Consular certification refers to the confirmation given by a country's diplomatic and consular agencies and their authorized agencies for the authenticity of the last signature (signature seal) or seal of the notary public office, relevant institutions or the certification institution on the notarization document or other certification document. Consular certification, playing a special role, can be compared to "visas" issued to documents involving foreign affairs or foreign nationals. Depending on different needs, consular certification can be divided into Certification by the Department of Consular Affairs of Ministry of Foreign Affairs (single certification) and Certification by Embassy (double certification). The following instruction for certification is given by the Department of Consular Affairs of the Ministry of Consular Affairs: There are two types of documents for consular certification: civil and commercial, and both require certification by notary public office or specific agencies. Applications for certification of civil documents submitted by individuals will not be accepted by the Department of Consular Affairs. You may entrust QUSON to apply for consular certification on your behalf.

Certification by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is also referred to as single certification. Upon obtaining consular certification from the Department of Consular Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or its authorized local offices, if the country in which notarial certificates or commercial documents issued in China are to be used requires no other certification, then consular authentication by that country’s embassy or consulate in China can be omitted before the documents are sent abroad for use. Such certification processes are known as "single authentication" in China.

Also known as double certification, Embassy Certification refers to the process in which certification by foreign embassies (designation country) takes place upon completion of certification by the Department of Consular Affairs of Ministry of Foreign Affairs or local departments of foreign affairs. As the process involves two certifications, it is also commonly referred to as double certification.

Embassy Certification (double certification) focuses on civil/business items.

Civil items for certification covers marriage, immigration, overseas studies, employment in foreign countries, etc.

Business items for certification covers certificates of origin, proforma invoice, bill of lading, insurance policy, etc.

How long will consular certification take? How much do I have to pay?

Length: For single certification, regular application processes normally will take about 10 days, and upon urgent requests, the process could be shortened to around 7 days. For double certification, regular application processes normally will take about 1 month, and upon urgent requests, the process could be shortened to around 3 weeks.

Price: For single certification (all countries), regular application will cost 350 yuan, and an urgent request will cost 450 yuan. Concerning double certification, as embassies differ from each other in fees depending on document type, feel free to contact us for details.