Many international students receive their academic transcripts in English when they graduate from Chinese universities. When they later need the transcript notarized for further study or employment overseas, they naturally assume that the university-issued English version will be sufficient.
However, this is not always the case. Some Chinese notary offices accept English transcripts, while others require a Chinese version issued by the university. The difference comes down to local notarial practice and jurisdiction requirements.
Why Does the Place of Notarization Matter?
China has general territorial jurisdiction rules for notarization. Under the Notarization Law, applications are generally handled by notary offices connected to the applicant’s domicile, habitual residence, place of conduct or the place where the relevant fact occurred.
There is an important exception for certain academic documents. Since January 2021, Graduation Certificate notarization and Degree Certificate notarization have been available nationwide through cross-provincial processing. Applicants can approach an eligible notary office anywhere in China, regardless of their household registration or university location.
Academic Transcript notarization, however, is not included in this nationwide arrangement. In practice, it generally needs to be handled by a notary office with jurisdiction over the issuing university’s location.
This means that a graduate may be able to notarize a Graduation Certificate and Degree Certificate in another province, while the Academic Transcript still needs to be processed where the university is located.
Why Might a Chinese Transcript Be Required?
There is another practical issue: not all notary offices accept English-language transcripts.
Requirements can differ between locations. For example, some notary offices in Jiangsu can accept English transcripts for notarization. However, the notary office handling our case in Liaoning required a Chinese-language transcript.
This can be unexpected for international students. They may have graduated several years ago and only have the English transcript originally issued by their university. If the local notary office requires a Chinese version, they will need to contact their former university and request an additional document before notarization can proceed.
Importantly, this is a matter of local notarial requirements. There is no universal rule that every Chinese university transcript must be issued in Chinese before it can be notarized.
A Moroccan Student’s Case: From an English Transcript to an Apostille
We recently assisted a Moroccan student who had graduated from a university in Dalian and planned to continue his studies in Italy.
He needed his Chinese academic transcript notarized and apostilled for use overseas. The university had issued his transcript in English, so he initially submitted that version for notarization.
However, the local notary office did not accept the English transcript. The student had to contact his former university again and request a Chinese-language version.
Once the university provided the Chinese transcript, we were able to proceed with notarization and obtain a China Apostille. The documents were successfully prepared for his further studies in Italy.
The extra step of obtaining a Chinese transcript took additional coordination with the university, but it allowed the notarization and subsequent authentication to move forward.
What Should International Graduates Do?
If you need an Academic Transcript notarized for overseas use, we recommend checking two things before starting:
- Confirm the local notary office’s jurisdiction. Transcript notarization generally needs to be handled where the issuing university is located.
- Check whether an English transcript is accepted. If the local notary office requires a Chinese version, contact your university and request one in advance.
This is particularly important for graduates who have already left China. Requesting an additional transcript from a university can take time, especially during summer and winter holidays when administrative offices may respond more slowly.
A university-issued English transcript may be perfectly valid as an academic record, but that does not automatically mean every Chinese notary office will accept it for notarization. Checking the local requirements first can save considerable time and avoid having to repeat the application.
