The card Guatemalans in the US search for as the matrícula consular is officially the Tarjeta de Identificación Consular Guatemalteca (TICG), or Identificación Consular. MINEX, Guatemala’s Foreign Ministry, issues it through its consulates. MINEX’s TICG page sets out who gets it, what it costs, how long it lasts, and the five documents that qualify you. This guide sticks to that page and says where it stops.
Status (checked 10 October 2026): Prensa Libre reported (9 May, 14 July 2026) that issuance has been suspended since January 2026; a search of its news archive on 10 October 2026 returned no later report of issuance resuming. Its 9 May report says the printing contract ended in December; its 14 July report says MINEX plans a pilot restart in the second half of 2026 at the Los Angeles and Lake Worth consulates, with no date. Details below.
Quick summary: MINEX issues the TICG to Guatemalans residing in the United States as ID in addition to the passport. It costs US$25 including handling and shipping and is valid for 5 years (MINEX Comunicado 504-2015, still on MINEX’s site). Apply in person at your local Guatemalan consulate, fill in the form, and bring one of: passport, cédula de vecindad, RENAP birth certificate, DPI, or an expired TICG. It is not on TSA’s list of IDs for flights; a Guatemalan passport is. MINEX’s page names no bank or office that must accept it.
What MINEX says the card is
MINEX’s TICG page, verbatim: «La TICG/Identificación Consular es emitida a guatemaltecos residentes en los Estados Unidos de América, como un documento de identificación adicional al pasaporte, tiene vigencia por 5 años y un costo de US$25.00 incluyendo manejo y envío.»
The same page describes the current design:
- It shows the holder’s personal data «tales como el nombre completo, dirección de domicilio, fecha y lugar de nacimiento, entre otros».
- It carries «un número único de registro del ciudadano en el exterior», assigned when the card is processed, so the data can be verified.
- Its purpose, in MINEX’s words, is to help the Guatemalan living in the US «a identificarse de mejor manera ante las autoridades, instituciones comunitarias y financieras del país».
A date to know: the MINEX text is Comunicado 504-2015. It was still MINEX’s live TICG page when read on 15 October 2026. Confirm the amount with your consulate.
Reported suspension since January 2026
What the reports say (both Prensa Libre, read 25 September 2026):
| Date of report | What it says |
|---|---|
| 9 May 2026 | Issuance and printing of the TICG for Guatemalans in the US has been suspended since January. The contract with the company that printed the card expired in December. MINEX’s vice-minister María Luisa Ramírez said MINEX is developing its own system to print the card at the consulate when it is requested, with a pilot of two printing centres at the Los Angeles and Lake Worth consulates. The article cites MINEX for 1,148,746 Guatemalans who had an active card in 2022. |
| 14 July 2026 | MINEX said issuance would resume in the second half of 2026, through the pilot in two US cities, without a specific date. The Los Angeles consulate was answering applicants: «por el momento el Consulado General de Guatemala en Los Ángeles no está emitiendo tarjeta de identificación consular». MINEX reported 1,420,442 consular ID cards currently valid. |
| 7 and 10 October 2026 | Archive searches (Prensa Libre on 7 and 10 October, AGN on 7 October) return no report after the 14 July story saying TICG issuance has resumed. |
| 14 October 2026 | La Hora: presenting MINEX’s 2027 budget to Congress’s public-finance committee, foreign minister Carlos Ramiro Martínez said the plans for the next period include setting up printing centres for consular ID cards, alongside two DPI printing centres. No date was given. The same report says he acknowledged limitations including delays in installing equipment. |
| 15 October 2026 | Our checks of MINEX’s newsroom and the Prensa Libre, AGN, La Hora and Diario de Centro América archives return no report that TICG issuance has resumed. MINEX’s September Saturday-consular figures (AGN and Diario de Centro América, 13 October 2026) count 1,171 deliveries of passports, DPIs and consular ID cards as one combined number, so they do not show whether new cards are being issued. |
| 26 October 2026 | We searched the Prensa Libre, AGN and Diario de Centro América archives and web search again: we found no report published after 14 October 2026 saying TICG issuance has resumed, naming the pilot cities, or giving a date. |
TN23 (article undated, read 25 September 2026) separately reported that holders of a valid card can keep using it for the time it has left, while first-time applicants, renewals and replacements have nowhere to go; MINEX had not commented to TN23. One report points the other way: AGN’s July 2026 report on mobile consulates lists issuance of the consular ID card among their services (see mobile consulates). That list and the suspension reports do not match, so ask the consulate before you travel for the card.
