Incorp China

10 steps to authenticate your U.S. documents to be used in China

This might be something you have not given a whole lot of thought in the past. However, Chinese authentication of US documents is required with almost every application process you will encounter on the road of opening your own China business entity. Registration of an entity in China requires documentation preparation in the US and China. We will help you with documentation preparation in both the US and China saving you time and money. Having your American documents authenticated by the Chinese Consulate means they have passed the official screening to be used in China.

Failing to prepare your foreign documents may result in the delay or refusal of your applications. Here’s a guide on how you can complete this initial process in ten steps:

1. Identify documents

At first, you will need to select the documents that need legalization and clarify who is the legal representative/applicant for the company.

2. Notarization

There are some instances in which the US documents need to be notarized. In this case, we have a specialized legal services providers network to help you in completing this step easily.

3. Fill out document authentication form

Your legal representative/applicant (as defined in step one) now has to fill out and sign the Chinese application for document authentication. Because forms may vary, depending on in which state you want to apply for US document authentication, visit the respective state’s Chinese consulate website to find the correct form.

For the New York China consulate, e.g. you can find the document here: http://newyork.china-consulate.org/chn/fwzc/cgbg/P020171201186551196801.pdf

(Leave section 1 and 7 blank. Have legal representative/applicant sign twice in section 8 (top and bottom). We fill out section 7 and sign as the agent in section 8.)

4. Compile supporting documents

The next step is to obtain a copy of the following supporting documents:

• The legal representative’s/applicant’s passport
• Company’s certificate of existence and good standing
• Articles of incorporation

5. Submit the documents

Submit the documents that need to be legalized by the State Department or Secretary of State to be certified. Some states require to authenticate the documents through the county’s clerk office before submitting them to the State Department or Secretary of State, so be sure to check.

6. Keep a record

Once the documents are certified by the State Department (and possibly the county clerk’s office) make a photocopy of them for your own records as well as the next step.

7. Submit the docs to the Consulate

Go to the Chinese consulate or embassy and submit the originals as well as the photocopies of the certified documents along with the application for the authentication and supporting documents.

8. Get a receipt

The consulate will issue a receipt with the total owed and the pick-up date for your documents.

9. Collect your authenticated documents

Return on the pick-up date with the receipt, pay the amount owed and process to then collect your authenticated documents.

10. Verify that all the documents have been authenticated

Once you’ve completed all the steps above, verify that all your documents have been authenticated. In case we have completed this process for you, we would then ship the authenticated documents back to you, our client, or wherever you want them shipped.

If you have any questions or would like to get a free consultation from us, simply email info@incorpchina.com or call +1 (561) 729 6508.

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