Register US-Born Child as Guatemalan Citizen Through RENAP 2026: Diaspora Parents' Guide

Quick summary: Your US-born child is already a Guatemalan citizen from birth if you are Guatemalan (Article 144 — jus sanguinis). But that citizenship does not function until you register it with RENAP through the nearest Guatemalan consulate in the US. You need the US birth certificate (ask the consulate whether it wants an apostille or a translation) plus your DPI or Guatemalan passport. RENAP charges nothing for an inscription on time and US$25 for a late one requested abroad; no processing time is published for the consular route. Your child ends up with dual US-Guatemala citizenship with no legal conflict. There is no age limit — you can register a newborn, a teen, or an adult.

Why register your US-born child as Guatemalan

If you are Guatemalan and your child was born on US soil, that child already holds Guatemalan citizenship from the moment of birth. They do not have to earn it, they do not have to apply for it — they have it by blood. That is what Article 144 of the Political Constitution of Guatemala establishes: Guatemalans by origin include those born abroad to a Guatemalan father or mother.

The problem is that this citizenship, although it exists, remains invisible to the Guatemalan State until you formally register it. Registration does NOT create the citizenship — it makes the citizenship operative. Without registration, your child cannot:

• Obtain a Guatemalan passport to travel freely to Guatemala and other countries on better terms.
• Obtain a DPI (Guatemalan ID card) at 18.
• Inherit property in Guatemala as a citizen (inheriting as a foreigner involves extra paperwork, taxes, and delays).
• Attend Guatemalan public universities at citizen tuition rates (USAC and others charge different rates for nationals vs foreigners).
• Access government services in Guatemala as a citizen (public healthcare, IGSS if employed in Guatemala, social benefits).
• Vote in Guatemalan elections at 18, including from abroad under the overseas voting reforms passed in recent years.

What registration gives your child (summary)

The human value of registration

Beyond the legal benefits, registering your child is an act that connects them to their country of origin. It tells the Guatemalan State that this child is just as Guatemalan as you are, even if born far from home. For many diaspora families, that legal bond opens the path for easier family visits, helps the child feel part of Guatemala, and lets them choose in the future whether to live, study, or work there if they want.

Eligibility: who qualifies

For your child to qualify for registration as Guatemalan under Article 144, at least one of these conditions must be met:

Condition 1 — Guatemalan parent by birth

At least one parent must be Guatemalan by origin (born in Guatemala). This is the most common scenario.

• If you were born in Guatemala and emigrated to the US, your children qualify.
• If your partner was born in Guatemala and you are American (or any other nationality), your children still qualify.
• It does not matter if you have already obtained US citizenship — that does NOT remove your Guatemalan citizenship. Under Article 145, Guatemala preserves the nationality of origin even if you hold another.

Condition 2 — Naturalized Guatemalan parent, BEFORE the child’s birth

If you are Guatemalan by naturalization (not by origin) and you were naturalized before your child was born, your child qualifies for registration. This is important: naturalization after the child’s birth does NOT transmit citizenship retroactively.

• You naturalized in 2018 + child born in 2020 → YES, qualifies.
• You naturalized in 2022 + child born in 2020 → NO, does not qualify by Article 144.

If your child does not qualify through this route because you naturalized later, you can pursue the nationality option for children of Guatemalan parents — a different, longer trámite, but possible.

Condition 3 — Guatemalan parent by descent (registered abroad themselves)

If you are Guatemalan because your own parents registered you at a Guatemalan consulate (you are second-generation diaspora), your children also qualify. The jus sanguinis chain holds as long as each generation is registered. The consulate may ask for your own RENAP birth certificate to confirm the lineage.

Who does NOT qualify

• Children of a parent who held Guatemalan citizenship but formally renounced it before the child was born.
• Children of a parent who is a US citizen with no Guatemalan ancestry.
• Children adopted by Guatemalan parents in the US — registration is not automatic by virtue of adoption, and this page states no rule on whether adoptive filiation transmits nationality (see international adoption). It requires consultation with a Guatemalan immigration attorney.

