Decree of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China

No. 2

The Measures for Consular Accreditation, approved by the State Council on November 6, 2015, are hereby promulgated and will come into force as of March 1, 2016.

Minister Wang Yi

November 19, 2015

　　 Measures for Consular Certification

　　 general provisions

Article 1 These Measures are formulated with a view to regulating the work of consular authentication, maintaining the credibility of consular authentication, promoting foreign exchanges, and safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of natural persons, legal persons or other organizations.

Article 2 These Measures shall apply to the consular authentication of documents issued domestically and sent abroad for use, and documents issued abroad and sent domestically for use.

Article 3 Consular authentication as mentioned in these Measures refers to the activity in which a consular authentication agency confirms the authenticity of the last seal or signature on a domestic notarial certificate, other certification document or foreign related document on the basis of the application of a natural person, legal person or other organization.

The consular authentication institutions mentioned in the preceding paragraph refer to the institutions that handle consular authentication in accordance with these Measures, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the foreign affairs departments of the local people's governments entrusted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (hereinafter referred to as local foreign offices), embassies and consulates stationed abroad, and other institutions stationed abroad entrusted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Units entrusted by consular certification bodies to handle service affairs such as receiving documents, entry and consultation shall engage in relevant activities within the scope of entrustment.

Article 4 Consular authentication institutions shall abide by the law, adhere to the principles of objectivity and truthfulness, and shall not harm the interests of the State and the public when conducting consular authentication.

Article 5 The Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall be responsible for the consular authentication of the State.

Article 6 Consular authentication includes consular authentication of domestic documents and consular authentication of foreign documents.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and local foreign offices are responsible for consular authentication of domestic documents.

The embassies, consulates and other overseas institutions entrusted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are responsible for handling consular authentication of foreign documents.

Article 7 Consular authentication personnel include consular authentication signers and consular authentication assistants.

The consular certification signer is responsible for the review and signing.

Consular certification assistants are responsible for handling, certification, charging and other affairs.

Article 8 The consular authenticators and signatories of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and embassies and consulates stationed abroad, as well as other institutions stationed abroad entrusted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, shall be diplomatic or consular attendants or consular attendants at or above the diplomatic level.

The consular certification signer of the local foreign affairs office shall be the chief staff member or above.

Consular certification signatories shall have more than three years of diplomatic or foreign affairs work experience, have the professional knowledge and ability required for consular certification and signature work, and participate in the corresponding training organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The consular certified signatories of embassies and consulates stationed abroad, other overseas missions and local foreign offices entrusted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall be reported to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the record, and in special cases, to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for approval.

Article 9 Consular authenticators shall not commit the following acts:

（1） To handle consular authentication for themselves and their close relatives or those who have an interest in them;

（2） Failing to issue the consular authentication certificate according to the prescribed procedures;

（3） Deliberately damaging or tampering with the consular authentication certificate or consular authentication archives;

（4） Occupy and steal special articles such as consular authentication anti-counterfeiting paper and seals;

（5） Taking advantage of the position of consular certification to ask for property or seek other illegitimate benefits;

（6） Other acts prohibited by laws and administrative regulations.

Article 10 Applicants for consular authentication and other individuals or organizations shall not commit the following acts:

（1） Engaging in illegal activities with consular certification;

（2） Forge or alter the consular authentication certificate;

（3） Forge or alter, without authorization, notarial certificates or other supporting documents authenticated by consuls.

　　 Chapter II Record of Seal and Signature Forms

Article 11 Before handling consular authentication, consular authentication institutions shall record the corresponding seal and signature patterns in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter.

Article 12 Domestic notaries and other certifying institutions shall file the corresponding seals and the signature patterns of notaries and signatories with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and local foreign affairs offices.

Article 13 The local foreign affairs office shall send the seal used for consular authentication and the name, position and signature pattern of the signatory of consular authentication to the relevant consular offices in China for the record.

Article 14 The Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall send the seal used for consular authentication and the name, rank and signature pattern of the signatory of consular authentication to the embassies of the countries concerned in China for the record.

Article 15 The embassies, consulates and other overseas missions entrusted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall record the seal of the certification authority in the country of residence and the names, titles and signature patterns of the signatories.

Article 16 The embassies and consulates stationed abroad, as well as other overseas missions and local foreign offices entrusted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, shall report the names, ranks (positions) and signature patterns of the consular authenticated signatories to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the record.

Article 17 The specimen seal and signature shall come into force 10 working days after the date of filing the case.

Article 18 Where a consular authenticated signatory no longer performs his/her duty of signing, the relevant organ shall notify the original record keeping organ of the name, rank (position), date of cancellation of the signatory's power and other matters of the person whose signature power has been cancelled.

　　 Chapter III Consular Authentication Procedures

Article 19 For documents issued at home and to be sent abroad for use, if the country using the documents requires consular authentication, they shall be notarized by a domestic notary office or certified by a certification agency, and then sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the local foreign affairs office for consular authentication, before they can be sent to the embassy or consulate in China of the country using the documents for authentication.

