Current through 25 August 2026 (verified 2026-08-25).
第十一条 根据自然人、法人或者其他组织的申请，公证机构办理下列公证事项：
（一）合同；
（二）继承；
（三）委托、声明、赠与、遗嘱；
（四）财产分割；
（五）招标投标、拍卖；
（六）婚姻状况、亲属关系、收养关系；
（七）出生、生存、死亡、身份、经历、学历、学位、职务、职称、有无违法犯罪记录；
（八）公司章程；
（九）保全证据；
（十）文书上的签名、印鉴、日期，文书的副本、影印本与原本相符；
（十一）自然人、法人或者其他组织自愿申请办理的其他公证事项。
法律、行政法规规定应当公证的事项，有关自然人、法人或者其他组织应当向公证机构申请办理公证。
2018-01-01 · National Database of Laws and Regulations
1. Route by origin, use and receiving body
A China-Appointed Attesting Officer is an eligible Hong Kong lawyer commissioned by the PRC Ministry of Justice to attest Hong Kong acts, facts and documents for Mainland use. The role is not a Mainland notary and not every Hong Kong international notarisation is interchangeable. （依據：Hong Kong Department of Justice: China-Appointed Attesting Officers official role and list（香港特别行政区政府律政司：官方文本））
This is general information. Obtain the written checklist from the PRC court, bank, land registry, market-regulation authority or other recipient before execution.
2. Four different roles
Hong Kong Cap. 159 regulates Hong Kong solicitors and notaries; a China-Appointed Attesting Officer is a further Mainland-use commission. The PRC Notary Law governs Mainland notarial institutions and notaries, while the PRC Lawyers Law governs PRC-qualified lawyers. （依據：Hong Kong Legal Practitioners Ordinance (Cap. 159) sections 7, 40A and 44（香港特别行政区政府律政司（电子版香港法例）：官方文本））（依據：PRC Notary Law Articles 6 and 16（全国人大常委会办公厅（国家法律法规数据库）：官方文本））（依據：PRC Lawyers Law Article 2（全国人大常委会办公厅（国家法律法规数据库）：官方文本））
Ask which document goes to which Mainland body, rather than asking only for a “notary lawyer”.
3. The Hong Kong attestation-transfer chain
The Association’s current procedure sends the officer’s document to China Legal Services (H.K.) Limited for examination, sealing and transfer. It also states that there is no uniform fee; each officer charges independently. （依據：China-Appointed Attesting Officers Association FAQ and procedure Q1, Q3, Q21 and procedure（www.caao.org.hk：官方文本））
Ask separately about drafting, attestation, translation, transfer, urgency and extra copies. No Legwise price is estimated here.
4. Mainland acceptance, verification and 15 working days
A Mainland application normally follows domicile, habitual residence, place of act or fact, subject to special immovable-property rules. Applicants must explain truthfully and provide authentic, lawful and sufficient material; the institution verifies identity, intention, content and legality. （依據：PRC Notary Law Articles 25, 27 and 28（全国人大常委会办公厅（国家法律法规数据库）：官方文本））
If conditions are met, the institution should issue within 15 working days after acceptance, excluding force majeure, supplementation and verification time. Refusal grounds and certificate form are governed separately. （依據：PRC Notary Law Articles 30, 31 and 32（全国人大常委会办公厅（国家法律法规数据库）：官方文本））
5. Current Shenzhen Mainland notarial fee ceilings
The official schedule effective 1 January 2022 lists RMB430 per natural-person power of attorney, declaration or guarantee; RMB120 for specified personal facts including birth, death, identity, education, marriage, relationship, property, income, tax and no-criminal-record; and RMB80 for specified certificate, signature, date and copy/translation conformity matters. （依據：Shenzhen forwarding notice and Guangdong notarial fee schedule Yue Fa Gai Jia Ge Han [2021] No. 2508（www.sz.gov.cn：官方文本））
The schedule provides two certificates; each additional copy is RMB20. Listed rates are ceilings and institutions may charge less. Unlisted services may be market-priced. These figures do not price Hong Kong attestation. （依據：Shenzhen official notarial fee schedule notes to schedule（www.sz.gov.cn：官方文本））
6. Evidence use in a PRC court
A valid notarised fact may be exempt from proof unless rebutted. Hong Kong-formed evidence must complete the relevant proof formalities; foreign-language documentary evidence needs a Chinese translation. Evidence must be indexed, sourced, explained, signed and copied for the other parties. （依據：SPC Provisions on Evidence in Civil Proceedings (2019 Amendment) Articles 10, 16, 17 and 19（最高人民法院：官方文本））
Notarisation does not guarantee acceptance of every statement or replace relevance, legality and weight analysis.
