Notarized and Certified Chinese Translation - Notarial Certificates, Translation Company Stamps and the Georgian Notary

The 公证书, the translation company stamp and the Georgian notarized translation

China has no sworn translators. For a Chinese document to be used abroad, a notary office (公证处) under the Ministry of Justice issues a notarial certificate (公证书) that either attests a copy of the original (毕业证公证, 户口本公证) or attests a fact directly (出生公证, 无犯罪记录公证, 亲属关系公证, 婚姻状况公证); the certificate is a bound booklet containing the notary's statement, the copy or fact, and usually a translation into the destination language made by the notary office's translators. For a foreign document to be used in China, most authorities - the exit-entry administration of the Public Security Bureau (公安局出入境管理局) for residence permits, the civil affairs bureau (民政局) for marriage, the market regulation bureau (市场监管局) for company registration, universities and courts - require a Chinese translation made or stamped by a licensed translation company (翻译公司) whose business scope includes translation, with its official seal (翻译专用章) and business license copy, or a translation certified by a Chinese notary office. Georgia has the translation notarized by a Georgian notary, who certifies the signature of a translator registered as competent in Chinese.

We translate the Georgian original into Chinese here, notarize it, apostille the original and, where a mainland office requires a Chinese company's seal, forward the text to a partner translation company in Beijing, Shanghai or Guangzhou that stamps it, or to a partner notary office that certifies it. Chinese notarial certificates with English or Georgian translations bound in are, from Georgia's point of view, foreign documents; for use in Georgia the translation must be notarized here, and where the certificate's own translation is into English rather than Georgian, we translate the whole certificate.

Chinese notarial certificates for Georgian authorities

The Georgian residence permit, work permit, marriage and company registration files of Chinese citizens are built from notarial certificates rather than from the underlying documents. For a residence permit the Public Service Development Agency requires the no criminal record notarial certificate (无犯罪记录公证书), apostilled by the MFA or a provincial Foreign Affairs Office, translated into Georgian and notarized here; for family permits, the marriage notarial certificate (结婚公证书) or kinship certificate (亲属关系公证书) and children's birth certificates (出生公证书); for work permits and recognition, the degree and diploma certificates (学位证公证书, 毕业证公证书); for company registration, the notarized business license, articles of association and board resolutions of the Chinese parent, and a notarized power of attorney. The household register (户口本) is frequently translated to prove family relationships and address. A notarial certificate is often issued with an English translation bound in, and Georgian authorities need the Georgian version, so we translate the notary's statement, the underlying document and, where useful, note the English version. We know the structure and standard wording of every common certificate type and translate them in 1-2 hours each.

Georgian documents for mainland China: exit-entry, civil affairs, universities, courts

Georgians going to China as employees (the work permit through the Foreign Expert or Foreign Employment system, then the residence permit at the exit-entry administration), as students, as spouses of Chinese citizens or as investors present apostilled Georgian documents with Chinese translations: for a work permit the diploma, a conviction certificate (无犯罪记录证明, which China requires for most work permits) and a medical examination; for marriage at the 民政局 a certificate of marital status; for family residence the marriage and birth certificates; for company registration the founder's documents. Since November 2023 these Georgian documents are apostilled in Georgia rather than legalized at the Chinese embassy, and the apostille is checked by the receiving office. The translation requirement varies by city and office - some accept any translation with the applicant's signature, most want a translation company stamp, and Beijing and Shanghai exit-entry offices are the strictest - so we deliver a notarized Chinese translation and arrange stamping by a partner company in the destination city where the office requires it.

The Chinese embassy in Tbilisi, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan

The Chinese embassy in Tbilisi issues visas to Georgians for purposes outside the visa-free arrangements, registers Chinese citizens in Georgia, notarizes documents for Chinese citizens (powers of attorney, declarations, marital status statements for marriage in Georgia) and handles passport matters; Georgian documents submitted there need translations into Chinese or English, and the embassy's own notarial acts are used in Georgia after translation and notarization here. Hong Kong authorities accept apostilled foreign documents with certified translations into Chinese or English and issue their own apostilles through the High Court; Macau accepts Portuguese or Chinese and issues apostilles through its courts. Taiwan is outside the Hague system, and Georgian documents for Taiwan go through authentication by the Taipei representative office responsible for Georgia, with a Traditional Chinese translation, which we prepare with Taiwan-trained editors; Taiwanese documents for Georgia follow the reverse chain through the Georgian side.

Chinese documents for Georgian authorities beyond the notarial certificate

Any Chinese-language document used in Georgia must be translated into Georgian and notarized here. Beyond notarial certificates, the most frequent are passports (护照) and driving licenses (驾驶证), translated from a photo, no visit needed; business licenses (营业执照), articles of association (公司章程), board and shareholder resolutions, powers of attorney (授权委托书) and certificates of incumbency for company registration and tenders; employment contracts (劳动合同) and bank statements for proof of income; medical reports and vaccination records; commercial invoices, certificates of origin and quality certificates for customs; and academic transcripts (成绩单) and school records. Mainland documents used in Georgia must be notarized by a 公证处 and apostilled by the MFA or a provincial Foreign Affairs Office before the translation is notarized; Hong Kong documents apostilled by the High Court, Macau by its courts. We also offer e-Notary certification with a qualified electronic signature.

Certified translation without notarization, and when it is enough

Not every recipient needs the notary or the Chinese company stamp. Universities for initial admission, employers, landlords, insurers, customs brokers for informational purposes and online portals accept a certified translation with our agency stamp and translator statement, which is quicker and cheaper. Exit-entry administrations, civil affairs bureaus, market regulation bureaus, courts, Georgian courts, registries, the Public Service Hall and banks do not. Tell us who will receive the document and we recommend the right level; a certified translation can be upgraded to a notarized and stamped one later without re-translating. For clients who submit everything online - the foreigner work permit system, university portals, the Georgian e-services - we issue digitally signed PDFs, and we print, stamp and courier the same file when paper is required.

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