Miami — West Flagler
10166 W Flagler Street
Miami, Florida 33174
Walk-In Mon–Fri 9:30 AM–5:00 PM
Wednesday by appointment only
Book Appointment →24-hour emergency appointments available by request. Call (786) 668-9945
Miami — Biscayne Blvd
2915 Biscayne Blvd, Suite 300-1
Miami, Florida 33137
Walk-In Mon–Fri 9:30 AM–5:00 PM
Book Appointment →10166 W Flagler Street · Miami, FL 33174
2915 Biscayne Blvd, Suite 300-1 · Miami, FL 33137
Contact Miami Dade Apostille to prepare U.S. documents for use in China. Send copies and the receiving office's instructions first. Our team reviews the issuing authority, apostille route, translation and document format before confirming how to send required originals or certified copies to us.
Tell us which U.S. documents you have, their issuing states or agencies, the exact destination in China and your deadline.
Send clear copies for initial review together with the bank, employer, registrar, school, court or other recipient's written instructions.
Our team reviews whether the requested record, certified copy or eligible notarization is suitable for the relevant state, federal agency or federal court route.
Confirm the recipient's language, translator-certification and original-document requirements before ordering translations or signing a power of attorney.
After we confirm the format and delivery instructions, send the required originals or certified copies to Miami Dade Apostille. If mailing, use a trackable shipping method and keep your tracking number. Our team coordinates the applicable authority submission.
We coordinate the agreed return or delivery arrangements. Check that the package matches the recipient's instructions; the Chinese authority or institution makes its own acceptance or application decision.
Covered U.S. public documents for mainland China use the apostille route instead of the former chain of consular authentication. The Chinese Embassy and consulates in the United States stopped providing that authentication service on November 7, 2023. Old instructions that still call for an additional Chinese consular legalization may predate the change. Miami Dade Apostille reviews your document and the current recipient instructions before coordinating the applicable U.S. apostille service. A recipient may still have separate requirements for the document itself.
China acceded to the Apostille Convention on March 8, 2023, and it entered into force for China on November 7, 2023. The United States acceded on December 24, 1980, with entry into force on October 15, 1981. The current HCCH record and the Chinese missions' U.S. notice confirm that the Convention applies between China and the United States. India's recorded objection to China's accession concerns that bilateral relationship; it does not prevent the use of covered U.S. apostilles for mainland China.
Tell us the exact destination and receiving institution. Hong Kong and Macao had earlier Convention coverage: the HCCH records entry into force on April 25, 1965, for Hong Kong and February 4, 1969, for Macao. Their coverage continued after the transfers of sovereignty and was expressly continued in China's 2023 declaration. The 2023 mainland change therefore should not be described as the first availability of apostilles for every Chinese destination. Document language, local procedures and the receiving authority can differ among mainland China, Hong Kong and Macao.
An apostille verifies the signature, the signer's official capacity and, where appropriate, the seal or stamp on a covered public document. It does not certify the truth of every statement, grant a visa or decide whether the document satisfies a Chinese procedure. The Convention covers court and administrative documents, notarial acts and certain official certificates. It excludes documents executed by diplomatic or consular agents and administrative documents dealing directly with commercial or customs operations. A document's business purpose alone does not decide whether it falls within that exclusion.
Share the Chinese recipient's checklist and your deadline with our team. We confirm the document format, apostille route and any translation requirements before you send required originals or certified copies. If mailing, use a trackable shipping method and keep your tracking number.
A Florida birth certificate, a New York court copy and a notarized California document do not automatically follow the same state route. State-issued documents generally use the designated authority for the issuing jurisdiction. An FBI Identity History Summary follows a federal agency route. Designated clerks and deputy clerks of U.S. federal courts can issue apostilles for documents from those courts, so federal court records should not be grouped indiscriminately with federal agency records. Our team reviews the issuer and official signature before coordinating the proper authority. Miami Dade Apostille coordinates documents from all 50 U.S. states and eligible federal records.
