- CANG bar registration and an original active-member certificate
- TSE certificate of full exercise of civil and political rights
- Proof of enrolment in the electronic court mailbox
- Q255 in cash for the OJ treasury
Quick summary: to practise as a notary in Guatemala you must register your degree and the signature and seal you will use with the Supreme Court of Justice (Notarial Code, Art. 2). The order is: CANG bar registration (Q2,510.00 for lawyers and notaries) → petition and file at the Lawyers Registry, 1st floor of the Supreme Court building, with 9 documents and Q255 cash at the OJ treasury → email appointment with the Archivo General de Protocolos to hand in forms → email notification of the date and time → administrative act and solemn act of swearing-in. After that you pay Q55 a year to open your protocol. There is no public swearing-in calendar.
Main source: the Archivo General de Protocolos (OJ) requirement sheet for registering lawyers and notaries with the Supreme Court of Justice. The sheet has no printed date (the PDF was created in November 2025). Checked 29 September 2026.
Correction (29 September 2026): this page gave an OJ registration fee, an annual CANG due, seal and protocol-book costs and a 30-60 day timeline that do not match the OJ requirement sheet or for which we found no source. Fees now follow that sheet (Q255 in total) and the bar registration fee is the one CANG publishes (Q2,510.00). We also added the missing documents (TSE certificate, electronic mailbox, boleto de ornato), the email appointment and the dress code.
The order of steps
| Step | Where | What you do | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Bar registration | Colegio de Abogados y Notarios de Guatemala (CANG) | Bar-registration application with its requirements | Q2,510.00 (lawyers and notaries) |
| 2. Petition and file | Lawyers Registry, Registro Electrónico de Procesos Sucesorios office, 1st floor of the Supreme Court of Justice building | Hand in the petition, the 9 documents, and the original plus three photocopies of the file | — |
| 3. Payment | Judicial Branch treasury, the same day you file | Pay in cash and add the Q150 and Q55 receipts to the file | Q255.00 |
| 4. AGP appointment | Email to inscripcionnotariosagp@oj.gob.gt | Request the (mandatory) appointment to hand in forms at the electronic notaries registry | — |
| 5. Notification | Your email | You are told the date and time of the swearing-in | — |
| 6. Swearing-in | Supreme Court of Justice building | Administrative act and solemn act | — |
| 7. Protocol | Archivo General de Protocolos, its branch offices, or online | Pay the annual protocol-opening fee | Q55.00 a year |
Judicial Branch fees
The OJ sheet says you pay at the Judicial Branch treasury on the day you hand in the file:
| Item (sheet wording) | Amount |
|---|---|
| Inscripción de la firma y sello como Notario (signature and seal registration) | Q150.00 |
| Constancia de inscripción como Notario (registration certificate) | Q55.00 |
| Pago de consulta a distancia (remote-consultation fee) | Q50.00 |
| Total | Q255.00 |
| Derecho anual de apertura de protocolo (after the swearing-in) | Q55.00 |
- Cash only: «El pago será únicamente en efectivo» (payment is cash only).
- The receipts for the first two payments (Q150 and Q55) go into the application file.
- The annual protocol-opening fee can be paid after the swearing-in at the Archivo General de Protocolos, its branch offices or online; the sheet says online is for those who do not hold a full-time public post.
The sheet does not include the cost of the supporting documents (records, certificates, notarized copies) or of the seal.
The petition (memorial)
It is addressed to the President of the Judicial Branch and of the Supreme Court of Justice, grounded in law and with the assistance of an active bar member. In it you ask to be registered as lawyer and notary and for your seal and signature to be recorded. The sheet says the seal carries «nombre y apellidos usuales, sin abreviaturas, con excepción de la abreviatura Lic. o Licda.» (your usual names and surnames, no abbreviations except Lic. or Licda.), and the petition must bear the new professional’s signature and seal (requirements of articles 61 and 63 of the Civil and Commercial Procedure Code).
The heading of the petition lists: bar number, university you graduated from, home and mobile phone, email address, and the name and phone number of a person who can be given information about the swearing-in if you cannot be reached.
The 9 documents in the file
- An address for notifications and proof of enrolment in the electronic court mailbox (casillero electrónico, article 1 of Decreto 12-2022).
- Certified record of the public thesis exam and certified record of the public graduation ceremony.
- A CANG letter addressed to the Secretary of the Supreme Court of Justice stating your bar number.
- An original active-member certificate issued by CANG.
- Criminal-record clearance (boleta de carencia de antecedentes penales) no older than 6 months (see criminal records and OJ CAPE).
- Birth certificate no older than 2 months (see birth certificate).
- A Supreme Electoral Tribunal certificate that you are in full exercise of your civil and political rights (the sheet adds: at least 3 months recent). How to get it: TSE political-rights certificate.
- Notarized copy of your full DPI.
