Notarising and Legalising Hong Kong Company Documents: When and How (2026)

At a glance

A common misreading: an Apostille is not a universal certification. Documents notarised by a notary public are for use overseas — not for documents destined for mainland China. Establish which country or region the document is going to before you place the order.

What is the difference between notarisation and legalisation?

Notarisation is someone certifying, in a professional capacity, that a document, a signature or a fact is genuine. Legalisation (the Apostille) sits one layer above: an official body certifying that the person who notarised it really holds that capacity. The order is notarisation first, legalisation second — not one or the other.

How far up you have to go is decided by whoever is receiving the document, and the mainland runs a separate system again. Get the requirement in writing from them before starting — money spent on work you did not need is not refundable either.

Documents going to mainland China — who do you go to?

A China-Appointed Attesting Officer — not a Hong Kong qualification, but an appointment by the Ministry of Justice of the People’s Republic of China. Under the Measures for the Administration of China-Appointed Attesting Officers (Hong Kong) (Ministry of Justice Order No. 69), the person must be a qualified Hong Kong solicitor with more than ten years in practice, and must have completed Ministry training and passed the written, oral and overall assessment.

Many people assume the notarisation is the end of it. In practice, legal acts, legally significant facts and documents occurring in Hong Kong, once attested by a China-Appointed Attesting Officer, generally still have to be reviewed, registered, sealed and transmitted by China Legal Service (H.K.) Ltd before they can be used on the mainland. Without that layer, mainland authorities often will not accept them.

And for use overseas? How do you choose a Notary Public?

For anywhere outside the mainland, you generally go to a Hong Kong Notary Public. They attest and certify documents and administer oaths, affirmations and declarations; the list is generally maintained by the Law Society of Hong Kong based on certificates of appointment issued by the High Court, and most are solicitors with substantial experience.

In practice, look at three things: whether they regularly handle documents for your destination country, whether they will arrange the subsequent legalisation and courier for you, and their lead time. Fees vary and there is no standard price list, so asking for a single quote covering the legalisation and postage as well is the safer approach.

The Apostille: how, how much, how long?

The competent authority in Hong Kong is the Registrar of the High Court. The fee is HK$125 per legalisation, plus the surcharge levied by the bank. Government fees are adjusted from time to time, so check the Judiciary’s website before ordering.

Submitted in person at the Apostille Services Section of the High Court Registry, it generally takes two working days; sent from overseas by post, it generally takes two weeks from receipt of the documents — so do not use post if you are against a deadline. The Judiciary also launched electronic Apostille services (e-Apostille) in September 2025, allowing online submission, with electronic appointments available.

Two working days covers only the legalisation step. Finding the notary beforehand and courier afterwards are separate — allowing two to three weeks overall is more comfortable.

Which documents do SMEs most often need notarised?

A few categories come up repeatedly: certified copies of company registration documents (certificate of incorporation, business registration certificate, annual return), directors’ or shareholders’ resolutions, powers of attorney, and directors’ identity documents. The usual purposes are opening an overseas bank account, setting up a branch or subsidiary on the mainland or abroad, tendering, or dealing with trade marks and large contracts.

Which ones, and whether legalisation is needed, is decided by the recipient: what a bank needs for its information collection and identity verification is often not what a tender body needs. Keep a scan of everything on file once done — the same set is frequently needed again six months later. On preparing for banks, see the business bank account guide; on arrangements where shareholders and directors are outside Hong Kong, see the guide for non-local clients.

Would rather not work out the route yourself?

The notarisation and legalisation themselves must be done by a notary public, a China-Appointed Attesting Officer and the High Court — we do not and cannot do those. But everything in front of it — confirming what the recipient actually wants, pulling together the company registration documents and certified copies, drafting the resolution to be notarised, and scheduling so it does not collide with a deadline — is company secretarial work we do every day.

If you have an email asking for “notarised company documents” and are not sure what the first step is, talk to us. If you have just incorporated and expect to need this set of documents later, get started. If what needs notarising is a shareholders’ resolution, it is worth also reading whether you need to hold an AGM.

Information here follows the Hong Kong Judiciary (judiciary.hk); legalisation fees, processing times and notarisation arrangements are adjusted from time to time. This is general information only, not professional advice; for individual situations, consult a professional.