Required documents

The consulate’s own list is the one that governs; ask for it in writing. RENAP’s published requirement for a consular inscription is the notice of the birth to the consulate plus the form the Foreign Ministry’s consular service sends to RENAP. The list below is a checklist to confirm with your consulate: beyond those two RENAP requirements and MINEX’s list for its own window, no official list we read covers the consular step item by item.

For the child (the person being registered)

1. Original US birth certificate — the certified copy issued by the state Vital Records office where the child was born (NOT the hospital souvenir, NOT a photocopy). The state sets the price and delivery time.
2. Apostille from the Secretary of State of the issuing state, if your consulate asks for it. The apostille is requested from the state’s Secretary of State (not the consulate, not Washington DC); the state sets the fee. MINEX’s published list for its own window in Guatemala does not mention an apostille.
3. Translation, if required. For its own window, MINEX requires a legal translation only when the certificate is in a language other than Spanish or English; ask your consulate what it requires before paying for one.
4. 2 passport-size photos of the child (ask whether your consulate requires them). White background, taken within 6 months.
5. The child may need to be physically present at the appointment, especially if the visit is also used to apply for a Guatemalan passport. Confirm with the specific consulate.

For the Guatemalan parent (at least one)

1. Valid DPI (not expired) OR valid Guatemalan passport — to prove your Guatemalan nationality. If both are expired, bring your expired DPI + a recent RENAP birth certificate, but the consulate may ask you to renew first. See how to renew DPI from the US if applicable.
2. RENAP birth certificate of the Guatemalan parent, issued less than 6 months ago — confirms Guatemalan-by-origin status. Q15 at a RENAP office in Guatemala, or US$6 when requested from abroad (RENAP tariff).
3. Additional photo ID — US passport (if you have one), driver license, US state ID.

For the non-Guatemalan parent (if applicable)

1. Valid passport or valid US driver license / state ID — official photo ID only.
2. Birth certificate of the non-Guatemalan parent, if the consulate asks (not always required). If American by origin, a copy is fine.
3. Physical presence at the appointment — ask whether your consulate requires both parents to sign the registration form, especially if the parents are married. If the non-Guatemalan parent cannot attend, ask the consulate about alternatives (notarized consular power of attorney, justified absence).

If the parents are married

• Marriage certificate, if the consulate asks for it; ask whether it must be apostilled or translated. If married in the US, an apostille comes from the Secretary of State of the state where the marriage occurred. If married in Guatemala, a RENAP marriage certificate less than 6 months old.

If the parents are unmarried / single mother / single father

• Notarized declaration of paternity/maternity recognition before the consulate, if the child’s parent is present and signs. This is done at the appointment itself.
• If the other parent is not present and does not sign, the registration proceeds with the single parent only. The other parent can recognize the child later at any RENAP office through a separate process.

If a parent has died

• Death certificate of the deceased parent; if they died outside Guatemala, ask the consulate whether it must be apostilled or translated. If they died in Guatemala, a RENAP death certificate less than 6 months old.
• Notarized statement explaining the situation and that the surviving parent signs alone.

Official form

• Form FOR-RC of RENAP / consular registration form of MINEX. The consulate provides and completes it during the appointment. It is not filled out in advance online.

Step-by-step at the consulate

Once you have all documents in order, this is the typical flow on the day of the consular appointment.

Step 1 — Book the appointment

Two channels:

• Centralized MINEX system: minex-gob-gt.my.site.com/pc/s/citas-de-nacionalidades. It is the MINEX nationalities appointment system (citas de nacionalidades), where consular birth registrations are booked. You’ll need email and phone, pick the consulate and a date. Confirmation by email.
• Direct call to the consulate: a consulate may manage its own appointment system. The consulate directory has the phone and hours for each.

Wait time for appointment: depends on the consulate; none publishes a waiting time we could cite (checked 30 September 2026). In January 2025 MINEX promoted the consular registration of US-born children as «Trámite gratuito y sin cita» (free and without an appointment); ask your consulate how it schedules today.

