Is a certified translation done outside China accepted by Chinese authorities?

“Certified translation” means different things in different countries: a sworn translator in one, an accredited translator in another, a translation company’s statement in a third. The Chinese rules we opened for this page do not use any of those labels. Each is written by the receiving authority for its own procedure, and each describes what the translation must carry. That is the useful way to read the question: not “is my certification recognised?” but “does my translation carry what this office asks for?”

What the written rules ask for

Receiving body	What its own rule says	What that means for a translation made abroad
Company registration authority (market regulator)	The State Administration for Market Regulation’s submission specification, 2026 edition, used by registration authorities from 1 May 2026: foreign-language materials, and notarised and legalised or apostilled documents in a foreign language, go in with a Chinese translation and the foreign original. The translation company stamps the translation with its company seal or translation seal, marks it “accurate translation” (翻译准确), attaches a copy of its business licence or other proof of its status, and names the translator with contact details. An individual translator signs, gives contact details, and attaches a copy of a translation qualification certificate and of an identity document.	The specification lists what the translation carries. It does not say where the translation company must be registered. Whether a foreign translation company’s stamp and registration certificate satisfy it is for the local registration authority to say, and practice can differ by city. Confirm with that authority, or with the agent filing for you, before relying on a foreign equivalent.
People’s courts	Article 73 of the Civil Procedure Law: foreign-language documentary evidence must come with a Chinese translation. Article 525 of the Supreme People’s Court’s interpretation of that law (2022 revision): written materials in a foreign language are submitted together with a Chinese translation. If a party objects to the translation, the parties jointly appoint a translation agency, and the court chooses one if they cannot agree.	The rule fixes no particular form of certification. What it does provide is a way for the other side to challenge the translation, and a way to settle that challenge. How to present evidence in a case is a question for the lawyer running it.

Notary offices, banks and other recipients

Chinese notarial practice has its own instrument for translations: a notarial certificate that the translation conforms to the original (译本与原本相符公证). The Beijing Municipal Bureau of Justice, in a guide dated 27 December 2021, lists it among the notarial matters handled online. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs lists the equivalent matter (译文与原文相符) among those Chinese embassies and consulates can notarise, but the same page says they in principle accept applications only from Chinese citizens living abroad and from the Chinese-national legal representatives or heads of Chinese-funded enterprises and institutions. It is not a general route for a foreign applicant. A recipient may ask for a translation in notarial form, and not for a translator’s or translation company’s certification, so ask which it wants.

Banks and other recipients do not, as far as we have found, publish one national form. Practice varies by bank, by branch and by city. Treat what the office in front of you says as the specification.

An apostille does not settle the translation

A common route is to have the translation made and notarised at home, then apostilled with the original. That can be the right route, but the apostille does not decide it. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ consular service site states that an apostille only confirms that the last seal or signature on the document is genuine, and takes no responsibility for the truth or legality of the content. The Chinese Consulate General in New York puts the practical point directly: a completed apostille does not mean the Chinese receiving body will necessarily accept the document, and applicants should first ask that body about its requirements for format, content, time limits and translation.

What to ask the receiving office before you order

1. Does the translation need a translation company’s seal, and must that company be registered in China?
2. Do you need a copy of the translation company’s business licence, or the translator’s qualification certificate and identity document?
3. Is a translator’s or company’s statement of accuracy enough, or do you require a notarial certificate that the translation conforms to the original?
4. Should the apostille or legalisation page be translated as well as the document?
5. Do you need paper originals with a wet seal, or is a scanned copy accepted for online filing?

If the translation already exists

A translation made abroad is not necessarily wasted if the recipient wants a different form. Ask whether the existing text can be checked and reissued in the form required before paying for a new one. Whatever the form, keep company names, personal names and dates identical across every translated document in the same filing.