WE LIVE IN USA
Racco My checklist
All guides ＋

Registering a US marriage in Taiwan: five steps, and you don't have to fly back

A felted raccoon putting an English marriage certificate and its Chinese translation into an envelope, with an embossing seal, stamps, a US map and Taiwan keepsakes on the desk

Once you marry in the US, the marriage is valid in the US, but the marital status in your Taiwan household registration does not update by itself. You have to file a marriage registration with a household registration office in Taiwan, and the Household Registration Act sets a deadline for it.

The whole thing can be done from the US: after the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) authenticates your marriage certificate, the office forwards it to your household registration office in Taiwan. You can also go in person to any household registration office in Taiwan. Below are the five steps in order, followed by the extra hurdle when your spouse is a foreign national, a resident of mainland China, or a national of certain designated countries.

Step 1: Confirm the marriage has been recorded in the US

The US process: before the wedding you apply to the county for a Marriage License; after the ceremony the officiant returns the signed license to the issuing county, and only once the county records it is there a record you can request a certificate from.

A civil ceremony at the county (also called a courthouse wedding, a short ceremony performed by a county clerk or a judge) also has to wait for recording. It is not the same system as a notarized marriage in Taiwan; what counts legally is whether the license was returned and recorded.

Confirm with the issuing county that recording is complete (see item 9 of the checklist) before requesting copies, or the county will find no record.

Step 2: Request a long-form certified copy

Request a certified copy (an official copy issued by the county, with a raised seal or watermark) from the county that issued the license, not the county you live in now. Your own photocopies and scans cannot be authenticated.

Watch which version you get. The TECO office in Los Angeles states that the marriage certificate must be the complete long form original or certified copy, not an abstract (extract / short form), and that the English names, dates of birth and places of birth on the certificate must match the passports (TECO Los Angeles, checked 2026-10-14). The TECO office in San Francisco's checklist also requires the names on the certificate to match the passports exactly (a middle name written only as an initial is acceptable); if a married surname causes a mismatch, you must attach supporting documents (TECO San Francisco checklist, September 2026 version, checked 2026-10-14).

When the copy arrives, check the names and dates letter by letter. Authentication uses up at least one copy, and you will also need copies for a name change and for immigration, so order several at once (see item 10 of the checklist, and how many copies of the marriage certificate to order).

Step 3: Send it to the right TECO office for authentication

Which office has jurisdiction depends on the state that issued the document, not where you live. For example, if you marry in Las Vegas, the certificate is issued by Clark County, Nevada, so it goes to the TECO office in San Francisco, even if you live in Texas.

These are the offices whose official pages we found in this round (checked 2026-10-14):

For the full jurisdictions and fees of all 13 offices in the US, see which TECO office to send your marriage certificate to.

For certificates from Utah County video-conference marriages, the TECO office in San Francisco authenticates only the form; their legal effect is decided by the competent authorities in Taiwan. The checklist states that a Taiwan national and a US citizen who marry this way can register the marriage in Taiwan.

Step 4: Prepare a Chinese translation

The rule from the Department of Household Registration, Ministry of the Interior: foreign-language documents must come with a Chinese translation, and the translation must be authenticated by an overseas mission or certified by a notary in Taiwan (Department of Household Registration, checked 2026-10-22).

TECO offices do not translate for you; you prepare the translation yourself:

The names and dates in the translation must match the English certificate exactly.

Step 5: Within 30 days, have it forwarded or go to a household registration office

According to the Department of Household Registration, there are two routes for the authenticated documents (checked 2026-10-22):

On the deadline, Article 48, Paragraph 1 of the Household Registration Act says household registration must be applied for "within thirty days after the event occurs or is confirmed." The TECO San Francisco checklist says to file with the household registration office "within 30 days after authentication," or you will be fined. The two wordings start the clock at different points, so check first with the household registration office or TECO which date your case counts from.

If you are late, under Article 48, Paragraphs 2 and 3, the household registration office must still accept the filing and will send a written reminder. The fine is in Article 79: being late without good reason carries a fine of NT$300 to NT$900; failing to file after a reminder carries a fine of NT$900 (Laws & Regulations Database of Taiwan, checked 2026-10-22). Even past the deadline, you still have to file.

Men of military-service age should read check with the National Conscription Agency before going back to Taiwan before returning to file. If your Taiwan passport also needs a name change, you can prepare the documents together with the registration (see item 14 of the checklist, and change the name on your Taiwan passport together with the household registration).

When your spouse is a foreign national, a resident of mainland China, or a national of a designated country

Foreign spouses (Department of Household Registration, checked 2026-10-22):

Countries designated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: the Taiwan national must first register the marriage in the foreign spouse's home country, then take the marriage certificate to an overseas mission to apply for an interview, and then register with a household registration office in Taiwan using the authenticated documents. The TECO San Francisco checklist states that the office will not authenticate a US marriage certificate for spouses from these countries.

Residents of mainland China: the Department of Household Registration requires the marriage certificate plus a Taiwan entry and exit permit issued by the National Immigration Agency and stamped "Interview passed; present this to register the marriage." For mainland spouses with residence status in the US, the TECO office in San Francisco requires an interview with its immigration section before authentication, and the Chinese version will be annotated "interview passed"; the representative office in Washington, DC also states that if either party holds a Chinese passport, they must pass an interview before authentication.

Same-sex spouses follow the same steps; what differs is the partner's nationality. Under the National Immigration Agency's August 2026 procedural guidelines, a mainland Chinese partner must first marry in person in a third jurisdiction that recognizes same-sex marriage, not including remote video-conference marriages; only after the certificate is authenticated by an overseas mission and the interview is passed can the marriage be registered in Taiwan (National Immigration Agency and Department of Household Registration, checked 2026-10-14). So a marriage performed in person at a US county qualifies for this route; a Utah County video-conference marriage does not.

Your spouse's residence or immigration status is part of the immigration process; see the visa and documents site. This article covers only the household registration step.

Common questions

If I marry in the US, do I have to register it in Taiwan?

For Taiwan nationals with household registration in Taiwan, the Household Registration Act requires registration to be applied for within 30 days after the event occurs or is confirmed. If you don't file, the marital status in your Taiwan household registration won't update, and being late without good reason can bring a fine of NT$300–900.

Do I have to go back to Taiwan in person?

No. Once TECO authenticates the marriage certificate, the office can forward it to the household registration office where you are registered (Department of Household Registration, checked 2026-10-22).

Which office do I use for a Las Vegas wedding?

The certificate is issued by Clark County, Nevada, so it goes to the TECO office in San Francisco for authentication. What matters is the issuing state, not the state you live in (TECO San Francisco checklist, checked 2026-10-14).

Registering in Taiwan is only one of the things to do after the wedding. The My Wedding Plan checklist has a free version, and you can start without giving an email address; once you choose your spouse's status, the related items are added to the list, with registration in Taiwan as item 15.

Sources (checked 2026-10-22)

← Back to the checklist