Links to the TFEE Website
Advance permission to link to TFEE website is not necessary; however, be aware that TFEE subpages may change at any time without notice. Entities and individuals linking to the TFEE website must continuously verify links to our subpages.
Entities and individuals linking to the TFEE website shall not capture TFEE pages within frames, present TFEE content as its own, or otherwise misrepresent TFEE content. Furthermore, they shall not misinform users about the origin or ownership of TFEE content. Certain information on the TFEE website may be trademarked, service-marked, or otherwise protected as intellectual property. Protected intellectual property must be used in accordance with state and federal laws and must reflect the proper ownership of the intellectual property.
Any link to the TFEE website should be a full forward link that passes the client browser to TFEE unencumbered.
The "Back" button should return the visitor to original site if the visitor wishes to back out.
Links from the TFEE Website
This section outlines the criteria and requirements that external websites must meet to have a link on the TFEE website. It also details how links are accepted and removed from the TFEE website.
TFEE reserves the right to link to external websites that it feels would provide a service or otherwise be of value to constituents.
Acceptance criteria
TFEE links to federal, state, and local government websites that provide information and services of benefit to Texas citizens, Texas local government, and Texas state agencies. At its discretion, TFEE will consider link requests to non-governmental websites that contain information and/or services that further the purpose of TFEE, including the websites of TFEE-contracted vendors, relevant technology-related associations, and timely and relevant information technology (IT) publications.
The TFEE website is not a forum for public communication and debate. The criteria outlined in this section have been established to ensure that the TFEE website remains a non-public forum.
Every link request must undergo review to determine its relevance and appropriateness to the purpose of TFEE. Links are approved for TFEE based on the following criteria:
- The external website corresponds with the purpose of TFEE.
- The site's content is appropriate with respect to the purpose of TFEE.
The site does not exhibit hate, bias, discrimination, pornography, libelous or otherwise defamatory content; advocate or promote the use of alcohol, tobacco, or currently illegal substances; belong to or support a political affiliation; or further the agenda of a political organization or candidate running for office.
TFEE reserves the right to deny links if it determines that a website contains misleading or unsubstantiated claims, conflicts with the purpose of TFEE, or does not meet one or more of the criteria set forth above.
Review Process
Email link requests to webmaster@occc.texas.gov indicating "TFEE Link Request" in the subject line. Each link request should address how the site meets the acceptance criteria outlined above.
The link request will be reviewed against the acceptance criteria set forth above. The decision of the TFEE is final as to whether the requesting site may have a link from TFEE.
Approved sites must comply with the following conditions for link maintenance and may be required to enter into a written linking agreement with TFEE.
Conditions for Link Maintenance
To give superior customer service to citizens and businesses accessing governmental information and services through TFEE, we require that external websites linked from TFEE meet the following conditions:
The external site must provide the user with access to an email address and/or a customer service telephone number so that users may contact the site if there are problems with format, accuracy, timeliness, or payment processing.
Linked sites should not excessively burden the TFEE customer support system. If the site excessively burdens the TFEE customer support system, TFEE has discretion to take linked site off of the TFEE website.
When the user clicks on the external website link, he/she must have easy access back to TFEE. One of two options can accomplish this:
- A link to TFEE can be established on the external website's main page.
- The "Back" button returns the user to TFEE.
Linked sites must have a privacy and security policy accessible from their home page informing the user of what information is collected, how it is collected, and how it is used. TFEE encourages linked sites to comply with industry-accepted accessibility standards to ensure that persons with disabilities may access these sites.
Linked sites must notify TFEE if the site to which TFEE links becomes inaccurate or inactive.
Removal Process
TFEE reserves the right to remove links if it determines that a website contains misleading or unsubstantiated claims, conflicts with the purpose of TFEE, or does not meet one or more of the criteria set forth above.
Links from TFEE will be reviewed regularly and may be removed for the following reasons:
- The link no longer points to the original information or resource to which it was intended to point.
- The website pointed to by the link contains inaccurate or misleading information or has changed such that it is no longer in compliance with the acceptance criteria.
- The website pointed to by the link violates the conditions for link maintenance.
- Access to the information has become difficult due to non-standard formatting, lengthy download times, or intrusive advertising.
- The link is permanently unreachable or remains unavailable for a lengthy period.
- The external website fails to comply with the written linking agreement, if any.
The decision of the TFEE is final as to whether a link is to be removed from TFEE.
Removal Process
For questions or concerns regarding the linking policy, email us.