Taiwan Process Server

Overview

Process Server in Taiwan: How Service of Process Works

Taiwan is not a party to the Hague Service Convention or any other treaty related to international service of judicial documents, a position rooted in its unique diplomatic status following the UN's 1971 recognition of the People's Republic of China. U.S. courts have found that because Taiwan does not prohibit service of process by mail, mailing the complaint to a defendant's Taiwan headquarters can satisfy FRCP 4(f)(2)(A), though formal Letters Rogatory remains the most defensible route for contested matters. One detail matters more here than in almost any other jurisdiction: translations must be into Traditional Chinese, not Simplified Chinese, which can be perceived as a slight given Taiwan's political relationship with mainland China.

Who serves process

Who Can Serve Legal Documents in Taiwan

Taiwan's courts serve documents through court clerks under its Code of Civil Procedure, and foreign requests are handled under Taiwan's Law Governing Extension of Assistance to Foreign Courts. Taiwan is not a party to the Hague Service Convention.

Because the U.S. has no diplomatic relations with Taiwan, letters rogatory travel through the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), and U.S. courts must not refer to Taiwan as the 'Republic of China' in the request. Documents need Traditional Chinese translations. A local agent can serve faster, but if you may need to enforce a judgment in Taiwan, court-executed service is safer, because Taiwan courts may refuse to recognize a judgment where service was made by mail, email or other informal means.

For defendants in Taipei or elsewhere in Taiwan, the usual starting point is a statement of claim with a summons to appear; orders, notices and enforcement papers follow later in a case. Addresses range from Taipei to the Eastern Taiwan & Outlying Islands.

Treaties

Taiwan and the Hague Conventions: Treaty Status

The Hague Service Convention lets member countries send documents to each other's Central Authorities for service. Taiwan has not joined it, so that route isn't available, and the Convention's Article 10 rules on postal and private service don't apply. Whether those methods are acceptable depends on Taiwan's law and on what your court allows.

Taiwan is not a party to the Hague Evidence Convention, so requests for witness testimony or documents go through letters rogatory.