Link Policy

Links to the TDHCA Web site

Advance permission to link to www.tdhca.texas.gov is not necessary. However, be aware that TDHCA web pages may change at any time without notice. Entities and individuals linking to TDHCA should regularly verify links to our pages.

Entities and individuals linking to the TDHCA Web site shall not capture the TDHCA Web site pages within frames, present TDHCA content as its own, or otherwise misrepresent the TDHCA Web site content or misinform users about the origin or ownership of the TDHCA Web site content. Any link to the TDHCA Web site should be a full forward link that passes the client browser to the TDHCA Web site unencumbered. The Back button should return the visitor to its site if the visitor wishes to back out.

Links from TDHCA

This section outlines the criteria and requirements that external Web sites must meet to have a link from the TDHCA Web site. It also details how links are accepted and removed from the TDHCA Web site.

Criteria

The fundamental purpose of the TDHCA Web site is to inform citizens and users regarding government services and to perform government functions. The TDHCA Web site is not a forum for public communication and debate. The following criteria have been established to preserve its non-public forum nature. The TDHCA Web site accepts link requests made by federal, state, and local governments that provide information and services that benefit Texas citizens and businesses. At its discretion, the TDHCA Web site may link to non-governmental Web sites that contain information and/or services that further the purpose of the TDHCA Web site. Link requests will undergo review to determine relevance and appropriateness. Links are approved for the TDHCA Web site based on the following criteria:

The external Web site corresponds with the TDHCA Web site design and mission of single point of access to information and services that is private, secure, convenient, efficient, customer service-oriented and accessible. The site's content must be appropriate with respect to the TDHCA Web site mission and is not a:

• Commercial site which charges a fee for products or services online (Notices of the availability of publications by government entities that charge for the publications or notices of government sponsored conferences that charge a registration fee are not commercial sites and may be considered for linking.)
• Site that exhibits hate, bias, discrimination, pornography, libelous or otherwise defamatory content
• Site belonging to or supporting a political affiliation
• Site which furthers the agenda of a political organization or candidate running for office.

TDHCA reserves the right to deny or remove links if it determines that a Web site contains misleading or unsubstantiated claims, conflicts with the TDHCA Web site mission, or does not meet one or more of the criteria set forth.

Requirements

To give superior customer service to citizens and businesses accessing information and services through the TDHCA Web site, we require that external Web sites requesting a link on the TDHCA Web site meet the following requirements:

• The linked site must provide the user with an email address and/or a customer service telephone number, in order for users to contact the site if there are problems with format, accuracy, timeliness, or payment processing.
• When the user clicks on the external web site link, he/she must have easy access back to the TDHCA Web site.
• Linked sites must have a privacy policy accessible from their home page informing the user of what information is collected, how it is collected, how it is used, and how the user can review and correct the information.
• Linked sites must comply with accepted standards as provided by the Worldwide Web Consortium (w3c.org) to ensure that persons with disabilities may access these sites.
• TDHCA reserves the right to link to external web sites that it feels would provide a service to the citizen.

Removal Process

Links from the TDHCA Web site will be reviewed 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 information pointed to by the link is inaccurate, misleading or otherwise violates the criteria and requirements set forth above in the sections entitled "Criteria" and "Requirements"
• 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, especially if we are unable to contact the site manager about the site's status
• The external web site fails to comply with the written linking agreement, if any;

Contact Information

For questions and concerns regarding the linking policy, or to request a link, contact us at (512)-475-3800 or email us at webmaster@tdhca.texas.gov.