Silicon Valley Legal Bible（33）three-level certification/Legalization by the Consulate What are the steps for three-level certification

We often hear the concept of "three-level certification". Why is it called three-level? Because the documents need to go through three steps: 1) Secretary of State Certification at the state level; 2) U.S. Department of State Certification at the federal level; 3) Consulate or Embassy Legalization, so it is usually called three-level certification.

So, what kind of documents need three-level certification? What is the specific process of three-level certification? What is the relationship between another Apostille and three-level certification? What is the relationship between notarization and three-level certification?

Today we will learn about the concept of "three-level certification".

Silicon Valley Treasure Book 42 Chapters, a legal encyclopedia customized for founders. I am Liu Xiaoxiao, an American lawyer, and I will deeply interpret the legal logic behind entrepreneurship for you in Silicon Valley.

Commercial contracts, power of attorney, birth certificates, marriage certificates, divorce certificates, transcripts, company registration certificates, etc., can only be used in China after going through the three-level certification process.

Because Chinese government officials do not understand the rules and regulations of the United States and have no way to verify whether the documents from the United States are authentic, they can only rely on China's overseas agencies in the United States, that is, the consulate/embassy. Because the consulate/embassy is a permanent institution in the United States, they understand the local rules and regulations of the United States and are not easily fooled.

1. Preliminary procedures - Notarization

The first step is notarization. Many places say that the first step of the three-level certification is notarization, which is not the case. It is said to be "three-level certification", not "notarization, Authentication", so this notarization is not included in the scope of the three-level certification.

Regarding the notarization in the United States, we mentioned in the previous issue that the notarization in the United States does not review the content of the document, but only checks whether the signature is signed by the person himself. Then there is a problem. If there is a personal signature for a commercial contract or a power of attorney, how to sign a birth certificate, marriage certificate, etc.?

So there is a distinction here. If it is a document signed by an individual, it needs to go through the pre-procedure of "Notarization" first, but if it is a document issued by the government, then you can skip the pre-procedure and enter the formal first step.

2. First level: Secretary of State Certification

The first step is Secretary of State Certification. For documents that need to be signed, such as commercial contracts and power of attorney, after notarization by the local notary, it reaches this level of Secretary of State Certification. If it is an official document issued by the state government, it will be directly certified by the Secretary of State at this level.

However, if it is a document issued by the federal government, then the state cannot control it, so it will go directly to the next step of the U.S. Department of State Certification.

3. Second level: U.S. Department of State Certification

To understand this U.S. Department of State Certification, you have to look at the regional map of Chinese embassies and consulates in the United States.

China has one embassy and four consulates in the United States.

The San Francisco Consulate General is responsible for the northwest region, the Los Angeles Consulate General is responsible for the southwest region, and California is the only state with two consulates. California is too long and has many people. Next, the Chicago Consulate General is responsible for the central and northern regions, the New York Consulate General is responsible for the northeast region, and the embassy is responsible for all the remaining states. You will find that the embassy is responsible for a lot of states, because there was a Houston Consulate General before, but it was closed and merged directly with the embassy.

Chinese Embassy in the United States

• Washington, D.C., DC

• Maryland, MD

• Virginia, VA

• West Virginia, WV

• North Carolina, NC

• South Carolina, SC

• Kentucky, KY

• Tennessee, TN

• Delaware, DE

  Chinese Consulate General in New York

• Connecticut, CT

• Maine, ME

• Massachusetts, MA

• New Hampshire, NH

• New Jersey, NJ

• New York, NY

• Ohio, OH

• Pennsylvania, PA

• Vermont, VT

• Rhode Island Island, RI

  Chinese Consulate General in Chicago

• Illinois, IL

• Indiana, IN

• Iowa, IA

• Kansas, KS

• Michigan, MI

• Minnesota, MN

• Missouri, MO

• Wisconsin, WI

• Nebraska, NE

• North Dakota, ND

• South Dakota, SD

  Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco

• Northern California, CA

• Alaska, AK

• Nevada, NV

• Oregon, OR

• Washington, WA

• Idaho, ID

• Montana, MT

• Wyoming ,WY

  Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles

• Southern California ,CA

• Arizona ,AZ

• New Mexico ,NM

• Utah ,UT

• Colorado ,CO

• Hawaii ,HI

• Pacific Islands

  Chinese Consulate General in Houston(Administered by the Chinese Embassy in the United States)

• Alabama ,AL

• Arkansas ,AR

• Florida ,FL

• Georgia, GA

• Louisiana ,LA

• Mississippi ,MS

• Oklahoma ,OK

• Texas ,TX

• Puerto Rico ,PR

Then all the states that belong to the consular district of the embassy, ​​which used to be 9 and now are 18 (AL, AR, DC, DE, FL, GA, KY, LA, MD, MS, NC, OK, PR, SC, TN, TX, VA, WV), must be sent to the U.S. Department of State for certification after completing the Secretary of State Certification. Why? Because the embassy in the last step is too busy and there are too many things to do, so let the State Department review it first.

So is this step of the State Department important to us? Of course it is important. Nine out of ten companies that open companies in the United States are registered in Delaware, right? If your company needs to prove something in China, this step is indispensable.

In addition, if it is a document issued by the federal government, it must also be certified by the U.S. Department of State Certification before it can enter the next step of legalization of the consulate/embassy.

4. Level 3: Legalization by the Consulate/Embassy

This is the last step, Legalization by the Consulate/Embassy. As the name suggests, it is legalization. After completing this step, the Chinese government will recognize it.

This step is to go to the respective regions for legalization according to the zoning map we just showed.

Here, for your convenience, we have drawn a picture so that you can understand it at a glance.

Some people are confused at this time, as if I heard that there is something called Apostille? What you are talking about is another type, Apostille. In the next issue, we will introduce "Apostille" to you.

Silicon Valley Treasure Book 42 Chapters, a legal encyclopedia specially customized for founders. I am American lawyer Liu Xiaoxiao, see you next time.