If a baby is born in America, his birth certificate is required to be authenticated so that the authorities of other countries can recognize the authenticity of the document. Usually, authentication is needed when apply for permanent residence, travel permit extension, school enrollment and so on.

Many people are confused with notarization and authentication. If you need to use your birth certificate in other country, it should be authenticated, but not notarized.  If you cannot distinguish notarization and authentication, you can check here.

A. Birth Certificate Authentication Procedure

The procedure of birth certificate authentication is different according to the State which issued the document.

Step 1: County Clerk Authentication

Some states require birth certificates to be authenticated by County Clerk prior to state authentication. For example, birth certificates and the Letter of Exemplification issued from the Department of Health of New York City should be authenticated by County Clerk before New York State certification.

Note: Different States have different requirements, some states do not need County Clerk authentication before state certification. If you want to learn more detail, please contact us.

Step 2: The Secretary Of State Certification

The Secretary of State issues both Authentication Certificates and Apostilles. The determination of which certificate is issued is based on the country in which the document will be used. Authentication Certificates are issued for documents which are destined for use in countries that are not parties to the Hague Apostille Convention. Apostille Certificates are issued for documents destined for use in countries that are parties to the Hague Apostille Convention. For example, if your documents will be used in China, you will need authentication certificates.

The authentication processing time varies in different state. Usually, it takes one to three weeks. Some states offer expedited service, some don’t. For more information, please contact us.

• Normally, if your document is issued by the district court or state security department, it can be authenticated directly by the Secretary of State.
• Birth certificate is issued by the government, you can contact each state for more detail.
• Some states require birth certificates and marriage certificates must be issued from the Department of Health or Circuit Court within the past 12 months.

Step 3: The US Department Of State Certification

Authentication staff of the US Department of State will receive documents and perform an initial review during 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. Monday through Friday (except federal holidays). It is also required to pick up one’s completed certificate(s) between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. on the cited date.

To save the trouble, you may use our service on this step. When you create a new order, you need to choose code “DC” on the “Issued by state” column.

Step 4: The Chinese Embassy/Consulate General Authentication

The People’s Republic of China currently maintains one Embassy in Washington D.C., but also maintains 5 consulates-general in the following U.S. cities: New York, NY; Chicago, IL; San Francisco, CA; Los Angeles, CA; Houston, TX. Each Embassy or consulate-general hold consular jurisdiction over specific states.

Your legalization application may be rejected by the Embassy/Consulate General that does not hold consular jurisdiction over the state where your document is executed.

When deciding which embassy/consulate-general to go, you should check the state that issued the document, not where you reside.

B. How To Place An Order

• Online submit your order
• Mail all required documents to our office
• To check our processing fees, check here

C. Required Documents

• The original and photocopy of your child’s birth certificate
• One fully completed and signed notarization and authentication application form
• One photocopy of your child’s passport information page: it is required only if your state is held consular jurisdiction by CA, IL, TX.
• Photocopies of parents’ passport information page. Other copies of valid ID may be acceptable, such as driver’s license, green card, et.al. If your passport has been renewed or noted, photocopies of the related pages are required as well. If the applicants are not U.S. citizen, photocopy of immigrant status or green card might be needed in some consular-general.
• Check or money order if you choose this payment method.

D．Payment Methods

• Cash payment: available for walk in clients, please do not send us cash by mail
• Money order: can be purchased at the post office, CVS, Western Union and other locations
• Check: please make your check payable to: Laroz International Business, Inc.
• PayPal payment: please pay to info@larozinc.com. You need to pay a service fee to PayPal: $1.00 for the amount < = $20, and 5% for the amount of $20 – $60, 3.5%-5% for amount > = $60. Clients who lives in China may find PayPal more convenient than other payment methods.

You are welcomed to consult us with the specific authentication matters relating to birth certificate. You can entrust Laroz for all three step authentication. For our service fees you can check here.

Laroz provides basic certification related information, but does not guarantee the correctness and completeness. We are not responsible for any consequence due to incorrect or incomplete information.