OFFICIAL PROCEDURE ENTRY
Teacher catalogación — Junta Calificadora de Personal (MINEDUC)
See the Catálogo de Trámites entry Call 1503
First catalogación with a Maestro(a) title, per the entry:
  • Original title and a photocopy bearing the CGC stamp
  • Photocopy of your DPI
  • Photocopy of the pensum closure (cierre de pensum)
  • Photocopy of the final grades record (cuadro de evaluaciones finales)
  • One ID-size photo on matte paper
Cost: Q0 · Response time: three hours on average (Catálogo de Trámites entry) · MINEDUC: 1503 · Verified: 30 September 2026

Registering as a teacher with MINEDUC is officially called catalogación: the Junta Calificadora de Personal registers your teaching titles, gives you a registro escalafonario (career-ladder record) and issues your cédula docente (teacher ID card), with a catalogación stamp on the back of your title. It is a separate step from getting a post at a public school, which is won in a MINEDUC oposición (Acuerdo Ministerial 1685-2024: application in e-SINO and a file handed to the Jurado Municipal de Oposición). Requirements and call status: teacher posts by oposición.

Correction (30 September 2026): this page attributed teacher registration to DIGEACE and based it on a Ministerial Agreement 35-2005. DIGEACE (the Directorate-General for Accreditation and Certification) appears in Acuerdo Gubernativo 225-2008, its internal regulation is Acuerdo Ministerial 1297-2009, and its manual assigns it accreditation, certification and the issuing of titles and diplomas; teacher catalogación is done by the Junta Calificadora de Personal. We also removed, for lack of an official source, the 30-60 day timeline, the Q150-Q500 university certification cost, the professional-college fees, the timelines and costs for foreign-degree equivalency, the requirements list attributed to DIGEACE, and the public-school and private-school salary ranges.

Correction (29 September 2026): this page said the registry generates a MAGISTERIO code and that posts are won through calls from the Departmental Education Directorate (DIDEDUC). We found no source for the code: Acuerdo Ministerial 1685-2024 and the Jurado Nacional de Oposición do not mention it. Under that acuerdo, posts are competed for by oposición, applying in e-SINO and filing with the Jurado Municipal de Oposición.

Quick summary: catalogación before the Junta Calificadora de Personal is free (Q0), and the official entry lists a response time of three hours on average. It requires a Maestro(a) or Profesor(a) title already registered with the Contraloría General de Cuentas (and with SAT, for profesorado titles). You receive the cédula docente. A public-school post is separate and is won by oposición (AM 1685-2024).

Applies to: diversificado-level teacher graduates (maestros) and university profesorado graduates (including Formación Inicial Docente, FID) registering their first teaching title, and catalogued teachers changing level or updating their title.

What is this procedure?

Decree 1485, the Law of Dignification and Cataloging of National Teaching, defines catalogación as the State’s evaluative classification of the people who teach (article 2). To enter Class A it is enough to register the teaching title or titles and the other documents proving the applicant’s capacity and suitability for the corresponding level (article 27). The Junta Calificadora de Personal is the body that law created (article 34), and, per its organization manual, Acuerdo Gubernativo 225-2008 (article 30) assigns it the classification of teachers.

The Catálogo de Trámites entry describes the procedure as: registering the teaching titles of the graduate who requests it and assigning a registro escalafonario that identifies them as a teacher, so they can practice at the different levels of education, in the public and/or private sector.

The ladder has six classes, A to F, under article 4 of Decree 1485. Article 12 sets which titles each level requires:

Level (Decree 1485, art. 12)Titles the law sets, in order of precedence
Pre-primaryPrimary-education teachers specialised in nursery education; titled nursery-education teachers; diploma nursery-education teachers
PrimaryPrimary-education teachers (rural or urban) and the other rural teaching titles the article lists
Secondary and normalTitled secondary-education (segunda enseñanza) professors, or primary-education teachers with a secondary-education diploma
Vocational and technicalSecondary-education professors; professors or teachers with the relevant specialty; primary-education teachers with proven experience at that level
Special educationProfessors or teachers with the relevant specialisation

Full requirements

Per the Catalogación entry in the Catálogo de Trámites (checked 30 September 2026):

First catalogación with a Maestro(a) title:

  • Original title and a photocopy bearing the CGC stamp
  • Photocopy of your DPI
  • Photocopy of the pensum closure (cierre de pensum)
  • Photocopy of the final grades record (cuadro de evaluaciones finales)
  • One ID-size photo on matte paper

First catalogación with a Profesor(a) title (the entry says this also applies to Formación Inicial Docente, FID, graduates):

  • Original title and a photocopy bearing the SAT and CGC stamps
  • Two-sided photocopy of your diversificado title
  • Photocopy of your DPI
  • Photocopy of the graduation record (acta de graduación)
  • One ID-size photo on matte paper

Change of level, PADEP/D, and updating from Profesor de Enseñanza Media to Profesor de Segunda Enseñanza (or the reverse): the entry also asks for the original, up-to-date cédula docente, photocopies of the teaching titles already registered with the Junta and two photos; in some cases, a request to the Junta’s board stating which title you register as your main one.

