Apostille for China — 三级认证 Is Now One Step
$195 per document, government fee and return shipping included. For US documents used in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and other countries.
Handled by attorney JJ Zhang, Tez Law P.C. Clients anywhere in California can mail their documents; we can send a mobile notary near our West Covina office. Forms in English and 中文.
Kicker walks you through it
Four steps from your first answer to an apostilled document.
Tell us about your documents
A short form: what they are and where they will be used. Add a photo so we can check them first.
Sign and pay online
One flat fee, paid through LawPay. Need a power of attorney (委托书)? We draft it in English and Chinese.
Notarize and send
Sign before any California notary and mail us the original — or we send a mobile notary.
We file and mail it back
We get the apostille and send your documents back by tracked mail.
Since November 7, 2023, mainland China accepts an apostille for US documents. The old three-step consular legalization (三级认证) — state certification, the U.S. Department of State, then the Chinese consulate — is no longer used, and the Chinese consulates in the US no longer authenticate documents. Hong Kong and Macau also accept an apostille. Taiwan is not part of the Apostille Convention; documents for Taiwan are authenticated by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO).
Flat fees
| Apostille for a California document — notarized document (power of attorney, statement), certified birth, marriage or death record, court record, diploma | $195 |
| Apostille for a federal document — for example an FBI background check | $195 |
| Authentication for use in Taiwan (TECO) | $195 |
| Each additional document in the same order | $125 |
| Same-day filing at the Secretary of State’s Los Angeles office (first document) | $450 |
| Power of attorney or statement (委托书 / 声明书) drafted by the attorney in English and Chinese | $395 |
Our fee includes the government fee (California Secretary of State, U.S. Department of State or TECO) and tracked return shipping. A mobile notary, if you want one, charges $15 per signature (the California limit) plus a travel fee, paid to the notary; we tell you the amount before booking. Payment goes into our client trust account through LawPay and is earned when the documents are filed.
How long it takes
- By mail to the Secretary of State: usually 1–3 weeks, plus mailing time.
- Same-day filing in Los Angeles: filed within one business day after we receive the original.
- Federal documents (U.S. Department of State): usually 2–4 weeks by mail.
- Taiwan (TECO): usually 1–3 weeks.
- These are the offices’ own processing times and can change.
What you need
- The original signed and notarized document, or a certified copy from the county recorder or the California Department of Public Health — not a hospital or informational copy. An apostille cannot be placed on a photocopy.
- For a power of attorney or statement: sign before a California notary with a valid photo ID.
- Ask the office in China what it requires — format, translation and how recent the document must be. We help you with the questions to ask.
Not covered: translation (we can refer you to a translator); the mobile notary’s fee; obtaining certified records from a county, the state, the FBI or a school; consular legalization for countries outside the Apostille Convention other than Taiwan (quoted separately); and advice about the transaction, property, inheritance or case in China or Taiwan. Other work you ask for is billed at $650 per hour, and we tell you before we start.
TEZ Law Firm (Tez Law P.C.), 4141 S Nogales St, Suite C102, West Covina, CA 91792 · 626-888-6856. Serving clients throughout California by mail. Whether a document is accepted is decided by the office that receives it; no particular result can be promised. Submitting the form does not by itself create an attorney-client relationship; the engagement begins when the flat-fee agreement is signed and payment is received. Attorney advertising.