For decades, an FBI background check headed to China needed the longest document chain in the business: authentication by the U.S. Department of State, then legalization at a Chinese consulate. That chain is gone. China joined the Hague Apostille Convention, and since November 7, 2023, a single apostille from the U.S. Department of State is what Chinese authorities accept on an FBI Identity History Summary.
Guidance written before that date — including consulate checklists and employer handbooks that still circulate — describes a process that no longer exists. This guide covers the current one.
Video: FBI Background Check Apostille, Explained
An apostille is a standardized certificate that Hague Convention countries accept in place of embassy legalization. When China's accession entered into force, U.S. public documents — including federal documents like the FBI Identity History Summary — became acceptable in China with an apostille alone. The consular legalization step, with its separate forms and jurisdiction rules, was retired for this class of documents.
Nothing about the FBI report itself changed. What changed is the authentication that rides on top of it.
The most common filings are employment-based. Foreign teachers hired by Chinese schools and executives transferred to Chinese operations both run into the same requirement: a recent FBI Identity History Summary, apostilled, as part of the work permit and residence documentation their employer submits. The request usually arrives as a line item in the employer's document list — sometimes still worded as "authentication" or "legalization," because the employer's template predates the Convention change.
If your employer's checklist says "consular legalization," it is describing the old route. The apostille is the current fulfillment of that requirement.
An apostille authenticates the document; it does not translate it. Chinese employers and authorities commonly want a Chinese translation of the report alongside the apostille, produced under their own rules. Treat the translation as its own line item on the employer's checklist — it is not a substitute for the apostille, and the apostille is not a substitute for it.
Chinese employers typically want a recently issued FBI report, and the freshness clock is theirs, not the State Department's. Confirm with the employer how recent the report must be before you order it, so the report does not age while the rest of the work-permit packet is still being assembled. The order of operations that holds up: FBI report first, apostille second, translation under the employer's rules, filing last.
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Start Your Order TodayYes. Since November 7, 2023, China accepts an apostille in place of consular legalization for U.S. documents, including FBI background checks. A checklist asking for legalization predates the change — it is worth confirming with the employer that their template has been updated, so your filing is not bounced by an outdated form.
No. The FBI Identity History Summary is a federal document. Only the U.S. Department of State can apostille it, regardless of the destination country.
Commonly, yes — employers and authorities in China often require a Chinese translation of the report as a separate item. The translation does not replace the apostille, and the apostille does not replace the translation.