US Business Document Authentication

If a company registered in the United States wants to start a company in China, it will require the company to provide the foreign parent company’s certificate of existence and bank credit certificate, and go through the certification procedures.
Company’s business file type:

Generally speaking, the types of company documents that need to be certified mainly include the Certificate of Incorporation or Articles of Incorporation, the Good Standing or Certificate of Account Status, and the Bank Letter.

The company’s registration document (Certificate of Incorporation or Articles of Incorporation) is similar to China’s business license. It is generally drafted by the company’s legal person and submitted to the state government for filing.
The Good Standing or Certificate of Account Status is generally issued by the state government to prove that the company is currently in the United States. Many states are handled by the Corporate Division of the Secretary of State’s Secretary of State.
Bank letter requires the provision of basic information about the company’s bank account, such as account number, account opening date, deposit status, etc., signed by the bank’s supervisor in the presence of a notary to prove the company’s assets and credit status.

A. US Business Document Authentication Procedure

The procedure of US Business Document Authentication is different according to the State which issued the document.

Step 1: County Clerk Authentication

Some states require US Business Document to be authenticated by County Clerk prior to state authentication.

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.

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

  • Original and photocopy of relevant company documents.

    If you want to apply for an Articles of Incorporation, you need to provide the original business license; if you need to apply for a bank letter, you need to provide the original Bank Letter.

  • One fully completed and signed Notarization/Authentication Application Form
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    A copy of the applicant’s passport.

     

  • A copy of the company’s documents proving the identity of the company.

    For example, there is a business license with the name of the legal person, or a company registration document such as Article of Corporation.

     

  • If the agent applies for the application, he/she shall submit a valid identity document of the agent.

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.