Unless the international treaties concluded or acceded to by China or otherwise stipulated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Article 20 For documents issued abroad that need to be sent to China for use, if they are required to be authenticated by Chinese laws and regulations or by the institutions using the documents, the Chinese embassy or consulate in the country where the documents are issued or other institutions stationed abroad entrusted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall handle consular authentication after they have been notarized and authenticated by the relevant institutions of the country where the documents are issued.

Unless the international treaties concluded or acceded to by China or otherwise stipulated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Article 21 To apply for consular authentication, the following materials shall be submitted:

（1） Legal and valid identity documents;

（2） Fill in the true, complete and accurate application form;

（3） Documents for applying for consular certification;

（4） Other materials deemed necessary by the consular certification authority.

Article 22 A consular certification authority may, when necessary, verify with the applicant the purpose of applying for consular certification and the purpose of the consular certification certificate, and may, when necessary, require the applicant to submit relevant evidentiary materials.

Article 23 Under any of the following circumstances, consular authentication institutions shall not handle consular authentication:

（1） The seal or signature of the document is not true;

（2） The seal or signature of the document has not been filed, or is inconsistent with the filing;

（3） The seal, signature, binding and prescription of the document do not meet the regulations and requirements of the document issuing agency and document using agency;

（4） Possible damage to national interests and social public interests;

（5） Other circumstances under which consular certification is not handled.

Article 24 If the document for consular authentication submitted by the applicant is two pages or more, it shall be bound in a manner that is not easy to be removed or replaced, such as sealing with lacquer, stamping with a seal across the seam or stamping with a steel seal.

Article 25 If a consular certification body, after examination, considers that the documents for consular certification meet the requirements, it shall issue a consular certification certificate within 10 working days from the date of accepting the application.

In case of force majeure, supplementary evidentiary materials or the need to verify relevant information, the time required shall not be included in the time limit specified in the preceding paragraph.

Article 26 The consular authentication certificate shall include the following contents:

（1） Consular certification number;

（2） Consular authentication testimony;

（3） Name of the institution issuing the consular certification;

（4） Signature of consular certification signer;

（5） Date of issuance of consular certification.

Article 27 The consular authentication certificate shall take effect from the date of issuance.

The consular authentication certificate shall be pasted on the document for consular authentication in the form of a consular authentication sticker, and the specific format and content shall be formulated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Article 28 The consular authentication certificate shall use standardized Chinese characters.

Article 29 An applicant applying for consular authentication shall pay relevant fees in accordance with the provisions of the financial department and the competent pricing department of the State Council.

Article 30 If a consular certification authority, after examination, considers that the documents, formalities or other materials for applying for consular certification are incomplete, it shall inform the applicant of the formalities to be performed and the supplementary certification materials at one time.

　　 Chapter IV Effectiveness of Consular Authentication and Handling of Objections

Article 31 Consular authentication is the activity of a consular authentication agency to confirm documents in the name of a country. Its purpose is to enable the documents issued by one country to be recognized in the territory of another country, and its extraterritorial legal effect will not be affected because of doubts about the authenticity of the seals and signatures on the documents.

Consular authentication does not exercise the certification function for the matters certified by the notarial certificate or other certification documents, and is not responsible for the authenticity and legality of the contents of the document itself. The content of the document is the responsibility of the document issuing agency.

Article 32 If the contents of a consular authentication document are changed or replaced, the consular authentication document shall be invalid.

Article 33 If an applicant and an interested person in the contents of a document that has been certified by a consul have objections to the certificate of consular certification issued by a consular certification authority, they may apply to the consular certification authority that issued the certificate for reexamination.

Article 34 After receiving an application for reexamination, consular certification bodies shall conduct examination and verification. If the number, testimony, issuing date and other contents of the consular authentication certificate are wrong, they shall be corrected in a timely manner.

Article 35 If the notarial certificate or other certification document that has been certified by the consul is confirmed to have errors according to legal procedures and is corrected, the consular certification certificate on the original notarial certificate or other certification document shall automatically become invalid. The applicant may re apply for consular authentication on the strength of the corrected notarial certificate or other supporting documents.

If the notarial certificate or other certification document that has been certified by the consul is revoked according to the legal procedures, the consular certification certificate shall automatically become invalid from the date when the notarial certificate or other certification document becomes invalid due to revocation.

　　 Chapter V Legal Liability

Article 36 If a consular authenticator commits one of the acts specified in Article 9 of these Measures, the relevant organ shall give him an administrative sanction according to law; If a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility shall be investigated according to law.

Article 37 Applicants and other individuals or organizations who have committed any of the acts specified in Article 10 of these Measures shall bear corresponding legal liabilities according to law.

　　 Chapter VI Supplementary Provisions

Article 38 The term "documents" as mentioned in these Measures refers to all kinds of certificates such as birth certificates, marriage certificates, education certificates, certificates of origin, commercial invoices, documents containing non paper materials, and written materials.

Article 39 The Measures shall come into force as of March 1, 2016.