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Marriage Registration in China


            

The applicant who will go to China for marriage registration shall apply for a single/non-marital status certificate. Legal marriage age in China is 22 or older for male and 20 or older for female.

  • Procedure for obtaining a single/non-marital status certificate

(1) Affidavit of Single Status, signed before a notary public.
            

(2) Certified  by the Secretary of the State Office of the state where the document is executed.
            
            *Some states require the notarized document to be sent to the notary public's county clerk for verification before presenting to the Office of Secretary of State. Please contact Secretary of State Office of the state where your document is executed for details.
            
            (3) Certified by the relevant
Consulate General . You must apply to the correct Consulate General which holds consular jurisdiction over your area of residence. The Consular District of the Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco covers: Northern California, Alaska, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. Only documents certified by the Secretaries of State Office of the above listed 5 states (Click Here for Their Contact Information) can be certified by the Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco. You may come to the relevant Embassy or Consulate Generals for application, or send a representative to apply for you. No appointment is required.Mailed applications are also acceptable. Make sure you read the Mail Application Instructions.

  • Documents to be included with applications:

(1) One Authentication Application Form ,completed and signed by the applicant himself.
            

(2) Photocopy of applicant's passport.
            
            (3) The original and photocopy of the notarized and Secretar of State certified
Affidavit of Single Status.

  • Fees and processing time

The authentication fee of $20 is payable by Visa Card, Master Card, Money Order, Cashier's Check, or Official Check.  Company Check, Personal check and cash are not acceptable. Please make the cashier's check payable to Chinese Consulate.For mail service, an additional 5 dollarsper package or handling will be charged. Make sure you read Mail Application Instructions.
            
            The regular processing time is 4 working days. For express service, additional fees of $30 for 1 working day processing, or $20 for 2-3 working days processing will be charged.

  • Additional information

The divorced or the widowed shall have the divorce certificate or death certificate of the ex-spouse be certified/authenticated together with the Affidavit of Single Status.The divorced whose ex-spouse is a Chinese citizen, and who hold the divorce decree executed by the US court, shall apply to the Chinese court for the acknowledgement of the divorce decree.According to the Marriage Law of the People's Republic of China, the minimum marriageability age is 22 for men and 20 for women.

Contact Information of the Secretaries of State of CA WA OR NV AK (For Reference Only, Subject to Change)

1.California Secretary of State

1500 11th Street

Sacramento, California 95814

http://www.ss.ca.gov/

(916) 653-6814

2.Washington Secretary of State            

520 Union Avenue SE

Olympia

PO Box 40220

OLYMPIA WA 98504-0220

Telephone (360) 902-4151

mail@secstate.wa.gov

sreed@secstate.wa.gov

            

3.Oregon Secretary of State

Public Service Building Suite 151

255 Capitol Street NE

Salem OR 97310

phone (503) 986-2200

TTY (503) 986-2328

http://www.sos.state.or.us/

oregon.notary@state.or.us

            

4.Nevada Secretary of State

101 North Carson Street, Suite 3

Carson City

Nevada 89701-3714

Information Number: 775/684-5708

nvnotary@govmail.state.nv.us

5.Office of the Lieutenant Governor

Notary Public Section

Office of the Lieutenant Governor

P.O. Box 110015

Juneau, AK 99811-0015

(907) 465-3509

(907) 465-5400 fax

notary@gov.state.ak.us



Related Forms


I. Authentication Application Form
II. Affidavit of as a Single Person

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