7. Court-to-court service is not notarisation
The operative 1999 Mainland-Hong Kong service arrangement requires Chinese text, two copies for each of two or more recipients, a general two-month completion period and mutual waiver of ordinary service fees. Those numbers apply only to court-commissioned service. （依據：1999 Mainland-Hong Kong Arrangement on Service of Civil and Commercial Judicial Documents Articles 3, 4 and 8（最高人民法院：官方文本））
The arrangement signed on 20 April 2026 remains marked “not yet in force” on the Hong Kong Department of Justice page. Its rules are not presented here as current. （依據：Hong Kong Department of Justice arrangements page current service-arrangement status（香港特别行政区政府律政司：官方文本））
8. Related cluster guides
Jurisdiction triage: https://legwise.cn/zh-hk/insights/hong-kong-mainland-lawyer-consultation ; firm verification: https://legwise.cn/zh-hk/insights/hk-mainland-law-firm-consultation-checklist ; evidence packaging: https://legwise.cn/zh-hk/insights/mainland-lawyer-consultation-documents-hk .
Frequently asked questions
I need to use a Hong Kong document in Mainland China—does every document require a China-Appointed Attesting Officer?
No. Obtain the receiving body’s written requirement first.
Is a China-Appointed Attesting Officer a Mainland notary?
No. It is an eligible Hong Kong lawyer holding a PRC Ministry of Justice commission.
Can any Hong Kong international notarisation replace the attestation route?
Do not assume so; acceptance depends on the recipient, use and designated procedure.
Is sealing and transfer required?
The Association’s current procedure routes the document through China Legal Services (H.K.) Limited.
Is there one Hong Kong attesting fee?
No. The Association says each officer charges independently.
Must Mainland notarisation finish in 15 working days?
Not unconditionally; supplementation, verification and force-majeure time is excluded.
What is the Shenzhen ceiling for a natural-person power of attorney?
RMB430 per item under the listed Mainland notarial category.
What is the Shenzhen ceiling for a relationship or no-criminal-record matter?
RMB120 per listed personal-fact item.
What is the Shenzhen ceiling for translation conformity?
RMB80 per listed conformity item; translation service may be separate.
How many certificate copies are included?
The schedule provides two; each additional copy is RMB20.
Does notarisation guarantee PRC court acceptance?
No. Relevance, legality, weight and rebuttal still matter.
Does foreign-language evidence need Chinese translation?
Yes, for PRC civil proceedings under the cited evidence rule.
Is the two-month court-service period a notarial deadline?
No. It belongs only to the court-to-court service arrangement.
Is the 2026 service arrangement in force?
The official Hong Kong page currently marks it not yet in force.
Who wrote this
Peng Zibin (彭子镔) — Lawyer; Beijing Dongyuan Law Firm, Shenzhen Office (registered name: BEIJING DONGYUAN LAW FIRM SHENZHEN OFFICE), law firm practising licence number 24403201011309995; practice areas: criminal compliance, criminal defence, economic crime and criminal-civil intersection disputes。
Scope of practice
We are licensed to practise the law of the People's Republic of China. Where this article discusses Hong Kong SAR law or the law of another jurisdiction, it does so as background to a cross-border question and is not advice on that law; on those points we work alongside locally qualified counsel.
Not legal advice
This article is general information, not legal advice, and reading it does not create a lawyer-client relationship. Outcomes turn on the specific facts. Before acting, please obtain advice on your own circumstances.