Effective December 1, 2023, TECO-LA's consular service hours will be revised to Monday through Thursday
Procedure and Requirements
1. To apply for apotille service of a Power of Attorney, Letter of Authorization, Disclaimer of Rights to Inheritance or any other documents, the applicants are required to submit the following documentations:
(1) A completed Application Form for Authentication. (pdf)
(2) A photocopy of applicant's VALID passport .
(3) An original document(s): For documents not listed above, please email or call TECO-LA in advance to obtain information of the specific procedure and additional requirements.
(4) Application fee: US$15 per document.
(5) A copy of a license/certification issued by the Secretary of State office to that business entity if applicant submits on behalf of a business entity.
2. Service Areas: Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles (TECO-LA) is only authorized to authenticate documents that have been issued within our service areas, covering Southern California ( Los Angeles County, San Diego County, Orange County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County, Kern County, Ventura County, Santa Barbara County, San Luis Obispo County and Imperial County), Arizona and New Mexico.
3. Commercial documents including, but not limited to, bank statements, business licenses, tax reports (Business/ Personal), business registrations...etc. are required to be notarized by a notary public and certified by Secretary of State (Certain states may require County Clerk’s certification prior to submission of Secretary of State) prior to submission to for processing. TECO-LA will NOT accept any documents which the Notary Public did not witness the signatory before him/her; Authentication from Notary Public that verified documents without the presence of signatory will not be accepted either.
4. Documents that have been submitted to TECO-LA via an agent are accepted but only if the documents are accompanied by:
(1) A notarized power of attorney prepared by the applicant which authorizes the agent to submit the application.
(2) A photo I.D. (e.g., driver’s license, passport, or naturalization certificate) of the person who will deliver the documents.
5. All documents must be submitted with an additional photocopy of the documents concerned in their entirety. This includes an additional photocopy of any cover letter from a local government or the Department of State. If several identical documents are submitted for authentication, TECO-LA requires only one photocopy of one of the documents.
6. Applications submitted by mail must also include a self-addressed stamped envelope with sufficient postage. TECO-LA only forward accepted and processed applications via Express Mail provided by USPS. Please click HERE for current rate.
7.Processing Time (* during Covid-19 pandemic): 5 working day to 1 month after processing a receipt. Additional processing time may be needed if case of insufficient documents or extra supporting documents are required.
8. Counter Application: Monday to Thursday
Please make a Reservation . After reservation was completed and an email confirmation with a QRcode received, applicants may visit TECO-LA at given time slot with all requirements ready and submit directly at the counter of TECO-LA. However, the reservation portal is only partly Chinese-English designed, you are advised to consult with people who can read Chinese and help you out before the reservation portal migrating to a fully English one.
9. Mail-in Application: Please sign 郵寄具結書Mail Delivery Agreement(含須知)
Please attach a notarized copy of your photo ID as proof of your identity. However, a copy of Passport or ID Card is issued by the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) will not be required to be notarized if the applicant is a Taiwanese citizen. Prior to mailing documents to TECO-LA, he/she may contact Consular Division of TECO-LA staff at +1 213-389-1215 for guidance and further information. *Remember to attach a postage paid return envelop and put inside the mail envelope if you're unavailable to come and pick up the passport at our office. We only accept USPS returns, and $31 Priority Express Mail is required.
10. Methods of Payment-Cash, money order, or cashier's check. Payable to : "TECO". *Personal check and credit card will not be accepted.
Instructions:
*If applicant is a Taiwanese national and intends to include a Chinese name printed/written on the Power of Attorney ("Name in Chinese" column), he/she must submit an VALID Taiwan passport, latest version of Taiwan ID cards or a copy of Household Registration Record issued within 3 months.
*If applicant is a foreign national (such as US citizen) and cannot provide any official identification documents with a Chinese name, he/she may only use his/her English name printed/written on the documents.
*Leave the "Principal Signature" column BLANK of the form (Power of Attorney, Letter of Authorization, Disclaimer of Rights to Inheritance) and sign only before a TECO-LA official or a Notary Public.
*For mail-in application, the photocopy of applicant's passport or photo ID must be notarized as a true copy prior to sending your mail. Besides, applicant must first have the Power of Attorney/Letter of Authorization/Disclaimer of Rights to Inheritance...etc. notarized by a notary public . The notary public must also state the exact time and date when the signature was signed by the applicant. If the purpose of applying for a Power of Attorney /Letter of Authorization/Disclaimer of Rights to Inheritance...etc involves bank account, real estate, inheritance of interests, the document concerned must be notarized by a notary public within TECO-LA’s service areas (Southern California, Arizona and New Mexico) and then apostilled by the Office of the Secretary of State, authenticating the signatures of California or Arizona or New Mexico notary public.
*Once the apostilled service was completed by TECO-LA, any addition to or alteration of the document will be rendered as an offence of forgery and declined by the governing authorities in Taiwan.
Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles
3731 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 700, Los Angeles, CA 90010
Tel: +1 213-389-1215
Email: tecola@mofa.gov.tw
Download:
1.Application Form for Authentication
2.Power of Attorney(sign before a TECO official)
3.Power of Attorney(sign before a Notary Public)
4.Disclaimer of Rights to Inheritance
5.郵寄具結書Mail Delivery Agreement(含須知)
