Documents of Court, Commercial, Legal, Adoption, and Other Professional Documents Authentication.

Item	Description
Consular Jurisdiction	Our office provides document authentication services for documents issued in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. We are unable to process documents issued outside of our jurisdiction. Please contact the appropriate Taiwan overseas mission for verification. If you are unsure which office has jurisdiction, please refer to the Jurisdiction Inquiry Page.
Application Methods	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.
Required Documents	Completed Document Authentication Application Form One original and one photocopy of the applicant’s passport are required. The original will be returned after verification. If the application is submitted by mail, please provide a passport photocopy certified as a true copy by a notary public. For Republic of China (Taiwan) passports, notarization of the photocopy is not required. One original and one photocopy of the applicant’s identification document are required. The original will be returned after verification. If the application is submitted by mail and it is inconvenient to send the original passport or other identification document, a photocopy certified by a notary public as a true copy of the original may be submitted instead. If a Republic of China (Taiwan) passport or national identification card is used as the identification document and the application is submitted by mail, notarization of the photocopy is not required.※If the application is submitted in the name of a company, proof of company registration and establishment must also be provided. For foreign companies not registered within this office’s jurisdiction, the company registration and establishment document must be authenticated by the Republic of China (Taiwan) overseas mission with jurisdiction. The original document to be authenticated must be submitted. ※If the document is a public document issued by a government authority within this office’s jurisdiction, such as a state, county, city, or court authority, it must first be authenticated by the Secretary of State and then submitted to this office for authentication. ※If the document is a private document issued by a private company, organization, or individual, it must first be notarized by a Notary Public within this office’s jurisdiction and then authenticated by the Secretary of State before being submitted to this office for authentication. ※For documents exceeding 10 pages, please also provide one complete photocopy. ※Documents issued by United States federal government agencies, including branch offices located within this office’s jurisdiction, must first be authenticated by the U.S. Department of State and then submitted to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States for authentication. Texas Secretary of State Authentication Louisiana Secretary of State Authentication Mississippi Secretary of State Authentication Arkansas Secretary of State Authentication Oklahoma Secretary of State Authentication
Authentication of Chinese Translation (if required)	If a Chinese translation is required, applicants are advised to proceed in one of the following ways: After obtaining authentication of the original English document from this office, the applicant may take the authenticated original back to Taiwan and submit it together with the Chinese translation to a notary public in Taiwan for translation certification. Once the Chinese translation has been certified by a notary public in Taiwan, no further authentication by this office or by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is required; or The applicant may have the document accurately translated into Chinese by a translator who is a member of the American Translators Association (ATA). The Chinese translation must then be notarized by a notary public within this office’s jurisdiction. The translator shall appear before the notary public and declare that the Chinese translation faithfully and accurately reflects the meaning of the English original, and sign a statement such as: “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.” The applicant shall submit the original document authenticated by the Secretary of State, together with the notarized Chinese translation, to this office for authentication.
Issuance / Pick-up Time	In-person application or application submitted by an authorized representative: Processing time is five (5) business days. Application by mail: The authenticated document will be mailed within one month after this office receives the application.
Fees	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."
Pick-Up Options	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.
Pre-submission Checklist	□ All required documents □ Authentication fee: $15 per document □ Return envelope with sufficient postage (not needed if picking up in person)