Step 2 — Arrive at the appointment with all documents

• Arrive 20-30 minutes early — consulates are strict about appointment times.
• Bring documents in two sets: originals + full photocopies of everything. The consulate may keep a copy or request the original.
• Bring the child physically (if required by consulate policy).
• Bring an accepted payment method: ask the specific consulate whether it takes money order, cashier’s check, or credit card, and do not assume it takes cash.

Step 3 — Document review by the consular officer

The officer checks:

• That the birth certificate is a certified copy (and carries an apostille or translation if the consulate asked for one).
• That the DPI or passport of the Guatemalan parent is valid.
• That the RENAP certificates (parent’s birth, marriage if applicable) are less than 6 months old.
• That both parents’ IDs are original and valid.

If something is missing, ask whether you can reschedule (no new fee) or provide the document within a deadline, for example by certified mail.

Step 4 — Form completion and signature

The officer fills out the consular FOR-RC form with the child’s information: full name, date and place of birth, full names of both parents, nationalities, occupations, residence. Both parents sign.

If the parents are unmarried, the officer additionally fills out the paternity/maternity recognition record. Also signed by both.

Step 5 — Pay the consular fee

RENAP states that every inscription is free when made within the legal time limit; a late one pays Q25, which RENAP’s tariff (Art. 8) converts at US$1 per quetzal for requests made abroad, so US$25. We found no other published consular fee for the birth inscription (checked 30 September 2026). Ask the consulate what it charges, if anything, and how it accepts payment.

Step 6 — Receipt and file transfer to MINEX

You receive a receipt or proof of submission with a file number. You can use that number to follow up later.

The consulate sends the inscription form to RENAP: RENAP’s requirement is the «Formulario remitido por parte del Servicio Consular del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores al Registro Civil de las Personas para su inscripción.» Neither RENAP nor MINEX publishes how long that transfer takes; ask the consulate how you will be told the inscription is done.

Step 7 — RENAP registration and certificate availability

Once RENAP has inscribed the birth, the child’s Guatemalan birth certificate can be ordered like any other: Q15 at a RENAP office in Guatemala, or US$6 when requested from abroad (RENAP tariff).

Cost breakdown

Only the Guatemalan-side fees are published. Each was read on 30 September 2026.

We previously printed a “typical total” of USD 100-300 and a consular fee of USD 50-85; neither had a source, and we removed them.

After registration: which Guatemalan documents you can now obtain

Once registered with RENAP, your child is operationally Guatemalan. Here are the documents now available.

Guatemalan birth certificate (RENAP certification)

• Available at any RENAP office in Guatemala once registration is confirmed, or requested from abroad.
• Cost Q15 in Guatemala, US$6 requested abroad (RENAP tariff).
• Valid for at most 6 months from issue for official trámites, per IGM citing a RENAP board agreement (see our birth certificate page).
• Required for all other Guatemalan trámites for the child (passport, DPI, inheritance, GT school enrollment).

Guatemalan passport

• Can be applied for from infancy — even a newborn can have a Guatemalan passport with photo.
• Trámite at the same consulate (or any other Guatemalan consulate if convenient).
• Cost at a consulate: US$65 for a 5-year passport or US$100 for a 10-year passport (IGM tariff, Acuerdo IGM-029-2023, Art. 4). See passport from the US for the requirements for minors.
• Useful for traveling to Guatemala as a citizen (entry without visa), as photo ID in countries with good Guatemala agreements, and as a backup second passport.

DPI at 18

• Available at any RENAP office in Guatemala at age 18.
• RENAP’s tariff lists the DPI at Q100 in Guatemala and US$15 when requested abroad; see DPI from the US.
• Requires the RENAP birth certificate.
• Unlocks the right to vote, banking, employment trámites, real estate ownership as a citizen, etc.

Overseas voter registration

• If your child grows up in the US and wants to vote in Guatemalan elections, they can register as an overseas voter from 18.
• Requires DPI (or valid Guatemalan passport) + registration with the TSE (Tribunal Supremo Electoral).