A government-certified birth record can support a family, school, residence or nationality-related procedure when the recipient requests it. An ordinary photocopy or hospital keepsake is not automatically the equivalent of the required certified record. For a child of Chinese origin, the mission may also examine the parents' nationality and residence status at the time of birth. China's Nationality Law does not recognize dual nationality for Chinese nationals. Apostilling a U.S. birth certificate does not determine the child's nationality, register a household or decide whether a visa or travel document is appropriate; the responsible authority must resolve those questions.
A U.S. marriage certificate records an existing marriage; it is different from evidence that someone is free to marry. Current Chinese mission guidance for Q1 and S1 visa categories calls for original evidence of the relevant family relationship, which can include a marriage or birth certificate. Other categories have different supporting-document requirements. This does not mean every document in every visa application must be apostilled. Send the precise checklist to our team so we can distinguish the requested U.S. document preparation from the mission's separate visa review and any later residence procedure.
Ask the intended marriage registration office which single-status document it accepts before signing a statement or ordering a record. Shanghai's current official guidance expressly recognizes a single-status certificate from a notary or competent authority in a Convention country with an apostille and asks for translations of both the certificate and apostille. It also gives a six-month validity period for that single-status certificate. These are marriage-procedure requirements, not a general expiration date for all apostilles. The local registrar should confirm wording, supporting divorce or death records where relevant, and its translation standards.
A certified U.S. divorce judgment and its apostille address document authenticity; recognition of the judgment in China is a separate legal question. The Supreme People's Court has published a U.S. divorce case in which the apostille removed the consular-authentication requirement, while the Chinese court separately reviewed whether the judgment met recognition conditions. Do not assume an apostille automatically authorizes remarriage, enforces custody terms or transfers property. A qualified Chinese legal adviser or receiving court should identify the judgment, finality evidence and translations required for the particular matter.
Confirm which authority must issue the background record and how recent the report must be. An FBI Identity History Summary, a local police certificate and a personal affidavit are different documents. Current Shanghai work-permit guidance identifies competent-authority criminal-record evidence and warns that a sworn statement of no criminal record is not an accepted substitute in that procedure. Some applicant categories have separate arrangements, so do not assume one rule applies to every worker or visa. When an FBI report is requested, Miami Dade Apostille coordinates the applicable federal apostille route after reviewing the report format.
Work-permit, marriage-registration and visa procedures can each require different records and translation standards. Send the recipient's written instructions to our team before ordering any work.
An employer's work-permit checklist can include education, professional qualifications, work experience and criminal-record evidence. Beijing's current work-permit instructions expressly recognize apostilles for covered public documents from Convention countries in place of consular authentication. They also describe Chinese translations of non-Chinese materials, with the employer's seal, while excepting passports or international travel documents from that translation rule. This is a specific work-permit instruction, not a universal translation format for all Chinese recipients. The employer and deciding authority should confirm the category and documents; our team handles the requested U.S. preparation.
Tell us whether the recipient wants a diploma, official transcript, an institutional certification or a separate academic evaluation. An apostille authenticates an eligible official signature; it does not convert a foreign qualification into a Chinese degree or professional license. Shanghai's current work-permit guidance accepts certification from the Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange in its stated education-document context. That evaluation is distinct from an apostille, and it should not be promised as necessary or available for every applicant. A university, employer or professional body must confirm the evidence it requires.
Translation requirements come from the specific recipient and procedure. Marriage registration guidance can require the apostille and notarial text to be translated along with the underlying record, while work-permit instructions can specify an employer-sealed translation. Do not assume that a translator's certificate accepted by one office will satisfy every registrar, court, bank or university. Miami Dade Apostille coordinates certified translations with qualified translators. Send the written language and certification requirements first so we can review the document, apostille and attachments as one package.
Have the Chinese bank, lawyer, registrar or other intended recipient confirm the wording and signing requirements before you execute a power of attorney or affidavit. A state-authorized notarization and a Chinese consular notarial act are different services. Remote online notarization may be available through Miami Dade Apostille for eligible documents, but that availability does not establish acceptance for every Chinese transaction. We review the proposed document and recipient instructions before coordinating notarization and apostille preparation. The recipient or legal adviser must address the powers granted and any subsequent registration, property or transaction requirements.