MINEX’s TICG page was still its 2015 notice when read on 15 October 2026. On 17 September 2026 MINEX and RENAP signed an agreement to print the DPI at the Los Angeles and Lake Worth consulates (reported by Infobae on 19 September 2026); that agreement is about the DPI, not the TICG. For an ID you can get now, see DPI from the US and passport from the US.
Requirements: one document, in person
MINEX: Guatemalans in the US «deberán gestionarla personalmente en el Consulado guatemalteco de su localidad, llenar el formulario de solicitud y presentar UNO de los siguientes documentos»:
| Any ONE of these | Notes |
|---|---|
| Passport | Guatemalan passport |
| Cédula de vecindad | As listed by MINEX |
| Certificado de Nacimiento emitido por RENAP | Can be ordered from abroad: see Guatemalan birth certificate |
| DPI | Guatemala’s national ID |
| An expired TICG | For a renewal |
Two things that list implies for people with paperwork problems:
- An expired passport or DPI is not a dead end. A RENAP birth certificate on its own is on the list.
- Renewing is simple on paper. An expired TICG is itself an accepted document.
MINEX’s page does not list proof of US address, photos or a payment method (read 23 September 2026). Get your consulate’s own list before the appointment, and see scheduling a consulate appointment.
Where to apply
MINEX says the card is processed «personalmente en el Consulado guatemalteco de su localidad». Consulates also run mobile consulates and Saturday openings: see mobile consulates and Saturday consular service, and check that the event you pick offers the TICG.
What the card is not
| Use | What the official source says |
|---|---|
| Boarding a flight in the US | Not on TSA’s list of acceptable identification (read 24 and 25 September 2026). The list does include a foreign government-issued passport and a permanent resident card; TSA accepts listed IDs up to two years after they expire, and since 1 February 2026 offers TSA ConfirmID for a $45 fee to travellers without acceptable ID |
| Travel to Guatemala | MINEX calls it ID «adicional al pasaporte». For flying home on an expired passport, see can you enter Guatemala with an expired Guatemalan passport |
| Immigration status or work permission | Nothing on MINEX’s page says it confers either |
| Banks, police, city services | MINEX’s TICG page names no institution that must accept it; ask before relying on it |
TICG, DPI and passport: which one for what
| Document | Issued by | For | From the US |
|---|---|---|---|
| TICG | MINEX, through consulates | ID in the US, in addition to the passport | This page |
| DPI | RENAP | Guatemala’s national ID | DPI from the US |
| Passport | IGM, also at consulates | International travel | Passport from the US |
Related
- Guatemalan consular fees: every published consular fee in one table
- DPI from the US
- Passport from the US
- Birth certificate, including from abroad
- Flying within the US with a Guatemalan passport: TSA’s list, item by item
- Opening a US bank account with a Guatemalan passport or consular ID: the federal customer identification rule
- ITIN for Guatemalans: Form W-7: the consular card is not in the W-7 document table
Updated 25 September 2026 with the issuance suspension (Prensa Libre, 9 May and 14 July 2026; TN23) and TSA’s expired-ID and ConfirmID rules. Rewritten 24 September 2026. An earlier version listed US institutions that accept the card, a 1-2 week processing time, proof of address and money-order requirements, minors’ rules, a replacement procedure and a legal basis in the diplomatic-service law, none of which appears in MINEX’s TICG page; those statements were removed. Re-checked 10 October 2026 (suspension status). Sources: MINEX, TICG ID/Consular, Comunicado 504-2015 (read 23 September 2026); TSA, acceptable identification at the checkpoint (read 24 September 2026).