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Chinese Adoption Fees

Fees charged by Chinese authorities in connection with foreign adoptions may vary depending on the province where the child is adopted. However, for each adoption, there are standard fees that adoptive parents must pay.

1. The authentication/legalization of documents by the Chinese Embassy or Consulate in the United States costs US$10 per document, whether the document is one or multiple pages. (The fee is for authentication of the seal.)

2. The initial CCAA fee is US$365, plus US$200 for translation of the documents submitted in the dossier. (The translations can be done in the United States or China; however, the CCAA advises that the translations must be "correct" and that CCAA will "rectify," and charge for the rectification of, any errors.)

3. Fees for the issuance of the registration of the adoption by the Civil Affairs Bureau: US $30 (charge for expedited issuance differs in different provinces).

4. Fees for issuance of the Chinese-notarized certificate approving the adoption, birth certificate and abandonment certificate may vary based on province. Note: these documents normally come together in a packet notarized by the provincial notary office. The Guangzhou Consulate no longer request the notarized adoption certificate but still require the birth certificate and abandonment certificate to be notarized but many provincial notary offices still issue these three notaries as a package. Additional documents such as death certificates (for the orphan’s parents) or additional investigation is not included in this fee

5. Chinese passports cost US$25 for normal 15-working-day issuance. (The extra charge for expedited issuance differs from province to province.)

6. Individual Children's Welfare Institutes (where the child has been living prior to being adopted) may charge from US$3000 to $5000 as a combined donation to the institution and a fee for having raised and cared for the child. It is the experience of the U.S. Consulate General in Guangzhou that the assessed fees are reasonable based on the local economy and the costs associated with raising a child in China.

7. Some families who have adopted in China have reported being required to pay additional charges of up to US$500 for transportation (if the orphanage staff travels to the capital with the child) or expedited processing of documents.

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