Certified Translation of the Chinese Marriage Certificate (结婚证) and Divorce Documents
The 结婚证 is the Chinese marriage booklet, issued in duplicate by the civil affairs bureau. For a divorce, the document depends on the route taken: a divorce booklet where the divorce was by consent, a court judgment where it was contested. Asiatis translates all three.
Pricing depends on the number of pages in your document. Get your quote online in a few minutes.
Get my quote onlineAlso known as
结婚证 — jiéhūnzhèng · jiehunzheng · 离婚证 · lihunzheng · 离婚协议书 · 离婚判决书 · 民事调解书 · Chinese marriage certificate · certificat de mariage chinois · certificat de divorce chinois · traduction acte de mariage Chine IRCC
What is the jiéhūnzhèng?
The 结婚证 is issued by the civil affairs bureau of the place where one spouse’s hukou is registered. Each spouse leaves with their own copy: a couple therefore holds two identical booklets, bearing the same registration number, a shared photograph and the seal of the issuing bureau. On the divorce side, China has two regimes that do not produce the same document. Divorce by consent goes through the civil affairs bureau and yields a 离婚证, together with the divorce agreement signed by the spouses. Contested divorce goes through the courts and yields a judgment or a mediation record — never a booklet. Knowing which of these you hold determines what your Canadian application has to contain.
Variants of the document
| Name | Type | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| 结婚证jiéhūnzhèng | Marriage booklet | Issued in two identical copies, one per spouse, with a registration number, a photograph of the couple and the civil affairs bureau seal. |
| 离婚证 + 离婚协议书líhūnzhèng + líhūn xiéyìshū | Divorce by consent | The divorce booklet comes with the signed agreement, which settles property and custody of children. The two are filed together. |
| 离婚判决书 / 民事调解书líhūn pànjuéshū / mínshì tiáojiěshū | Contested divorce | Judgment or mediation record handed down by the court. No booklet is issued in this case: it is that decision which proves the divorce. |
How to obtain the document in China
- 1
Marriage: your copy is already yours
You have held your own booklet since registration. If it is lost, the civil affairs bureau of the place of registration issues a marriage registration certificate that stands in its place.
- 2
Divorce by consent: booklet and agreement
Since the Civil Code took effect on 1 January 2021, a thirty-day reflection period precedes registration; the spouses then have thirty days to attend in person, failing which the application is deemed withdrawn. At the end you leave with the booklet and the signed agreement.
- 3
Contested divorce: the court decision
Ask the court for a certified true copy of the judgment or mediation record, bearing the endorsement that it has taken effect. That endorsement is what establishes the divorce is final.
- 4
Send us the scanned document
A clear, complete scan is enough — every page, seals and photographs included. Keep the original: that is what you will attach, together with our certified translation.
What an acceptable translation requires
IRCC requires any document that is not in English or French to be accompanied by a translation into one of those two languages, and for Chinese documents accepts either a notarized or a certified translation. The translation must be complete — registration number, seals, handwritten entries, articles of the agreement or judgment included — and may not be produced by the applicant, by a family member, or by a representative on the application. Asiatis assigns your document to a certified translator who is a member of a Canadian professional order: the translation carries that translator's signed and sealed declaration. For a Quebec immigration application, the MIFI admits French and English alike, provided the translator belongs to OTTIAQ, ATIO, STIBC or CTINB.
The pitfalls specific to this document
A contested divorce never produces a 离婚证
Where the divorce was granted by a court, no divorce booklet exists and none ever will. Trying to obtain one costs weeks. The document to file is the judgment or mediation record, with its endorsement that it has taken effect.
The divorce agreement is filed with the booklet
The 离婚证 records the divorce without stating its terms. It is the agreement that settles property and custody of children — and that is what a sponsorship or custody file requires. Including it from the start avoids a follow-up request.
The hukou is not sufficient proof of marital status
The "marital status" field of the hukou is not always updated after a marriage or divorce, and a gap between it and your form draws attention. The booklet or the judgment governs; the hukou accompanies them.
Two identical booklets, two translations to plan for
An application that has to establish the marriage from both sides — spousal sponsorship in particular — often relies on both copies. Check what your document checklist asks for before having only one translated.
What you receive
- Certified translation of the booklet, judgment or agreement, faithfully laid out
- Registration number, seals and handwritten entries rendered explicitly
- Names romanized identically to both spouses' passports
- Translator's signed and sealed declaration, meeting IRCC requirements
- PDF delivery — the digital format is enough for IRCC; paper copy on request
Pricing depends on the number of pages in your document. Get your quote online in a few minutes.
Get my quote onlineFrequently asked questions
My divorce was granted by a court and I have no 离婚证. What now?
That is normal: a contested divorce does not yield a booklet. The document to file is the divorce judgment or the mediation record, together with its endorsement that it has taken effect. We translate it as we would a booklet.
How much does it cost to translate my marriage certificate?
The price depends on the number of pages: a booklet runs to one or two, a divorce judgment often more. The simplest route is our online quote form, where you upload the document and get your price in a few minutes.
Get my quote onlineDo I need to include the divorce agreement?
Most often, yes. The divorce booklet records the dissolution without stating its terms; the agreement settles property and custody of children, which a sponsorship or custody file needs to know. Including it from the start avoids a follow-up request.
Is the hukou enough to prove I am married?
No. Its marital status field is not always up to date, and it does not replace the marriage booklet. Provide the 结婚证; the hukou comes in addition, not instead.
Can I translate my own marriage certificate?
No. IRCC does not accept translations made by the applicant, by a family member, or by a representative on the application, even where that person is a professional translator.