You have two options for authenticating documents: independently or with the help of a Visa Agency. Doing the authentication yourself involves finding a notary public, sending your documents to get authenticated, and then getting a legalisation stamp from a Chinese embassy. This is a hugely time-consuming process that many US passport holders choose to skip. The Visa Agency method is easier and quicker – you send your documents to the agency, and they will take care of the authentication process for you. This will ultimately lead to you departing for China sooner.
Here’s how you go it alone:
Step 1 – Have your documents notarised by a Public Notary.
This must be done in the State where the document was issued. Notarisation costs anything between $5 and $20 per document, and you may even get a discount for multiple documents. This is the first step to full authentication and the one step EVERY State requires.
Step 1.5 – Authenticating documents by State
Residents of the following US states must add another step here, and that’s to have the document authenticated by the County Clerk / Circuit Clerk / Probate Judge / Superior Court Clerk:
- Alabama
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Kentucky
- Maryland
- New York
- Tennessee
Step 2 – Authenticating documents by the Secretary of State
Have your documents authenticated by the Secretary of State (in the same State as the Notary Public). The cost of this can vary. In Michigan, it can cost $, and in Texas, it can cost $15. Contact the office of the Secretary of State in your State for details on the updated process and fee.
For most US states, this is all you have to do BUT, for some states, documents like the Criminal Record Checks (issued by the FBI), will need to:
Step 3 – Authenticate documents by the US Department of State
Documents issued in some states will also have to be authenticated by the US Department of State in Washington DC.
The states in question are:
- Alabama,
- Arkansas,
- Delaware,
- Florida,
- Georgia,
- Idaho,
- Kentucky,
- Louisiana,
- Maryland,
- Mississippi,
- Montana,
- Nebraska,
- North Carolina,
- North Dakota,
- Oklahoma,
- South Carolina,
- South Dakota,
- Tennessee,
- Texas,
- Utah,
- Virginia,
- Washington DC,
- West Virginia,
- Wyoming and
- Puerto Rico.
To submit a Request for Authentication Service, you need to fill in and download a DS-4194 from of the official website of the Office of Authentications details how to pay and mail your documents. Please note that walk-ins or face-to-face appointments are still not offered at this time.
The mailing address is:
US Department of State
Office of Authentications
CA/PPT/S/TO/AUT
44132 Mercure Cir.
PO Box 1206
Sterling, VA 20166-1206
What is the difference between an apostille and an authentication?
Once you start googling ‘authenticating documents’ you will come across the term ‘apostille’ and wonder what that is. An apostille is an authentication stamp used for international purposes and is accepted by all signatories of the 1961 Hauge Convention. Since China is not a signatory to the convention, it does not recognise apostille stamps. Therefore, documents must be ‘authenticated’ – not apostilled – for China visa applications.