U.S. Name Change Document Notarization and Authentication Phone 518-956-5673

If you have changed your name in the United States, you will also need to provide authentication for the relevant name change documents. Since this document is issued by a court, it must be authenticated separately, as U.S. law does not allow notaries to notarize court-issued records.

Name Change at a Local Court

Contact the local court or county clerk's office by phone and request a "certified copy" of your name change document. Inform them that the document will be used in China, so it must meet the requirements for authentication by the Secretary of State. After obtaining the document, the authentication process is as follows:

• Authentication by the Secretary of State;
• Authentication by the U.S. Department of State (optional for the Washington D.C. Embassy jurisdiction);
• Authentication by the Chinese Embassy/Consulate in the United States.

Scenario 1: Name Change During Marriage (Taking Spouse's Surname)

If you changed your name during marriage, specifically taking your spouse's surname, and there is no formal court record of the name change, generally, authentication of the marriage certificate is sufficient.

Scenario 2: Name Change in Federal Court (During Naturalization)

If you changed your name during naturalization and there is no court judgment, what should you do? The federal court where you naturalized has a record. You can request them to issue a name change certificate. Note that this certificate must be recognized by the U.S. Department of State Authentication Office! Process:

• Authentication by the U.S. Department of State
• Then proceed directly to the Chinese Embassy in Washington D.C. for authentication.