Documents for cross-border exchanges usually need to be notarized, because foreign countries do not know what Chinese documents look like. For example, foreign countries usually recognize the signature of an individual, while China recognizes the stamp of an organization. Customs and habits, different regulations in different countries, and in order to prevent the proliferation of false certificates, all countries have stipulated the need for notarization. Moreover, in the absence of a legalization-free convention or agreement, the notarial certificate still needs to be authenticated by the country's embassy in China before it can be sent to that country for use.