Couples married in the United States, if they are involved in household registration transfer, house sale, legal proceedings, etc. in China, will be required by the relevant departments to show the notarization or authentication documents of the American marriage certificate. In fact, the American marriage certificate can only be handled according to the authentication procedure, that is, the American marriage certificate must be authenticated by the consulate of China or China in the United States to prove its authenticity and reliability for domestic recognition. Consular certification of American marriage certificates is divided according to the consular district. For example, if you get married in Southern California, the American marriage certificate needs to be handled at the China Consulate in Los Angeles; If you get married in Northern California, you need to apply for an American marriage certificate at the China Consulate in San Francisco.

American marriage certificate certification process:

1, county secretary's office certification (county secretary's office)

Marriage certificates are generally issued by county courts, and most marriage certificates in the United States will be signed by county clerks in the lower right corner. If the marriage includes the signature of the county clerk, this step of certification can skip the direct entry into the US Secretary of State certification; If the American marriage certificate does not have the signature of the county clerk, you need to go to the county for certification first. Common areas requiring county certification are new york City, California and Tennessee.

2. Secretary of State Certification (Secretary of State)

Due to the different countries that use American marriage certificate certification, the Secretary of State certification is divided into two forms, one is certification and the other is annotation. Certification uses China, and China Consulate does not accept annotations.

3. the State Council Certification (the State Council)

The State Council certification is only applicable to the states under the jurisdiction of the Chinese Embassy in the United States (Washington), including Washington, D.C., Maryland, Delaware, Idaho, Kentucky, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming. If the wedding place is not in any of the above States, you don't need to apply for state legislature certification.

4. Proof of the Consulate of China in the United States (Embassy/Consulate of China)

The ultimate goal of county secretary certification, secretary of state certification and the State Council certification is to submit the American marriage certificate to China's embassy and consulate in the United States, so as to prove the authenticity and validity of the American marriage certificate and get the approval of domestic institutions.

To apply for consular certification of American marriage certificate, you only need to provide a scanned copy of American marriage certificate and a scanned copy of both spouses' passports. The normal processing time is 12- 15 working days, and the emergency processing time is 7- 10 working days.