Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Houston

• By Mail: Please choose a reliable courier service and send via registered mail. Address: 11 Greenway Plaza, Suite 2006, Houston, Texas 77046 (please indicate "Document Authentication Section").
• In-Person: Please refer to our office hours.
• Through a Representative: The applicant must complete a Power of Attorney, have it notarized, and sign in person. The representative must present the notarized document, a Valid ID, and all required paperwork when applying on behalf of the applicant.

• Completed Document Authentication Application Form
  ※In the application form, please fill in the deceased’s information in the “Applicant” field. For the “Authorized Agent” field at the bottom of the form, please provide the agent’s full contact information, including phone number and email address, to facilitate communication. The authorized agent should be the informant listed on the death certificate. If not, please provide documents proving the relationship between the agent and the deceased.
• Applicants must submit the original death document issued by the competent local government authority within this office’s consular jurisdiction (Certified Copy of Death Certificate).

  Note: Please ensure that the information on the death certificate matches the identification documents provided before submitting for authentication. For example, if the date of birth does not match, the death certificate must be amended at the issuing authority before this office can process authentication.

• Applicants must submit both the original and a photocopy of a valid ROC (Taiwan) or foreign passports or identification cards for the applicant, authorized agent, and the individual concerned in the document.

  ※For applications submitted by mail, the original passport/ID is not required. Please provide a photocopy of the passport/ID, and write on the back: “This photocopy is true and matches the original” and sign it.

  ※ For death certificate authentication, if the deceased held a Republic of China (Taiwan) passport, it must also be submitted for verification.

• If you need to authenticate a cremation certificate issued by a funeral home, the document must first be notarized by a local Notary Public before this office can process authentication.
• If a Chinese translation is required, the applicant must prepare a complete and accurate translation. This office does not review or verify the accuracy of the translation. The applicant must personally sign and stamp the translated document in the presence of consular staff, declaring that the translation is true and accurate.

  ※ For applications submitted by mail, the Chinese translation must first be notarized by a Notary Public under this office’s jurisdiction with a signed declaration stating that: “I hereby declare that the translation is true and accurate,” before submitting it for authentication.

  ※ The Chinese translation cannot be authenticated separately. Therefore, the combined authentication fee for the English original and the Chinese translation is USD 30 (USD 15 per language). Alternatively, applicants may choose to authenticate only the English version of the death certificate at this office and have the Chinese translation notarized in Taiwan later.

  Note: This office does not provide translation services. Applicants may translate the document themselves, but the format must match the original document.

  ※Chinese Translation Verification:
  Applicants are advised to proceed in one of the following ways:
  Option 1: After obtaining authentication of the English document by this office, the applicant may return to Taiwan and have the document translated into Chinese either personally or through a translation agency. The Chinese translation should then be notarized by a Notary Public in Taiwan. Once the Chinese translation has been notarized in Taiwan, no further authentication by this office is required.

  Option 2: The applicant may prepare a complete Chinese translation in advance, either personally or through a local translation agency, and have the translation notarized by a Notary Public under this office’s jurisdiction. The applicant must make and sign a declaration before the notary stating that the Chinese translation accurately reflects the meaning of the English original, for example: “I hereby declare that this translation is a true and correct Chinese version of the attached original to the best of my knowledge and belief.” After notarization, the Chinese translation may then be submitted to this office for authentication.

• USD $15 per document.
• Payment accepted via cash, money order, or cashier’s check. Personal checks are not accepted. Please make sure the check is payable to "TECO in Houston."
• The original birth certificate must be authenticated before its copy can be verified. We do not verify copies alone.

• In-Person or by Representative: Please bring the receipt. Documents not collected within 3 months will not be stored by our office.
• Mail-in Applicants: In-person pick-up is recommended. You may pick up documents during counter hours after receiving a notification.
• Return Mailing in the U.S.: If you cannot pick up documents in person, you may authorize our office to mail them to a U.S. address. We do not mail documents to Taiwan.
• Our office only assists with mailing by dropping documents into a postal box. We are not responsible for damage, delays, or loss during mailing and will not reissue lost documents.
  Before mailing documents to us, please:
  1. Prepare a return envelope with proper postage
  2. For USPS, use Priority Mail Express® Flat Rate Envelope ($33). Clearly write the recipient's name and address using a Priority Mail Express® Label
  3. If you are requesting our office to purchase postage stamps, payment must be made by a separate check

If the applicant is in Taiwan and has no one in the U.S. to collect the documents, please prepare an international return mail envelope (e.g., USPS Priority Mail Express International, $76) and include the recipient’s full name and address in both English and Chinese.

If using other courier services (UPS, FedEx, DHL): Do not include our office information on the shipping label. The sender’s address must be that of the applicant or a family member.

If the return envelope does not meet our or USPS requirements, you will be asked to provide corrections or pick up the documents in person.