Late registration: if you never registered them and they are older

Late registration is NOT complicated. Article 144 applies forever. If your child is 5, 12, 18, or 35 years old and has never been registered, you can still register them.

Differences between late registration and infant registration

• Child’s ID: if the child is a teen or adult, they must bring their own US ID (passport, driver license, state ID). The birth certificate alone is not enough.
• If 18 or older: the adult child signs the consular form themselves (no need for parent signatures, though parents can attend).
• More detailed document chain: the consulate may ask for additional documents if the Guatemalan parent has died (death certificate + RENAP birth certificate of the deceased parent).
• Cost: RENAP charges a late (extemporánea) inscription Q25, which is US$25 when requested abroad; an on-time inscription is free. RENAP’s services page sets the birth-inscription period at 60 days; ask the consulate whether yours counts as late.
• Adults over 18: since 15 February 2025, according to MINEX (AGN, 19 February 2025), people born abroad to Guatemalan parents who are over 18 can do the birth inscription at Guatemalan consulates.

Common case — adult US-born who discovers they can be Guatemalan

Many US-born adults of Guatemalan parents were never registered as children because their parents did not know. They learn at 25 or 30 that they may have dual citizenship. Yes, you can still register. Bring:

• Your US birth certificate (certified copy), with an apostille or translation if the consulate asks for them.
• Your valid US ID (passport + driver license).
• The DPI or Guatemalan passport of your father or mother (valid or expired) + a RENAP birth certificate of them less than 6 months old.
• If your Guatemalan parent has passed away: death certificate + RENAP birth certificate of the deceased.

You go alone (with or without a companion), sign, pay, and start the file.

Special cases

Child of a single Guatemalan mother / single Guatemalan father

If only one parent appears on the birth certificate and that parent is Guatemalan, Art. 73 of the RENAP Law points to that parent filing alone: it says the birth registration of a minor is requested by both parents, and “a falta de uno de ellos o tratándose de madre soltera, la inscripción se efectuará por éste”. For a birth abroad, Art. 72 adds that registration “Se regirá por el reglamento respectivo”, a regulation we did not read, so confirm with the consulate what it asks of a single parent.

Divorced or separated parents

If the parents are divorced or separated, both can sign the consular form independently (even at different appointments, at different consulates, if necessary). The file completes once both signatures are on record. If the non-custodial parent refuses to sign, the custodial parent can request registration under “unilateral recognition” — the other parent can recognize the child later at any time.

Guatemalan parent deceased before registration

• Bring the death certificate of the deceased parent. If they died in the US: the state-issued certificate (ask the consulate whether it wants an apostille or translation). If they died in Guatemala: RENAP death certificate less than 6 months old.
• Bring the RENAP birth certificate of the deceased parent — to prove they were Guatemalan.
• The consulate completes a post-mortem registration: the child is registered as the child of [name of deceased parent], a Guatemalan who died on [date].

International adoption

If the child was adopted by Guatemalan parents in the US, registration is not automatic by virtue of adoption. On whether adoptive filiation does or does not transmit Guatemalan nationality by jus sanguinis, this page states no rule in either direction: we did not retrieve the text of the Constitution or of the Ley de Nacionalidad (Decreto 1613), and the one nationality provision we do have in evidence runs the other way — Art. 7 of the Ley de Adopciones (Decreto 77-2007) provides that “El adoptado no perderá la nacionalidad guatemalteca ni los derechos inherentes a ella.”, i.e. it governs not losing nationality, not acquiring it. Consult a Guatemalan immigration attorney or RENAP/the consulate before relying on either answer.

Surrogacy

In short: we found no Guatemalan law that regulates surrogacy or assisted reproduction. That does not mean surrogacy is legal, and it does not mean it is prohibited: the texts we read neither allow it nor ban it. They simply do not address it.

