Divorce Certificate Apostille

To process a Hague Apostille for a U.S. divorce decree, mainly because China can’t directly verify the authenticity of U.S.-issued divorce documents. Since both the U.S. and China are signatories of the Hague Convention, you must authenticate the divorce documents through the Hague Apostille process to use them in China. Before starting, you need to have a divorce certificate or decree issued by a U.S. court.

The process varies for photocopies and original documents. For photocopies, you must first have the document notarized by a U.S. notary and then take it to the Secretary of State’s office to obtain the Hague Apostille. For original documents, the process might differ across states, but generally, it involves getting a certification from the county-level court where the divorce decree was issued, followed by the Hague Apostille at the Secretary of State’s office. Processing times vary by state, typically ranging from 5 to 20 business days, with some states like New Jersey and Nevada taking up to 4 weeks; expedited service can reduce this to about 5 business days, just for reference.

If managing the process seems daunting, you can opt for professional agencies like www.lashop.com.cn. We can handle the Hague Apostille for you. Required materials include a scan or original of the divorce decree and a photocopy of the photo page of the applicant’s passport. As for the processing time, expect about 2-3 business days for photocopies (excluding mailing time) and 3-4 weeks for original documents (also excluding mailing time), just for reference.