There are varieties of documents that need certification, such as birth certificates, death certificates, marriage certificates, divorce certificates, affidavit, power of attorney, company registration documents, court order, bank statements, financial proof, degree certificates, transcripts, and so on. Different type of documents may have different certification procedure. You are welcomed to consult us for questions about certification related issues.
THREE STEPS OF THE CERTIFICATION PROCEDURE
STEP ONE: NOTARIZATION
First of all, your document need to be notarized by the local Notary Public or a certified copy need to be issued by the authorities.
- For documents that are issued by the government, such as birth certificates, death certificates, marriage certificates, and divorce certificates, notary is NOT required for the next step.
- For documents that are drafted by individuals, such as affidavit, power of attorney, notary must be done before the next step.
STEP TWO: COUNTY CLERK CERTIFICATION
Depending on the State that issue the document and the type of the document, different procedure applies. Most of the States do not require this step, so a majority of the documents can be certificated in the Secretary of State directly. Several States require county clerk certification before State certification. Take Maryland for example, Maryland birth certificate can be certificated in the Secretary of Maryland directly. However, power of attorney that is notarized in Maryland needs county clerk certification before go to the Secretary of Maryland.
STEP THREE: SECRETARY OF STATE CERTIFICATION
In this step, the Secretary of State will certify the seal and signature of the county clerk or the notary public is real. There are two types of certification, authentication certificates and apostilles. To determine which certificate to issue, you should specify which country your document will be used in. For example, if you intend to use your document in China, you will need authentication certificate. If you get a apostille from State, Chinese embassy will not authenticate it for you.
STEP FOUR: DEPARTMENT OF STATE AUTHENTICATION
Department of State certification office only accept application materials from 8:00 am to 9:00 am. You can entrust Laroz with this step. When you make an order online, please select code “DC” in the document issued by the State column for the Department of State certification step.
STEP FIVE: CHINESE EMBASSY OR CONSULATE AUTHENTICATION
The applicants should submit their application to the Chinese embassy or consulate.
How To Place An Order
- Submit your order online
- Mail or email your document and related materials to our office
- For our service fee, you can check here.
Check List For Chinese Embassy/Consulate Authentication
- Filled Notarization/Authentication Application Form
- Original authentication document from the Department of State
- Copy of the photo page of your passport
- Proof of legal residence in US, such as J1, H1B, green card, for non-US citizen
Laroz can help you with the authentication process in all 50 states and Washington, DC area.
Laroz provide you with basic information about authentication, but does not guarantee the correctness and completeness of the information, and is not responsible for any loss due to incorrect or missing information.