How to have your official French documents apostilled

In this article, we will explain how you can have your official French documents legalized with a French apostille issued by a French Court of Appeal (Cour d’Appel), even if you are currently not in France.

For some cases, such as when applying for a Chinese green card, French nationals will need to provide a certain number of official documents, and have the French apostille fixed to them.

What is an apostille?

An apostille is a certificate issued by the appointed authority in the country where the public document (such a university diploma or a non-criminal record) was drawn up, to legally certify that the document is genuine and authentic. For more details on how the apostille system works, take a look at our article here.

An example of a French apostille for China is shown below:

Typical documents that require an apostille include university diplomas, and non-criminal records, and these are the examples we will focus on in this article.

Example 1: I am a French national living in China. How can I obtain an apostille for my non-criminal record and have it translated into Chinese, without having to travel back to France?

To obtain your French non-criminal record and have it apostilled and translated while living in China, you need to follow the steps below:

1. Request Your French Non-Criminal Record (Extrait de Casier Judiciaire):
   • You can request your non-criminal record online from the French Ministry of Justice’s website (https://casier-judiciaire.justice.gouv.fr). Ensure you have all necessary identification details to hand, and that the information matches with what’s shown on your passport.
2. Request an apostille for the document
   • After obtaining your non-criminal record, the next step is to have it apostilled. In France, apostilles are issued by the “Cour d’Appel” (Court of Appeal) in the region where the document was issued or where the issuer is based. As you are in China, the most straightforward option is to use a professional service that will arrange for the apostille to be applied to your non-criminal record in France. This process normally takes around one week, and once it has been completed, your apostilled non-criminal record will then be posted to an address in China of your choice.
3. Translation:
   • The documents will then need to be translated into Chinese. Please note that for documents to be submitted to the Chinese authorities, a sworn translation done in France by a sworn translator is not required. Instead, a certified translation done by a company in China recognized by the Chinese authorities is sufficient.

Example 2: I am a French citizen living in China. How can I have my French university diploma or similar official document notarized and apostilled without having to travel back to France?

To have your French university diploma notarized and apostilled while living in China, the most straightforward option is to use a professional service. The process is as follows:

1. Send your service provider a scanned copy of your French university diploma by email
   • Make sure the scanned copy is in colour and high-quality.
2. Have your documents notarized by your service provider
   
   • After your service provider has received your email, they will have the scanned document notarized by a qualified notary in France, to certify that it complies with the original copy of the diploma.
3. Have the apostille applied to the document in France by your service provider
   • After notarization, your service provider will arrange for the apostille to be applied to your university diploma in France. The process for steps 2 and 3 takes around 2 weeks. Once completed, your apostilled university diploma will then be posted to China for translation (see step below).
4. Translation:
   • The notarized and apostilled documents will then need to be translated into Chinese. Please note that for documents to be submitted to the Chinese authorities, a sworn translation done in France by a sworn translator is not required. Instead, a certified translation done in China by a company recognized by the Chinese authorities is sufficient.

Important note: For birth, marriage, and death certificates, the apostille can only be applied to the original copies. Therefore the original copies of these documents will need to be sent by post to your service provider. Once completed, your apostilled certificate will then be posted to China for translation

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