A U.S. death certificate may be requested for an estate, insurance claim, family record or another specific matter in China. It is not interchangeable with a court order appointing an estate representative or with documents for transporting remains. Confirm the required certified version and the exact purpose before ordering additional copies. Our team reviews the issuing authority, requested apostille and translation format. Authentication does not decide inheritance rights, release funds, authorize transport or complete a separate estate procedure.
A certified U.S. company record, a notarized authorization and an administrative customs document can have different preparation requirements. Do not assume that all corporate papers require consular legalization or that every document used in business is excluded from the Apostille Convention. Send the exact document and the Chinese recipient's instructions for review. Miami Dade Apostille can coordinate the eligible authentication route, while the relevant regulator, bank, court or contracting party determines the record's substantive sufficiency. An apostille does not grant a business license, approve an investment or complete a customs filing.
The current U.S. network consists of the Embassy in Washington and consulates general in New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles. The Embassy handles the former Houston consulate's district, including Florida; Houston is not an active consular office to visit. The Embassy's diplomatic address is different from its consular document office, and Los Angeles also has a separate service hall. Current visa services use online review before the instructed document visit. Passport, notarial and other services can have different arrangements, so confirm the exact service, jurisdiction, location and current appointment requirements.
Standard state processing can take months. Miami Dade Apostille offers processing as soon as the same day for eligible documents. Contact us to confirm availability. The months estimate reflects company planning experience, not a quotation from an official processing queue. Certified-copy preparation, notarization, translation, federal processing, Chinese recipient review and shipping can all affect the schedule. Same-day availability is not a promise for federal processing, legalization, preparation, translation or delivery. Send required originals or certified copies to Miami Dade Apostille only after our team confirms the format and delivery instructions.
Use the official jurisdiction directory to confirm which mission handles your residence and service. These government offices provide their own consular services; they do not issue U.S. apostilles. Covered U.S. documents for mainland China no longer need the former Chinese consular-authentication stage. Online visa review and other service-specific appointment or app requirements should be checked before visiting. Houston is not listed as an active office because its consular work is handled by the Embassy.
Address: Consular document office: 2201 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Suite 110, Washington, DC 20007. Diplomatic premises: 3505 International Place NW, Washington, DC 20008.
Contact: Consular inquiries: 202-495-2071. Visa: [email protected]. Notarial-related inquiries: [email protected]. Embassy general switchboard: 202-495-2000.
Jurisdiction: Washington, DC; Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee and Delaware; plus the former Houston district of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas and Puerto Rico.
Current visa instructions require online preliminary review before the instructed passport visit; the published visa process does not require a separate visit appointment after that review. Other consular services can use different appointment or app arrangements. Confirm the service location and holiday schedule; do not visit the diplomatic address for a routine document counter.
Address: Passport and Visa Office: 520 12th Avenue, New York, NY 10036.
Contact: Document inquiries: 212-868-2078. Visa: [email protected]. Passport/travel documents: [email protected]. Notarial-related inquiries: [email protected].
Jurisdiction: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Rhode Island.
Current visa instructions use online preliminary review followed by the instructed original-document visit. The current visa counter schedule is Monday–Friday, 9:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m., excluding holidays; telephone hours differ. Confirm the arrangements for passport, notarial or other services rather than treating visa procedures as universal.
Address: Consular document office: 1 East Erie Street, Suite 500, Chicago, IL 60611.
Contact: Document inquiries: 312-453-0210. Visa/passport/travel documents: [email protected]. Notarial and pension-related inquiries: [email protected].
Jurisdiction: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.
The published document-counter schedule is Monday–Friday, 9:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m. Central Time, excluding holidays; telephone hours differ. Visa services use the current online review process before the instructed visit. Confirm service-specific appointments and passport or notarial app requirements before traveling.
Address: Visa and consular document office: 1450 Laguna Street, San Francisco, CA 94115; visa-office entrance on Geary Boulevard.
