What Is an Inheritance Notarial Certificate in China, and Do You Need One?
An inheritance notarial certificate is the certificate a Chinese notary office issues at the end of an inheritance notarisation to confirm which heirs inherit named property of a person who has died. Banks and property registries rely on it, and it stands as proof unless strong contrary evidence overturns it (Notarisation Law, Article 36). A notary office issues one only if no heir disputes the matter and every statutory heir either applies or gives up (Article 31(4); Guidance on Inheritance Notarisation, Article 16). For a home, it is one of three routes to registration.
In Chinese: 继承权公证书 (jìchéngquán gōngzhèngshū). Documents from mainland China use these simplified characters. Other pages on this site call it a notarised inheritance certificate.
What does an inheritance notarial certificate confirm?
An inheritance notarial certificate confirms who inherits the property the heirs applied for: one item, such as a flat, or several together (Guidance on Inheritance Notarisation, Article 2). A bank pays out the deceased's deposits on it (People's Bank of China provisions on the Savings Regulations, Article 40).
How is it different from a kinship notarial certificate?
A kinship notarial certificate proves a family tie. An inheritance notarial certificate records which heirs take which property.
The Notarisation Law treats them as separate matters (Article 11(2) and (6)), and the kinship certificate is one of the proofs of relationship that go into the file (Guidance, Article 3).
Do heirs need one to register an inherited home?
Not always. Inheritance begins at death (Civil Code, Article 1121), and the heir's property right takes effect from then (Article 230). The heir must still register the home before selling or mortgaging it (Article 232). For that, the registry accepts any of three kinds of proof (Implementing Rules for the Real Estate Registration Regulations, Article 14):
- proof of death and relationship, plus the will or an agreement of all the statutory heirs;
- notarised documents, such as this certificate;
- a binding court judgment or other legal document.
A 1991 notice requiring an inheritance certificate to transfer an inherited home was withdrawn in 2016 (司发通〔2016〕63号). Without one, all the statutory heirs check the documents together at the registry. Second-order heirs need not attend if first-order heirs take part, and nor does an heir who hands in a notarised renunciation (自然资发〔2024〕9号, item 6).
On the notary route, one agent in China can act for every heir abroad (Notarisation Law, Article 26). Whether a registry lets an heir abroad join its check through an agent is a question for that registry. The full sequence is in how to inherit property in China from abroad.
What if an heir disagrees, or the certificate is wrong?
If an heir disputes the matter, the notary office stops (Notarisation Law, Article 31(4)). The heirs go to mediation or court, and the judgment or mediation document takes the certificate's place at the registry (Implementing Rules, Article 14).
On review, the issuing office revokes a certificate whose content is unlawful or untrue, and it is void from the start (Article 39); a dispute over its content can also go to court (Article 40).
Documents families mix up
| Document | Issued by | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
| Inheritance notarial certificate | A notary office in China; for real estate, where the property is (Notarisation Law, Article 25) | Which heirs inherit the property |
| Kinship notarial certificate | A notary in China or where the heir lives | How two people are related |
| Apostille | An authority where a document was made | That its signature and seal are genuine |
| Court judgment or mediation document | A people's court | Who inherits, after a dispute |
| Real estate title certificate | The property registry | Who holds the home on the register |
Questions families ask
Can one heir get the certificate without the others?
No. Heirs to the same estate apply together to one notary office (Guidance on Inheritance Notarisation, Article 2), and the office won't certify a statutory inheritance while any heir has neither applied nor given up (Article 16(3)).
Is the certificate in English, and can it be used abroad?
It is written in Chinese (Notarisation Law, Article 32). Since 7 November 2023, a Chinese apostille is all a Chinese public document needs in another Apostille Convention country (Ministry of Foreign Affairs notice). Whether a bank or court abroad accepts it, and in what translation, is a question for a notary or lawyer where you live.
If a notary office in China is about to deal with your family's estate, send a few lines about who died, where the property is and the names of the other heirs. A conflict check comes first. The steps are in how to inherit property in China from abroad; fees are in how fees and payment work.
Related reading
- Inheriting Property in China From Abroad: Steps and Fees
- China Inheritance Documents: Checklist for Heirs Abroad
Sources
- Notarisation Law of the PRC (2017 amendment), Articles 11, 25, 26, 31, 32, 36, 39 and 40.
- Civil Code of the PRC, Articles 230, 232 and 1121.
- China Notary Association, Guidance on Inheritance Notarisation (2009), Articles 2, 3 and 16.
- Implementing Rules for the Interim Regulations on Real Estate Registration (2024 amendment), Article 14.
- People's Bank of China, Provisions on Implementing the Regulations on Savings Administration (1993), Article 40.
- Ministry of Justice notice withdrawing the 1991 joint notice on notarisation in housing registration (司发通〔2016〕63号); Ministry of Natural Resources reply of 4 July 2018 to CPPCC proposal No. 3205, on what that notice required.
- Ministry of Natural Resources and three other bodies, notice on making real estate registration easier (自然资发〔2024〕9号), item 6.
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs, notice that the Apostille Convention takes effect in China on 7 November 2023.
Translations of Chinese law on this page are unofficial.