One-line answer: China has no private “notary public” in the American or British sense. Notarization is carried out by state-run notarial offices (gongzheng chu), which are authorised under China’s Notarization Law to certify that a legal act, fact or document is authentic and lawful.
What notarization means under Chinese law
Article 2 of the Notarization Law defines notarization as the activity by which a notarial office, on the application of a natural person, legal person or other organisation, proves the authenticity and legality of civil legal acts, facts of legal significance and documents in accordance with statutory procedure. Article 11 sets out the matters a notarial office handles: contracts; inheritance; powers of attorney, declarations, gifts and wills; property division; marriage status and kinship; adoption; birth, death and identity; a no-criminal-record certificate; company articles of association; evidence preservation; and the conformity of copies with originals. So a Chinese notary is closer to a public authority than to the freelance notaries many foreigners are used to.
Why it matters – especially for foreigners
Notarization is the standard way to make Chinese documents usable abroad and foreign documents usable in China. Everyday examples include getting a no-criminal-record certificate notarized for a work visa, notarizing a power of attorney so someone can deal with your property while you are overseas, or notarizing a marriage-status certificate for use in another country. Two provisions carry real weight: Article 36 provides that a notarized civil legal act, fact or document shall be taken as the basis for establishing facts, unless sufficiently rebutted by contrary evidence; and Article 37 allows a notarized debt instrument that records the debtor’s acceptance of enforcement to be enforced directly by a court – a shortcut that avoids a full lawsuit. If a document will be used in another country, an authentication or apostille step may also be required – see our guide on whether China accepts an apostille on foreign documents.
In practice: because notarial offices are state bodies, you normally must attend in person with original identity documents and supporting evidence, and fees are set by regulation rather than negotiated. Start early when timing is tight, since notarization plus authentication can take days to weeks.
Example (hypothetical): A British citizen working in Shanghai wants his Chinese degree certificate and a no-criminal-record certificate accepted for a visa application back home. He attends a local notarial office with the originals, obtains notarized copies under Article 11, then completes the additional authentication steps required by the destination country.
Bottom line: a “notary public” in China is really a state notarial office whose certificates carry strong evidentiary weight – and for some debt documents, direct enforcement power – so the process is formal and original documents are essential.
Wang Guan | Co-founder, Beijing Haolue Law Firm | +86 17813108512