Death and Cremation Certificate Authentication
To fill out the application form for death and cremation certificate authentication, the applicant's part will be filled out with the deceased’s information, and the related person must complete and sign the agent part.
If the deceased held a valid Taiwan passport, our officer would need to cancel the passport by the regulations.
For all other instructions regarding authentication (such as processing time, Fees and Payment Methods, Return Envelope, etc.) please refer to the "General Instructions for Document Authentication."
Please submit the following materials when applying:
Original English document authentication
We only accept original death certificates issued by government agencies in the six states under our jurisdiction. Cremation certificates must be issued by the funeral home within our jurisdiction and notarized by the public notary in that state.
For either walk-in applicants or applications via mailing:
- Application Form for Authentication: The applicant's part will be filled out with the deceased’s information, and the related person must complete and sign the agent part. Applicants can submit multiple documents under one application.
- Clear copies of the identifications for the deceased and agent: The English names on the identifications MUST match the English names on the documents. If the deceased held a valid Taiwan passport, then must first provide a copy of the Taiwan passport. If the English name on the passport does not match the name on the document, additional passport or identification documents must be provided for name verification.
- Proof of relationship: The agent must submit the document that proves the relationship with the deceased. This material can be waived ONLY if the agent's name is also on the documents.
- Original death certificate: The original death certificates issued by the six state government agencies under our jurisdiction.
- Cremation certificate (if needed): The cremation certificates must be issued by the funeral home within our jurisdiction and notarized by the public notary in that state.
Chinese translation authentication
In most cases, the Chinese translation can be completed and notarized after returning to Taiwan. Please confirm with the relevant authorities whether you need to apply for authentication of the Chinese translation here or not.
If the original English documents are issued out of our jurisdiction, please consult the TECO office in charge of that jurisdiction to authenticate the original documents, and then submit the authenticated original documents when applying for the authentication of its translated version. If the documents are all from our jurisdiction, they can be submitted together for authentication.
Please prepare the Chinese translation by yourself. When translating, please refer to the instructions for "Regulations for Chinese Translations" below.
For either walk-in applicants or applications via mailing:
- Application Form for Authentication: Each applicant must complete and sign the form. Applicants can submit multiple documents under one application.
- Clear copy of the passport or Taiwanese ID card for the deceased: The Chinese names on the identifications MUST match the Chinese names on the translation. (See the notes for details)
- Clear copy of the identification for the agent.
- Proof of relationship: The agent must submit the document that proves the relationship with the deceased. This material can be waived ONLY if the agent's name is also on the documents.
- Chinese translation of the documents: The names of the deceased must be written in Chinese. Corresponding documents must be provided as the basis for verifying their Chinese names. Please do not write the English names. The Chinese translation must be signed by the agent, stating that the Chinese content is consistent with the English original, and then authenticated by TECO. (See Regulations for Chinese Translations below for details)
Regulations for Chinese Translations:
- The Chinese translation must preserve the same layout as the original document.
- If larger fonts are used in the Chinese translation, additional pages may be necessary; however, strive to preserve the original layout as closely as possible.
- Please do not use simplified Chinese or other special fonts to avoid system failure.
- NON-MAIN RELEVANT names (e.g., witnesses, judges, doctors, etc.) and addresses or place names may be transliterated using translation software.
- Walk-in applicants must sign the translation in front of our officer, declaring that the translation is accurate.
- If signing before our officer is not possible, the translation must instead be signed before a public notary within our jurisdiction, along with the following statement:
I hereby declare that this translation is a true and correct Chinese version of the attached original to the best of my knowledge.
Signature: ___________________。 Date: ___________________。
Notes:
- If the document needs to be notarized by a Public Notary, it must be signed and stamped by a public notary in one of the six states under our jurisdiction.
- Additional identification might be requested while the documents are reviewing.
Forms:
