A US court or state agency has ordered the other parent to pay child support. That parent now lives in Guatemala, or has a salary, a bank account or land there. The question is whether the US order is worth anything before a Guatemalan judge. The short answer: there is no treaty to carry it, so it goes through Guatemala’s general rules on foreign judgments. Those rules have five conditions, and a default order can fail one of them.
Quick summary: Guatemala is not a Hague 2007 Child Support Convention country and not on the US government’s list of countries with child-support arrangements (El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua are). A US order therefore goes through Articles 344-346 of Guatemala’s Civil and Commercial Procedure Code. It needs five conditions, a Spanish translation, authenticated signatures and the pase legal. After that, the Guatemalan judge enforces it like a local judgment. An order issued by default (rebeldía) fails condition 2. The alternative is a new support case in a Guatemalan Family Court, which you can file from the USA through a lawyer.
This page describes rules and where they come from. It is not legal advice. Treaty lists checked 23 September 2026. Procedure Code text from WIPO Lex’s copy of Decreto-Ley 107 (file dated 2014); later amendments were not checked, so a Guatemalan lawyer should confirm the current wording.
The treaty map: which system your case is in
A support order crosses a border fastest when both countries belong to the same treaty. Here is where the United States and Guatemala stand:
| Instrument | United States | Guatemala | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hague 2007 Child Support Convention | In force since 1 January 2017 | Not a party | HCCH status table |
| US “foreign reciprocating country” arrangements | Runs the list | Not listed | Office of Child Support Services, updated 15 Sep 2026 |
| UN Convention on the Recovery Abroad of Maintenance (New York, 1956) | Not a party | Party: signed 26 Dec 1956, ratified 25 Apr 1957 | UN Treaty Collection |
| Inter-American Convention on Support Obligations (Montevideo, 1989) | Not a party | Party: ratified 13 Sep 1995, deposited 5 Feb 1996 | OAS treaty B-54 |
The two conventions Guatemala did join are ones the United States never joined. The two systems the United States runs do not include Guatemala. So no treaty channel connects the two countries.
For comparison, the neighbours are inside the US system. Honduras has been a Hague Convention party since 2018 and El Salvador since 7 February 2026. All three of El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua appear on the federal list of countries the US has child-support arrangements with.
The federal office describes its role this way: “OCSE is the U.S. Central Authority for international child support.” For every case, its instruction to parents is the same: “Contact your child support office to learn how international cases are handled in your state.”
The Guatemalan route: Civil Procedure Code, Articles 344-346
Without a treaty, Art. 344 decides what a foreign judgment is worth. It gives the judgment the value that the country of origin’s law or case law gives to Guatemalan judgments: “a falta de tratado que determine expresamente su eficacia, el valor que la legislación o la jurisprudencia del país de origen asignen a las sentencias dictadas por los tribunales guatemaltecos.”
This is reciprocity. How a US judgment is treated in Guatemala depends on how US courts treat Guatemalan ones. That is why Guatemala’s own declaration to the Montevideo convention says that recognition requires “that equal validity be recognized for national judgments in the country where it was rendered.”
Art. 345 then lists five conditions. All five must be met:
| # | Condition (Art. 345, original wording) | What it means for a US support order |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | “Que haya sido dictada a consecuencia del ejercicio de una acción personal, civil o mercantil” | The judgment must come from a personal, civil or commercial action |
| 2 | “Que no haya recaído en rebeldía ni contra persona reputada ausente que tenga su domicilio en Guatemala” | The order must not be a default judgment, and must not be against an absent person domiciled in Guatemala. See the next section |
| 3 | “Que la obligación para cuyo cumplimiento se haya procedido sea lícita en la república” | The obligation must be lawful in Guatemala. Support for children is a legal duty there too (Civil Code Art. 278) |
| 4 | “Que sea ejecutoriada conforme a las leyes de la nación en que se haya dictado” | The order must be final and enforceable under the law of the US state that issued it |
| 5 | “Que reúna los requisitos necesarios para ser considerada como auténtica” | It must be authenticated. For a US document, that means the apostille chain |
Art. 346 names the court and the paperwork. The competent judge is the one who would have heard the original case. Once the judgment is filed there, “traducida al castellano, autenticadas las firmas, concedido el pase legal y solicitada su ejecución, se procederá como si fuere sentencia de los tribunales de la república.”
Why default orders are the weak point
Condition 2 of Art. 345 excludes judgments that “haya recaído en rebeldía” (issued in default).
Guatemala stated the same rule to the other countries that signed the Inter-American Convention on Support Obligations:
“In accordance with the civil procedural law in effect in Guatemala, which has the character of public policy law and is applicable to the Convention, what is required, inter alia, for recognition of the extraterritorial validity of a foreign judgment is that said judgment not be rendered in default of the defendant and that equal validity be recognized for national judgments in the country where it was rendered.”
Before you spend money on translation and apostilles, ask your US attorney or state agency one question: did the other parent appear, or was the order entered by default? If it was entered by default, a Guatemalan lawyer may advise starting a new case instead (below).
The documents trail (what Guatemala asks of any foreign document)
The Ley del Organismo Judicial sets the general rules for documents from abroad. Art. 346 of the Procedure Code layers its own steps on top.
| Step | Rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Legalization | Foreign documents “deben ser legalizados por el Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores”; CENADOJ’s note on this article points to the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention | LOJ Art. 37 |
| Translation | Documents in another language must be translated “bajo juramento por traductor autorizado en la República” | LOJ Art. 37 |
| Protocolization | Documents to be registered in public registries “deberán ser protocolizados ante notario” | LOJ Art. 38 |
| Filing | Translated, signatures authenticated, pase legal granted, execution requested before the competent judge | CPCyM Art. 346 |
For the US half of the chain, which certified copy to request and which Secretary of State office apostilles it, see apostilling US documents for Guatemala. For the notary step, see notarial protocolization.