If your title is foreign: the entry publishes no requirements for that case (checked 30 September 2026). Ask the Junta Calificadora de Personal before you start.

Step-by-step process

  1. Register your title with the Contraloría General de Cuentas. The entry asks for a photocopy of the title with the CGC stamp (and SAT, for Profesor titles). Requirements and fees: degree registration at the CGC.

  2. Book the appointment. If you graduated in the department of Guatemala, the entry says you pick a date online through the Junta’s booking link (calendly.com/jcpcitas/atencion). If you graduated in another department, ask the Unidad de Catalogación at your Departmental Education Directorate how it attends.

  3. Hand in the documents. Diversificado titles obtained in the department of Guatemala and university profesorado titles are registered only at the Departamento de Catalogación in the Junta’s central offices; diversificado titles from other departments, at each Departmental Education Directorate’s Unidad de Catalogación.

  4. Check and sign. You get back your original title and the cédula docente. You check that the cédula details and the catalogación stamp printed on the back of the title are correct, and sign to finish the process.

  5. Compete for a post. Public-school posts are won by oposición (Acuerdo Ministerial 1685-2024): when MINEDUC opens a call, you apply in e-SINO and hand in your file to the Jurado Municipal de Oposición of the municipality where you want to work. Requirements and the last cycle’s dates: teacher posts by oposición.

Cost and time

ItemDetail
Catalogación (Junta Calificadora de Personal)Q0 (Catálogo de Trámites entry)
Response timeThree hours on average (Catálogo de Trámites entry)
Prior title registration at the CGCDepends on the type of title: see degree registration at the CGC
What you receiveCédula docente and catalogación stamp on the title (for level changes, PADEP and updates, also a ficha de catalogación)

Career tip: If you plan to teach at a public school, keep in mind the teaching ladder in Decree 1485. Its article 4 sets six classes: class A earns the base salary and classes B to F add 25% to 125% on top of it. Moving up a class requires at least 60 points assessed by the Junta Calificadora de Personal (article 28); length of service, quality of work and professional development all earn points under article 51, a transitional provision of the law. Pay by class is on our Spanish page cuánto gana un maestro.

Correction (24 September 2026): this page said the ladder had three classes (A, B and C). Decree 1485 sets six, A to F.

For the diaspora — Guatemalans with US degrees

If you studied teaching or education in the United States and want to teach in Guatemala:

  1. Catalogación is for Maestro(a) and Profesor(a) titles. The official entry publishes no requirements for foreign titles (checked 30 September 2026); ask the Junta Calificadora de Personal with your title in hand.

  2. Foreign university degrees. The Mandatory Professional Membership Law (Decreto 72-2001, Art. 1) points to the University of San Carlos title-recognition procedure. See foreign university degree equivalency.

  3. US documents: see our apostille guide.

  4. Public-school post: MINEDUC oposición (requirements).

Common mistakes

Based on the requirements in the official entry:

  1. Title without the CGC stamp. The entry asks for a photocopy of the title bearing the Contraloría stamp (and SAT, for Profesor titles). Register the title before you go.

  2. Missing pensum closure or final grades record (Maestro titles), or missing graduation record and diversificado title photocopy (Profesor titles).

  3. Going to the wrong office. University profesorado titles and diversificado titles from the department of Guatemala go to the Junta’s central offices; diversificado titles from other departments, to the Departmental Directorate’s Unidad de Catalogación.

  4. Changing level without an up-to-date cédula. For a change of level, PADEP or an update, the entry asks for the original, up-to-date cédula docente.

  5. Not checking the cédula when you receive it. The entry says you check the cédula details and the stamp on the title before signing.

  • Decree 1485 — Law of Dignification and Cataloging of National Teaching: catalogación (art. 2), six classes (art. 4), titles by level (art. 12), entry to Class A by registering the title (art. 27), 60 points per promotion (art. 28), Junta Calificadora de Personal (arts. 34 and 35).
  • Acuerdo Gubernativo 225-2008 — Internal Organic Regulation of MINEDUC: article 30, the Junta Calificadora de Personal’s function (per its organization manual).
  • Decree 12-91 — National Education Law: article 41, teachers’ rights, including enjoying the rights in Decree 1485 and being officially placed at the level that corresponds to them.
  • Acuerdo Ministerial 1685-2024: article 18, being catalogued and up to date with the Junta Calificadora de Personal to compete for a post.
  • Mandatory Professional Membership Law (Decree 72-2001): article 1, mandatory college membership for university graduates holding at least a licenciatura.