www.gov.uk/get-document-legalised.

4. According to the Convention, apostilles issued by the country of origin is to certify the authenticity of the signature, the capacity in which the person signing the document acts and, where appropriate, the identity of the seal or stamp which it bears. The public documents with an apostille onto them may not necessarily be accepted by relevant Chinese authorities requiring the documents. It is suggested that applicants fully understand the format, content, time limit, translation and other specific requirements regarding foreign public documents from the Chinese authorities where the documents are to be used before applying for an apostille.

For more countries, please check the Chinese Embassy websites accordingly.

(Source: Chinese Embassies' Websites)