[INFO] Document Notarization and Legalization in China (Graduation edition) - What I wish I knew beforehand

Hey everyone, Just wanted to share my recent experience with getting my graduation documents notarized and legalized in China, in the hope that it helps someone else avoid the confusion (and extra costs) I went through.

Step 1: Notarization • You can notarize your documents locally — no need to go to Beijing for this part. • Just look for your local public notary office (公证处). • The fees vary city to city, so I recommend calling ahead or checking their website for exact pricing and document requirements.

Step 2: Legalization by Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) • This is the most crucial step — and it MUST be done by the MFA in Beijing. • Be careful: there are provincial-level foreign affairs offices, but they probably won’t be able to help you. • Their typical response: “System is updating and we don’t know when it’ll be done.” • I had to find this out the hard (and expensive) way, as most people I asked just vaguely said “do it in Beijing because everyone else did.”

Fees (as of 2025): • Normal: 315 RMB per document (takes 7 working days) • Express: 365 RMB per document (takes 3 working days)

Step 3: Embassy Attestation • After getting your document legalized by the MFA, take it to your country’s embassy in Beijing for final attestation. • For me (Bangladesh), this part was very straightforward: • Submit the MFA-legalized document + a copy of your passport. • Check your embassy’s website for any other specific requirements.

Bonus Info:

If you’re from a country that’s part of the Apostille Convention, you can skip Step 3 (embassy attestation) entirely. It’s faster, simpler, and saves you a bit of money.

Final Thoughts: I genuinely wish I had found a post like this when I started the process. Everything felt confusing and overly bureaucratic. Agents will often offer to “take care of it” for a large fee, but if you understand the steps, you can do it yourself and save a lot of money.

Hope this helps someone out there! Feel free to drop questions below — I’ll try my best to help from my own experience.