Plan B: a new support case in Guatemala
If the US order cannot pass Art. 345, Guatemalan law gives the child its own claim. Under the Civil Code:
- What support covers (Art. 278): “todo lo que es indispensable para el sustento, habitación, vestido, asistencia médica y también la educación e instrucción del alimentista cuando es menor de edad.”
- How it is set (Art. 279): “Los alimentos han de ser proporcionados a las circunstancias personales y pecuniarias de quien los debe y de quien los recibe, y serán fijados por el juez, en dinero.”
- It can change (Art. 280): support rises or falls with the child’s needs and the payer’s means.
- Arrears are different (Art. 282): “Podrán, sin embargo, compensarse, embargarse, renunciarse y enajenarse las pensiones alimenticias atrasadas.” Current support cannot be waived or seized, but past-due support can.
- Guarantee (Art. 292): a parent who had to be sued “deberá garantizar suficientemente la cumplida prestación de ellos con hipoteca, si tuviere bienes hipotecables, o con fianza u otras seguridades, a juicio del juez.”
A Guatemalan judge sets that amount under Guatemalan law. It is a new case, not a copy of the US figure. The procedure, from the USA through a power of attorney, is in our child and spousal support lawsuit guide, the oral support proceeding, and in Spanish, pensión alimenticia. To give a Guatemalan lawyer authority from the USA, see poder consular.
If the other parent is in the USA but owns property in Guatemala, Guatemalan courts can summon someone abroad “Cuando se ejercite alguna acción concerniente a bienes que estén ubicados en Guatemala” (LOJ Art. 34). Serving that person abroad uses international judicial requests.
Which path fits your situation
| Your situation | Where to start | Why |
|---|---|---|
| US order, other parent appeared in the US case, now has assets or income in Guatemala | Guatemalan lawyer: enforcement under CPCyM Arts. 344-346 | The order can meet all five Art. 345 conditions |
| US order entered by default | Guatemalan lawyer: likely a new support case in Guatemala | Art. 345 condition 2 excludes default judgments |
| No order yet, other parent in Guatemala | New Family Court case in Guatemala, filed through a lawyer holding your poder | Guatemalan judge sets support in money (CC Art. 279) |
| Other parent lives in the US | Your state child support office | The federal office sends international questions to the states; residency or citizenship is not required to apply |
What we could not confirm
- Cost and timing of a Guatemalan enforcement case. No official fee or timeline is published, so we give none.
- How each US state treats Guatemalan judgments. Art. 344 makes this the deciding factor, and we did not research US law on it. Ask your state child support office or a US family lawyer.
- The current wording of Arts. 344-346 and any reforms since 2014. We read WIPO Lex’s copy because CENADOJ does not publish the Procedure Code online.
Primary sources
- Hague Conference — 2007 Child Support Convention status table (Guatemala absent; United States in force 1 January 2017)
- US Office of Child Support Services — International parents (country list, updated 15 September 2026) and International
- UN Treaty Collection — Convention on the Recovery Abroad of Maintenance, New York 1956
- OAS — B-54 Inter-American Convention on Support Obligations, signatories and Guatemala’s declaration
- WIPO Lex — Código Procesal Civil y Mercantil, Decreto-Ley 107 (Arts. 344-346)
- Organismo Judicial / CENADOJ — Código Civil comentado (updated to 8 August 2025) and Ley del Organismo Judicial
More for Guatemalans in the United States: diaspora hub · divorcing in Guatemala while living in the USA · Organismo Judicial hub
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Guatemala part of the Hague Child Support Convention?
No. Guatemala does not appear in the Hague Conference’s status table for the 2007 Child Support Convention (checked 23 September 2026). The United States has applied it since 1 January 2017, and two neighbours joined: Honduras (in force 19 October 2018) and El Salvador (in force 7 February 2026). Guatemala is not among them.
Is Guatemala a foreign reciprocating country for US child support?
No. The federal Office of Child Support Services publishes the list of countries the US government has child support arrangements with (page updated 15 September 2026). El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua are on it; Guatemala is not. Its advice for any international case is to contact your state child support office to learn how that state handles it.
Can a US child support order be enforced in Guatemala?
Not automatically. With no treaty between the two countries on support, the order goes through Articles 344-346 of Guatemala’s Civil and Commercial Procedure Code. It must meet five conditions (Art. 345), be translated into Spanish with its signatures authenticated, and receive the pase legal, after which the competent Guatemalan judge enforces it as if it were a Guatemalan judgment (Art. 346). Whether a given order qualifies is a question for a Guatemalan lawyer.
My US order was issued by default because the father never answered. Does that matter in Guatemala?
Yes, it can decide the case. One of the five conditions in Art. 345 is that the judgment was not issued in rebeldía (default) nor against an absent person domiciled in Guatemala. Guatemala repeated the same point in its declaration to the Inter-American Convention on Support Obligations: a foreign judgment must not be rendered in default of the defendant. A default order is exactly the kind a Guatemalan lawyer will check first.
What if the US order cannot be used — can I still get support from a father in Guatemala?
Yes, by suing for support directly in a Guatemalan Family Court, where the judge fixes the amount in money under Civil Code Art. 279. That is a new case, not enforcement of the US order, and it can be run from the USA through a lawyer holding your power of attorney. Our guide to the support lawsuit covers the procedure.
Do I need to be a US citizen to ask a US child support agency for help?
No. The federal Office of Child Support Services answers this directly: residency or citizenship is not required to apply for child support services. Apply through your state or local child support office.