- Notarized copy of your boleto de ornato (the sheet still lists it, although since Constitutional Court case 1968-2020 the boleto can no longer be required for administrative or judicial procedures in general).
If you have a name identification (identificación de nombre): the criminal-record clearance must show your different names, and the birth certificate must carry the corresponding annotation.
You file «el expediente original más tres fotocopias del expediente completo» (the original file plus three photocopies of the complete file). It goes to the Lawyers Registry, Registro Electrónico de Procesos Sucesorios office, on the first floor of the Supreme Court of Justice building (phone 2290-4444, extensions 4083 and 4085, per the sheet).
Before the swearing-in: appointment and forms at the Archivo General de Protocolos
You request the appointment by email to inscripcionnotariosagp@oj.gob.gt; the sheet marks it as mandatory. Attach a digital photo in JPG format and an image of your petition with the received stamp of the Supreme Court Registro de Procesos Sucesorios.
At the electronic notaries registry you hand in:
- Formulario de Captura de Datos (data-capture form, mandatory).
- Formulario de Depositario Primera Inscripción (mandatory whether or not you hold a public post).
- Formulario de Cargo Público Primera Inscripción, only if you hold a public post that prevents you from practising as a notary.
- A recent passport- or ID-size photo, colour or black and white.
After that, the date and time of the swearing-in are sent to the email in your petition, according to the Supreme Court’s schedule. There is no public swearing-in calendar.
Swearing-in day
Administrative act. You report to the 1st floor of the Supreme Court of Justice building at the time given, with your CANG active-member card and the seal to be registered. That day you receive 6 templates on which you record the signature and seal you will use professionally; per the sheet, they are sent to the relevant offices for registration.
Solemn act. It takes place in the Supreme Court hearing room, is presided over by the Justices of the Court, and the oath is taken in accordance with the Constitution of Guatemala.
Dress code
| Men | Women |
|---|---|
| Plain black suit | Plain black suit |
| Plain white shirt (no prints) | White or black blouse, no print or low neckline |
| Plain black tie (no prints) | Closed black dress shoes |
| Black socks | Skirt or dress allowed only at knee length, with plain black stockings and a jacket |
| Black dress shoes | — |
The prior step: CANG bar registration
The CANG colegiaciones page lists these payments: «ABOGADOS Y NOTARIOS Q. 2,510.00 PROFESIONALES AFINES Q. 2,475.00» (lawyers and notaries Q2,510.00; related professionals Q2,475.00). Its requirements include the application form, a notarized copy of both sides of your DPI (or passport where applicable), a current original birth certificate, the certified graduation record, the faculty report on your thesis and professional technical exam, a current criminal-record clearance, a digital copy of your thesis, one ID-size photo, two references from active members, registration of your signature and seal, and appearing on the list sent by your university.
The full CANG procedure (six-month deadline, review, appointment, swearing-in at the CANG and the fine for missing it) is on joining the Guatemalan bar. CANG does not publish an annual due on that page.
Check the bar-registration amount: in June 2026 we logged a CANG Instagram post (May 2026) giving a lower amount for new bar registration. That does not match the Q2,510.00 on the CANG colegiaciones page we checked on 29 September 2026, and neither source explains the difference. Confirm the amount with CANG before you pay.
Who may practise as a notary (Notarial Code, Arts. 2-5)
Requirements (Art. 2): be a native-born Guatemalan, of legal age, a layperson (not clergy) and domiciled in Guatemala (subject to Art. 6, paragraph 2); hold the professional degree obtained in Guatemala or incorporated under the law; have registered with the Supreme Court of Justice the degree and the signature and seal you will use with your usual names; and be of known honesty.
Disqualifications (Art. 3): the legally incapacitated; habitual drug users and drunkards; those with a physical or mental condition that prevents proper performance; and those convicted of forgery, robbery, theft, fraud, fraudulent bankruptcy or insolvency, bribery and breach of trust in document custody, and certain cases of prevarication and embezzlement listed in the Criminal Code.
May not practise (Art. 4): among others, holders of a public office carrying jurisdiction, and officials and employees of the Executive and Judicial branches and of municipalities who draw a state or municipal salary, and the President of Congress.
Exceptions (Art. 5): those who may practise include directors and teaching staff of the Universidad de San Carlos and of state schools, and legal consultants, counsellors or advisers to state bodies when the post is not full-time.
If you hold a public post that prevents you from practising, you can still register: the Archivo General de Protocolos asks for the Formulario de Cargo Público Primera Inscripción in that case.
Related trámites
- Judicial Branch hub — all OJ trámites
- TSE political-rights certificate — required by the Court and by CANG’s Reglamento de Colegiación
- Criminal records and OJ CAPE
- Birth certificate
- Notarial protocolization — what a notary does with the protocol
- Notary fees — the Notarial Code fee schedule
- SAT RTU and DPI