Notarial services

As Singapore is also a signatory state of the Apostille Convention, Chinese documents affixed with the Apostille will not require legalisation by the Singapore Embassy and Consulates-General in China, before their use in Singapore.

[Note: As part of the transition process, the Embassy and Consulates-General will continue to legalise Chinese documents not issued with the Apostille, until 30 Nov 2023.] 

Chinese documents to be used in Singapore (wef 7 Nov 2023)

You are advised to check with the requesting authority in Singapore if they require the documents to be legalised/ apostilled. To obtain the Apostille for your Chinese documents to be used in Singapore:

1. Notarise your document at an authorised Notary Public (公证处) or relevant authority [e.g., the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), for commercial documents]. A notarial certificate will be issued. 

2. Present your notarised document to the PRC Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) or a local Foreign Affairs Office (FAO) authorised to issue Apostilles.

For more information, please refer to the PRC MFA’s website.

Singapore documents to be used in China 

You are advised to check with the requesting authority in China if they require the documents to be legalised/ apostilled. The Singapore Academy of Law (SAL) is Singapore's designated Competent Authority for the legalisation/ apostillation of documents in Singapore for overseas use. To obtain the Apostille for your Singapore document to be used in China:

1. Your document should first be notarised by a Notary Public (any law firm offering notarial services), or certified by a relevant authority (e.g., by a Chamber of Commerce for commercial documents).

   • [Note: This step does not apply to documents issued by Singapore Government Authorities.]

2. Submit an online request for legalisation on the SAL’s website and make payment online. Thereafter, you or your proxy will need to present your document to SAL at their office.

You are required to be present in-person at the Consulate-General for the Consular officer to attest to your signing of the document. You should bring along your original, valid identification document and the documents to be signed. All documents must be fully completed with no blanks. Fields that are not applicable should be struck off and/or filled in with "Not Applicable" or "N.A.". The Consulate-General will refuse to process documents that are incompletely filled or already signed but not in the presence of the Consular Officer.

Attestation of signatures

If you have documents (e.g. documents relating to purchase/sale of property, documents certified by SAL, documents issued by CPF / HDB / other Singapore government agencies) that need to be signed in the presence of a Consular Officer, please make an appointment for the attestation of signatures at least one working day in advance at https://calendly.com/singcg_gzu/30min. You are required to bring along the documents listed below and take note of the following:

• Passport and/or identification documents (e.g. NRIC). The Consulate-General is unable to carry out the attestation of signatures if your identity cannot be verified. 

• Complete set of documents to be signed. Please do not sign the documents in advance as you are required to sign them in the presence of our officers. The Consulate-General is unable to carry out the attestation of signature if the documents are signed in advance.

Contact information

Singapore Academy of Law

Address: 1 Coleman Street, #08-06, The Adelphi, Singapore 179803
Tel: + (65) 6332 4388
Website: https://legalisation.sal.sg/
Email: legalisation@sal.org.sg