Contact: Visa/document inquiries: 415-919-6008. Visa: [email protected]. Passport: [email protected]. Notarial-related inquiries: [email protected].
Jurisdiction: Northern California, Alaska, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. Confirm the California county boundary with the official mission directory.
Current visa guidance requires online review first and states that the subsequent instructed visa submission or collection visit needs no appointment. Visa-office hours are Monday–Friday, 9:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m., excluding holidays; phone hours differ. Passport and other services can have different arrangements.
Address: Consular document hall: 3rd Floor, 500 Shatto Place, Los Angeles, CA 90020. Diplomatic/general office: 443 Shatto Place, Los Angeles, CA 90020.
Contact: Document inquiries: 213-338-8353 and [email protected]. General consulate switchboard: 213-807-8088.
Jurisdiction: Southern California's Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Kern and Imperial counties; Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado and Hawaii; and the U.S. Pacific islands including Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa.
The current service hall is open Monday–Friday, 9:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m., excluding holidays. Visa services use online review before the instructed document visit. Confirm the procedure for your exact service. The third-floor service hall is separate from the diplomatic building and from any service-specific mailing-room instructions.
For U.S. public documents covered by the Apostille Convention and intended for mainland China, the apostille route replaced the former consular-authentication chain on November 7, 2023. Chinese missions in the United States ceased that authentication service. Separate document-format, translation, visa or recipient requirements may still apply. Send the current checklist to Miami Dade Apostille so we can review the correct preparation route.
The Convention continues to apply to Hong Kong and Macao, which had coverage before the 2023 mainland change. Tell us the exact destination and institution because local document, language and procedure requirements can differ. An apostille does not guarantee that a particular record meets the recipient's requirements.
Ask the receiving office for its written requirements. Some procedures require a full Chinese translation including the apostille and notarial wording; others prescribe a particular translator or certification format. Miami Dade Apostille coordinates certified translations with qualified translators after reviewing those instructions. We do not promise one translation format will be accepted everywhere.
Only if the receiving authority accepts that record for your procedure. An FBI Identity History Summary, a local police record and a personal declaration are different documents. Ask the employer or recipient which authority must issue the report and its permitted age. Our team then reviews the applicable authentication route; FBI records require federal processing.
No. The apostille authenticates the covered signature or seal; it does not itself register a marriage, recognize a foreign divorce, determine nationality or approve a visa. Those are separate decisions for the relevant authority or qualified legal adviser. We prepare the requested U.S. documents after the required record and format are confirmed.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington handles Florida within the former Houston district. The Embassy's consular document office is at 2201 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Suite 110, Washington, DC 20007, separate from its diplomatic premises. Confirm the service and current intake requirements before visiting. Covered U.S. apostilles are issued through the applicable U.S. authorities, which our team coordinates; they are not issued by the Chinese mission.
Standard state processing can take months. Miami Dade Apostille offers processing as soon as the same day for eligible documents. Contact us to confirm availability. This is conditional service availability, not a guarantee for FBI or other federal processing, translation, notarization, legalization, shipping or any Chinese authority's decision. We review your documents and deadline before confirming the available service.
Contact Miami Dade Apostille and send clear copies plus the recipient's instructions first. Once we confirm the required format and delivery arrangements, send the required originals or certified copies to our team (use a trackable shipping method and keep your tracking number). This review helps identify whether you need a different certified record, an eligible notarization or a specified translation before the authority submission.
Contact Miami Dade Apostille at 1 (800) 631-9171 or [email protected] with copies, the recipient instructions and your full deadline. Review requests are accepted 24/7, 365 days a year, with replies in approximately two hours during regular business hours. Our team reviews the appropriate apostille and translation route, confirms availability and explains how to send required originals or certified copies to us.
Miami Dade Apostille is a private document-service company, not a government agency, embassy, consulate or law firm. We do not provide legal advice, complete applications, determine legal or immigration requirements, or issue government apostilles. Clients must confirm all requirements directly with the consulate, embassy, receiving authority or qualified legal adviser in China. Government authorities and receiving institutions determine eligibility, recognition and acceptance.
487 reviews across all locations