Quick summary: Guatemala’s Comptroller General (Contraloría General de Cuentas, CGC) verifies and registers the titles and diplomas issued by MINEDUC, universities and other authorised bodies, plus military and police commissions. It is mandatory for anyone holding an academic credential, not only people who work for the state. The fees in Acuerdo A-054-2025 are Q100 (secondary level, and also technical programmes and diplomados), Q200 (licenciatura), Q300 (master’s or postgraduate), Q400 (doctorate) and Q50 for the electronic certificate. Secondary titles issued after 2008 and titles from six universities are registered online; everything else in person. The payment order lapses after 5 days.
Sources: the CGC’s title-registration pages (online, in-person and lookup) and Acuerdo A-054-2025, which the CGC publishes as a scan with no visible date; under its Art. 13 it took effect on the day of its publication in the Diario de Centro América. Checked 29 September 2026.
Who has to register?
The CGC page is blunt: «El registro de títulos es de observancia obligatoria para todas aquellas personas a quienes se les haya otorgado y extendido cualquier acreditación académica» (registration is mandatory for everyone who has been granted any academic credential). It adds that cases of falsedad (falsehood) are referred to its Dirección de Asuntos Jurídicos, and that the registration and certificate procedure is personal.
Art. 2 of Acuerdo A-054-2025 says the same in legal terms: its provisions bind everyone who has been issued titles, academic diplomas, and military and police commissions.
Fees (Acuerdo A-054-2025, Art. 9)
Art. 9 amends items l), m) and n) of article 3 of Acuerdo A-18-2007:
| Registration (Acuerdo wording) | Fee |
|---|---|
| Registro de título o diploma de nivel medio (secondary-level title or diploma) | Q100.00 |
| Registro de títulos o diplomas de carreras técnicas y diplomados (technical programmes and diplomados) | Q100.00 |
| University titles: Licenciaturas | Q200.00 |
| University titles: Maestrías y Postgrados (master’s and postgraduate) | Q300.00 |
| University titles: Doctorados (doctorates) | Q400.00 |
| Despachos militares y policiacos (military and police commissions) | Q200.00 |
| Certificación electrónica de registro (electronic registration certificate) | Q50.00 |
The CGC’s in-person infographic uses different labels for the same amounts: Pregrado Q100.00, Licenciatura Q200.00, Postgrado Q300.00 and Doctorado Q400.00.
Separately: for university titles registered in person, the CGC asks that you have first paid the SAT-7190 tax at SAT. The CGC does not publish that amount on the pages we checked.
Online or in person?
| Online | In person |
|---|---|
| Secondary level (nivel medio) issued after 2008 | Secondary level issued before 2008 |
| Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala | Titles from the other private universities |
| Universidad Regional de Guatemala | Police and military commissions |
| Universidad del Valle de Guatemala | |
| Universidad Internaciones | |
| Universidad Mesoamericana | |
| Universidad Panamericana |
That is how the CGC’s Registro de Títulos y Diplomas page lists them. Art. 4 of the Acuerdo says in-person registration continues for university titles «mientras se implemente la modalidad electrónica» (while the electronic mode is being implemented).
Registering in person
Where: the zona 1 office (5ª. Avenida 9-95, zona 1, Guatemala City) and the 21 departmental branches, depending on the type of title, the institution or the year. Secondary titles from before 2008 go to the zona 1 building; private-university titles to zona 1 or the departmental branches.
What to bring (university titles, per the CGC infographic):
- Original and copy of your DPI.
- Original and copy of the title to register: double-sided copy on tamaño oficio paper showing the SAT registration (tax SAT-7190).
- Your Registro Tributario Unificado (RTU) (see SAT RTU registration).
- Copies of your earlier titles or diplomas, already registered with the CGC:
| If you are registering | Bring a registered copy of |
|---|---|
| Pregrado | Secondary diploma |
| Licenciatura | Secondary diploma |
| Postgraduate, master’s or specialisation | Secondary diploma and licenciatura |
| Doctorate | Secondary diploma, licenciatura and master’s |
Steps:
- At the window they check your papers and give you a payment slip with a transaction number. Payment comes after you hand in the paperwork.
- Pay at Banrural branches, Banrural online banking (pago de gestiones button) or the Contraloría GT app.
- Go back to the CGC window to finish; they attach the registration sticker.
Registering online
This is done on the CGC portal for the titles in the left-hand column of the table. What the CGC warns:
- If your earlier titles do not show as registered, file a rectification request so an analyst can check and update the database.
- You can use a passport, but you must first do an in-person pre-registration at the zona 1 office or a departmental branch.
- If an earlier title was issued abroad, it must be apostilled.
Payment and certificate (Arts. 5 and 6 of the Acuerdo): pay at Banrural branches, by online banking or by credit or debit card. The transaction is valid for five days; if unpaid it is cancelled automatically and you start again. When verification is done, the CGC emails the Constancia Electrónica de verificación y registro, which you print and attach to the upper part of the back of the title or diploma for it to take legal effect.
How to request the registration certificate
If your title is already registered and someone asks for the certificate, the CGC describes these steps:
- Go to the CGC web portal.
- In the menu, click Títulos → Constancia.
- Search by CUI or by name; the titles linked to your details are shown.
- Choose the document type (title or diploma) and confirm with Datos Correctos.
- Enter your email: you get a verification code, then an email with a link to the payment order with a transaction number.
- Pay in the Contraloría GT app, by debit or credit card, or at Banrural branches or online banking (pago por gestión section).
- You receive a link to download your Constancia Electrónica de Registro de Título, ready to print.
Acuerdo A-054-2025 sets Q50.00 for the electronic registration certificate; the CGC page with these steps does not show the amount of the payment order.
Verifying a title by QR code: the title must carry the registration sticker with a QR code on the back; you check it with the CGC’s title-verification app.
What the CGC does not publish
- A timeline for registration or verification.
- The amount of the SAT-7190 payment required for university titles registered in person.
Address and hours
- Address in the CGC website footer: 7a. Avenida 7-32 zona 13, Guatemala. Opening hours 7:00 to 15:00. PBX: (502) 2417-8700.
- In-person title registration: 5ª. Avenida 9-95, zona 1, Guatemala City, and departmental branches.
Related trámites
- Professional association membership (colegiatura) — the step to practise a university profession
- MINEDUC teacher posts by oposición — requirements to compete for a teaching post
- SAT RTU registration
- DPI