A.           An authentication, within the purpose of this article, is an activity conducted by the Chinese Consulate General in New York, at the request of a natural person, a legal person, or an organization, to authenticate the last seal and signature on a document issued in the U.S. so that the document may be recognized and used in China.

B.           The Chinese Consulate General in New York only authenticates the signature of the Secretary or Treasurer and the Seal of the following ten states within the Consulate's consular area:

Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont.

Please click here for contact info. of these states. 

To learn about the consular areas of the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C. and four other Chinese Consulates General in the U.S., please see http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zmzlglj/t84229.htm.

C.           The following types of document should be authenticated by the Consulate before they are sent for use in China:

a.     Documents issued in the U.S., such as a Certificate of Incorporation, even if it is held by a Chinese citizen;

b.     Documents pertaining to facts that have occurred in the U.S., such as a Marriage Certificate, even if it is in connection with a Chinese citizen;

c.      Power of Attorney, personal statement or affidavit signed by a citizen of the U.S or a third country.;

d.     Documents which are deemed ineligible for notarization by the Consulate, such as a personal will.

D.           The following types of document cannot be authenticated by the Consulate:

a.      Documents issued in China, such as a birth certificate, marriage certificate, diploma, company letters, etc.  Such documents, if to be used in the U.S., should be notarized at a local notary public in China. In some cases, a notarial certificate issued in China has to be authenticated by the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China or a provincial Foreign Affairs Office and then by a U.S. diplomatic or consular mission in China. Please consult relevant U.S. authorities on the requirement;

b.      A set of authentication documents that includes any document issued in China;

c.       Documents with contents that are in violation of China's laws, interests and ethics;

d.      Documents to be used in a third country;

e.      Documents that are deemed ineligible for authentication by the Consulate.

E.           Authentication procedures:

a.      Send the document to a local notary public for notarization;

b.      Send the notarized document to a County Clerk for authentication (often required in the States of New York State and Ohio and may be required in a couple of other states. Please consult the local notary public);

c.       Send the notarized/authenticated document to the office of the Secretary of State or the Treasurer (of New Jersey) for authentication;

d.      Send the authenticated document to the Consulate for authentication.

F.           An application for authentication must be submitted to the Consulate in person by the applicant or a representative. The application kit should be arranged and submitted in the following order:

a.      Application Form for Authentication or Notarization (G-1) completed and signed by the applicant. If a document involves more than one person, the application form can be completed and signed by only one of them;

b.      A photocopy of the applicant's valid picture ID, e.g. passport, driver's license, etc. If a document involves more than one person, only a copy of the signing person's ID should be submitted

c.      Where applicable, a photocopy of the valid picture ID of the person who submits the application on behalf of the applicant;

d.      A photocopy of the Certificate of Incorporation and the valid picture ID of the manager or legal person, if the document is business related.

e.      The original set of document which has been authenticated by the Secretary of State or the Treasurer;

f.        A photocopy of all pages of the original set of document, including the authentication pages by the County Clerk and the Secretary of State or the Treasurer.  Please take extra care not to remove staples on the original document when making copies.  Otherwise, the document will become invalid and won't be accepted.  For a page with County Clerk's authentication slip stapled to it, please make a copy of the page with the slip on it, and then another copy with the slip turned over;

g.      If one applicant has two or more documents to be authenticated, please repeat "e" and "f" described above. 

h.      Other supporting documents that may be required by the consul based on individual cases.

G.           Submission, Pickup Date and Fees:

a.      Applications for authentication are accepted at Windows No. 3-5.  Agents should use Window No. 6.

b.      An authenticated document is normally ready for pick up on the fourth working day if application is submitted before 13:30 or the fifth working day if the application is submitted after 13:30.

c.       The authentication fee is US$20 each for personal documents or US$40 each for corporate documents. Under special circumstances, an applicant may apply for expedited service with an extra fee of US$20 per document, i.e. to pick up on the second working day if the application is submitted before 13:30 or the third working day if the application is submitted after 13:30.

H.            Payment:

Please make payment when picking up the document. We accept Visa Card and Master Card, money order, company check only. Cash and other forms of payment are not acceptable. Money order (please provide contact number) or company check (please provide company address and phone number) should be made payable to "Chinese Consulate General in New York".