China Process Server

Overview

Process Server in China: How Service of Process Works

Serving a defendant in mainland China for a U.S. case means going through the Hague Service Convention. China is a party to the Convention, and because it has objected to every alternative method in Article 10, the Ministry of Justice, acting as China's Central Authority, is the only route the Convention allows.

That makes getting the request right the first time especially important. Service attempted outside this route can be challenged in your U.S. case, and it may not be recognized if you later need to enforce a judgment against assets in China. A request that is returned for a missing translation or an incomplete address can cost months.

In federal court, service abroad is governed by FRCP 4(f)(1), service by an internationally agreed means such as the Hague Convention. The Convention is a treaty, so it binds state courts as well. The 90-day service limit in Rule 4(m) does not apply to service in a foreign country, but courts still expect you to start promptly and pursue it diligently.

China's 2023 amendments to the Civil Procedure Law, in force since 1 January 2024, were the first major rewrite of its foreign-related procedure since 1991. They expanded the ways Chinese courts can serve foreign parties and wrote reciprocity-based recognition of foreign judgments into the law itself.

That second change matters for U.S. plaintiffs. Chinese courts once required proof that a U.S. court had already recognized a Chinese judgment. A January 2022 Supreme People's Court policy document moved to 'de jure' reciprocity, which asks instead whether the foreign country's law would recognize a Chinese judgment, and the 2024 law confirmed that approach. Chinese courts had already recognized a California judgment in 2017, in the Liu Li v. Tao Li case.

Recognition still depends on the defendant having been properly summoned. Because China objects to every Article 10 method, the Central Authority route, with Simplified Chinese translations, is the way to protect a judgment you may want to enforce against assets in mainland China.

Who serves process

Who Can Serve Legal Documents in China

In mainland China, documents from abroad are served by the people's courts. China's Central Authority is the Ministry of Justice, working through its International Legal Cooperation Center, which reviews each request and passes it to the competent court for service under Chinese law.

China has objected to every method in Article 10, so postal service, private process servers and service by interested persons are not valid. The Central Authority is the only reliable route, and every document must be in Chinese or come with a Chinese translation. Hong Kong and Macao have their own, separate systems.

Typical documents include summonses and complaints, court orders and notices. Companies should be named by their registered Chinese name, since only that name has legal effect in China.

The rules

China Service of Process Rules

The rules that matter most for service and enforcement in mainland China:

Treaties

Hague Service Convention and China

China is a party to the Hague Service Convention, so documents can be sent to its Central Authority, which arranges service and returns a Certificate of Service. China has made a declaration on Article 10, which limits service by post or by private agents, so we confirm which methods are open before choosing one.

China is also a party to the Hague Evidence Convention, so witness testimony and documents can be requested with a Letter of Request.