Notarization by notary public

Officially certifying a legal document by a notary public. The purpose of having a legal document notarized is to ensure the authenticity of the signatures that appear on the document. Once notarized, a document will have much more legal credibility and will stand up much better in court if it is ever challenged.

Notarization is usually required on Power of Attorney (POA), deed, will, etc.
It might be required for the company document which is used overseas.

APOSTILLE

Apostilles are affixed by Competent Authorities designated by the government of a state which is party to the convention. A list of these authorities is maintained by the Hague Conference on Private International Law. Examples of designated authorities are embassies, ministries, courts or (local) governments. For example, In Hong Kong, the High Court acted by the Registrar.

In Hong Kong, Documents accepted for apostille service are broadly classified into the following two categories -

A.   Public documents bearing the true signature of an official party such as a Hong Kong SAR Government recognized officer. For example, 

- Marriage Certificate
- Certificate of Absence of Marriage Record
- Birth and Death Certificate
- Certificate of Registered Particulars
- Business Registration Certificate
- Certificate of Incorporation

B.   Documents signed by a notary public or a Commissioner for Oaths in Hong Kong. For example,

(a) Notary Public
     - Power of Attorney
     - Certified true copy
(b) Commissioner for Oaths
     - Declaration

 
China attesting

Documents attested by Attesting Officers are broadly divided into the following types: declarations, certification and witnessing of execution of legal documents, certification of original and duplicate documents and certification of legal facts including company particulars and resolutions of directors and/or shareholders of companies.
In issuing attested documents, the Attesting Officers must ensure that the attested documents do not violate Hong Kong and PRC law. In addition, the Attesting Officers must personally verify the authenticity and legality of the relevant documents.

Authentication/ Legalization

In international law, legalization is the process of authenticating or certifying a legal document so a foreign country's legal system will recognize it as with full legal effect.

Authentication by legalization is widely used in international commerce and civil law matters in those jurisdictions where the simpler apostille system has not been adopted.

For example, if you want to use the document (such as Certificate of Incorporation of Hong Kong Company) in other countries. You may have to apply for Authentication/ Legalization of the document in specific embassy / Consulate in Hong Kong