1. Six (6) family life photographs - you and your home (do not include pets in your photographs nor people who will not be residing in the home permanently)
2. Letter to the CCAA to request the adoption (do not use a form letter)
3. Home Study (if you are single, an Acceptance of Guardianship Statement attached to the Home Study)
4. Birth Certificate(s) from State Bureau of Vital Statistics
5. Marriage Certificate or Statement of Single Status
6. Divorce Decree, if divorced and not remarried
7. Health Examination Certificate, one for each person in the household
8. Financial Statement
9. Employer Letter(s) or CPA Statement if self-employed.  If one spouse is a stay-at-home parent, you need a letter stating thus
10. Local Police or Sheriff Criminal History Check
11. Approval Notice from INS (Form I-171H)
12. Photocopy of Signature/Photo page of passport(s)
13. Special Power of Attorney, if only one parent is traveling to China
14. Statement of Unemployment, if unemployed
15. Statement of Retirement, if retired

The following applies to all documents listed in bold above (#2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 13).  In the State of Ohio:

• First, these documents must be notarized by a current notary and they must remain current until the finalization of your adoption in China.
• Second, the notary must then be verified at the County Clerk of Courts in the county in which the notary is registered. 
• Third, the documents must then be certified by the Secretary of State from the state the document originated.  Please note that they Ohio Secretary of State website refers to this as authentication of documents.  If the documents are being mailed, please use the addresses below:

• Fourth and last, these documents must be authenticated by the appropriate Chinese Consulate.

Specific instructions are given for this procedure in the Adoption Guide which will be in your packet.

Ohio Laws

Timesaver for county certification and State authentication:

Initially, you have collected all of your documents and had them notorized. The next step would be to have the notary license verified at the county where the notary is registered . Then you go to the Secretary of State to have the notary certified for the state of Ohio.

The Ohio Secretary of State website explains that:

"Note: If an attorney notary notarized the document, the document may then be submitted to the secretary of state without further authentication."

In Ohio - Attorneys are Notary for life and are registered at the Secretary of State's office.  If you know of an attorney that can notarize the documents then you are not required to have the notary license verified. Your documents can go directly to the the secretary of state for certification.  However I would call the Secretary of State to see if your attorney is able to do this in Ohio.

1. Six (6) family life photographs - you and your home (do not include pets in your photographs nor people who will not be residing in the home permanently)
2. Letter to the CCAA to request the adoption (do not use a form letter)
3. Home Study (if you are single, an Acceptance of Guardianship Statement attached to the Home Study)
4. Birth Certificate(s) from State Bureau of Vital Statistics
5. Marriage Certificate or Statement of Single Status
6. Divorce Decree, if divorced and not remarried
7. Health Examination Certificate, one for each person in the household
8. Financial Statement
9. Employer Letter(s) or CPA Statement if self-employed.  If one spouse is a stay-at-home parent, you need a letter stating thus
10. Local Police or Sheriff Criminal History Check
11. Approval Notice from INS (Form I-171H)
12. Photocopy of Signature/Photo page of passport(s)
13. Special Power of Attorney, if only one parent is traveling to China
14. Statement of Unemployment, if unemployed
15. Statement of Retirement, if retired

The following applies to all documents listed in bold above (#2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 13).  In the State of Ohio:

• First, these documents must be notarized by a current notary and they must remain current until the finalization of your adoption in China.
• Second, the notary must then be verified at the County Clerk of Courts in the county in which the notary is registered. 
• Third, the documents must then be certified by the Secretary of State from the state the document originated.  Please note that they Ohio Secretary of State website refers to this as authentication of documents.  If the documents are being mailed, please use the addresses below:

• Fourth and last, these documents must be authenticated by the appropriate Chinese Consulate.

Specific instructions are given for this procedure in the Adoption Guide which will be in your packet.

Ohio Laws

Timesaver for county certification and State authentication:

Initially, you have collected all of your documents and had them notorized. The next step would be to have the notary license verified at the county where the notary is registered . Then you go to the Secretary of State to have the notary certified for the state of Ohio.

The Ohio Secretary of State website explains that:

"Note: If an attorney notary notarized the document, the document may then be submitted to the secretary of state without further authentication."

In Ohio - Attorneys are Notary for life and are registered at the Secretary of State's office.  If you know of an attorney that can notarize the documents then you are not required to have the notary license verified. Your documents can go directly to the the secretary of state for certification.  However I would call the Secretary of State to see if your attorney is able to do this in Ohio.