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.
Like what you read?
Continue with 7 Benefits of Opening Up a Company in Hong Kong:
Related
Leave a Reply
Cancel reply
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Recent Posts
- The Surge in Business Between Latin America and China- And Why It Matters
- Get ahead of your competitors by hosting your business’s website within China!
- Successful Authentication of Documents For Our Latest Client
- A common topic among Western Businesses in China is shall I stay or shall I go?
- Business & Personal Relations In China Podcast
More Posts
- July 2023 (1)
- October 2022 (1)
- June 2022 (2)
- May 2022 (1)
- July 2021 (5)
- June 2021 (4)
- May 2021 (2)
- April 2021 (5)
- March 2021 (2)
- May 2020 (1)
- March 2020 (1)
- February 2020 (1)
- September 2019 (1)
- March 2019 (1)
- July 2018 (2)
- June 2018 (1)
- April 2018 (2)
- February 2018 (4)
- January 2018 (2)
- September 2017 (1)
- August 2017 (1)
- July 2017 (4)
- June 2017 (2)
Browse by Categories
- bank (5)
- Blog Entry (16)
- business (5)
- business culture (7)
- case study (8)
- China (21)
- China ICP License (2)
- Chops (1)
- cultural awareness (2)
- e-Chops (2)
- entities (5)
- factory (2)
- fapiao (1)
- FDA Regulations (1)
- guanxi (9)
- Hong Kong (4)
- ICP License (2)
- Intellectual Property (2)
- Legal (6)
- license (6)
- logistics (5)
- money (10)
- News (2)
- oil (1)
- Shenzhen (8)
- tax (2)
- Trademark (4)
- Uncategorized (24)