China to Join Hague Apostille Convention

Exciting news: China is set to join the Hague Apostille Convention in November 2023! If you have ever had to get a document legalized for use in China, you are probably doing a happy dance right now. This will save you so much time, money, and effort in the future.

Here’s the gist: right now, if you want process an Arizona document for use in China, you have to get it notarized (depending on the document type), get it apostilled by the Arizona Secretary of State, and then get it legalized at the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles or the US State Department followed by the Chinese Embassy in Washington, DC.

This process has never been fast or easy, but since Covid, it has become even more arduous. The Consulate and Embassy are closed to visitors and have strict requirements about emailing a scan, waiting for approval, mailing the document, waiting and waiting, and finally getting the legalized document at their convenience. Rush service is no longer an option. The wait can be weeks or even months long.

The US State Department has also become extremely backed up, with wait times currently around 10–14 weeks. No rush service there, either.

Needless to say, this has become very frustrating to people needing documents for use in China and their receiving parties.

The ray of sunshine is that starting on November 7, China will no longer require legalization from the Consulate or Embassy. The Arizona apostille or US apostille (depending on document type) will suffice.

We look forward to an easier China apostille process in the fall. In the meantime, we are here to facilitate your China legalization. We can’t promise that it will be fast, but we do have the experience to ensure that it gets done correctly as quickly as possible.

Contact us for more information on apostilles for China or any other country.

Two new countries joining the Hague Apostille Convention this month

Exciting news for anyone who needs a document legalized for use in Pakistan or Senegal: starting this month, they will enter into the Hague Apostille Convention. This means documents no longer have to be authenticated at the embassy or consulate for either country. This will save you time, money, and hassle!

Pakistan will enter into the Hague Convention on March 9, 2023, and Senegal will join on March 23, 2023. They will become the 123rd and 124th countries to join the Hague Convention, which was originally signed in 1961. According to the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH), “The purpose of the Convention is to abolish the traditional requirement of legalisation, replacing the often long and costly legalisation process with the issuance of a single Apostille certificate by a Competent Authority in the place where the document originates.”

Countries that are not party to the Hague Convention usually require an apostille (either from the Arizona Secretary of State or the US Department of State) plus an authentication from that country’s consulate or embassy. That additional authentication adds a lot of time, expense, and hassle to the document-certification process.

More and more countries are joining the Hague Convention all the time, and we will keep updating this space as they do.

Arizona Notary Travel Fees Raised in 2023

After quite a long time without a raise, Arizona mobile notaries are now allowed to charge up to 62.5¢ for travel. That’s up from the former rate of 44.5¢ per mile.

Considering how much gas prices and automobile prices in general have gone up in the last couple of years, this increase will help Arizona travel notaries cover their travel costs.

How will this affect you, the potential client? Here at Notary A to Z, we include the travel fee in our Tucson mobile notary and apostille packages. The only time the 62.5¢ travel fee would come up is if the signer is farther than 10 miles from our home base of Grant and Alvernon. Most of Tucson, Vail, Oro Valley, and Marana are within 10 miles, so the travel fee will only apply if you’re in a remote area.

If you have any questions about mobile notary pricing, please contact us, and we’ll get you a quick quote.