What we checked on 29 September 2026:

• Civil Code (Decreto-Ley 106), in the Organismo Judicial’s current compilation, Código Civil comentado y actualizado al 8 de agosto de 2025 (CENADOJ). A full-text search of the compilation, footnotes included, found nothing for the stems gestaci-, inseminaci-, fecundaci-, in vitro or embri-. The two hits for subrogad- are about a creditor’s subrogation (Arts. 1457-1458), and the one hit for vientre is about the offspring of animals (Art. 657).
• Congress: we searched the titles of the bills (iniciativas) in the Congress legislative database for subrogada, subrogacion, vientre, alquiler de vientre, gestacion subrogada, maternidad subrogada, reproduccion asistida, reproduccion, reproduccion humana, fecundacion, in vitro, embrion, fertilidad, infertilidad and filiacion (spelled as searched). None returned a bill. Gestacion returned two bills on other subjects: 6153, on the burial of gestational deaths, and 5301, on job protection for pregnant mothers. A search of enacted decrees for subrogada also returned nothing. That database searches the title line only, so a bill that mentions surrogacy inside a broader title would not show up.

The filiation rules that do exist. The Civil Code has general rules on who a child’s parents are. None of them mentions surrogacy, and we did not review any court ruling that applies them to a surrogacy case. As printed in the CENADOJ 2025 compilation:

• Maternity outside marriage (Art. 210): “Cuando la filiación no resulte del matrimonio ni de la unión de hecho registrada de los padres, se establece y se prueba, con relación a la madre, del solo hecho del nacimiento; y, con respecto del padre, por el reconocimiento voluntario, o por sentencia judicial que declare la paternidad”. So when filiation does not come from the parents’ marriage or registered unión de hecho, maternity is established by the fact of the birth. The article covers that situation only; it is not written to cover every child.
• Paternity in marriage (Art. 199): “El marido es padre del hijo concebido durante el matrimonio, aunque éste sea declarado insubsistente, nulo o anulable. Se presume concebido durante el matrimonio: 1º. El hijo nacido después de ciento ochenta días de la celebración del matrimonio, o de la reunión de los cónyuges legalmente separados; y 2º. El hijo nacido dentro de los trescientos días siguientes a la disolución del matrimonio”. The presumption runs through those 180-day and 300-day windows.
• Challenging that presumption (Art. 200, as reformed by Decreto 39-2008): “Contra la presunción del artículo anterior no se admiten otras pruebas que la prueba molecular genética del Ácido Desoxirribonucleico (ADN), así como haber sido físicamente imposible al marido tener acceso con su cónyuge en los primeros ciento veinte días de los trescientos que precedieron al nacimiento, por ausencia, enfermedad, impotencia o cualquiera otra circunstancia”. Only DNA evidence or physical impossibility counts against it.
• DNA evidence (Art. 221): numeral 5º, added by Decreto 39-2008, reads “Cuando el resultado de la prueba biológica, del Ácido Desoxirribonucleico -ADN-, determine científicamente la filiación con el presunto padre, madre e hijo”. The same article adds that “En juicios de impugnación de paternidad o maternidad, será admisible en iguales condiciones y circunstancias, la prueba molecular genética del Ácido Desoxirribonucleico -ADN-”. Its last paragraph, added by Decreto 47-2022, reads “En los procesos de paternidad y filiación, el juez competente puede ordenar al Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Forenses -INACIF-, que realice la prueba del Ácido Desoxirribonucleico, aplicando exoneración total de la tarifa establecida en el arancel respectivo y el tiempo que se le fije para el efecto”.
• No deals over who is a parent (Art. 227): “El reconocimiento voluntario y el judicial son actos declarativos de la paternidad y, por consiguiente, surten sus efectos desde la fecha del nacimiento del hijo. Sobre la calidad de hijo no puede celebrarse transacción ni compromiso alguno; pero sí sobre los derechos pecuniarios, que puedan deducirse de la filiación”. In plain terms: no transaction or agreement can be made over the status of being someone’s child, only over the money rights that come from it. Whether that makes a surrogacy contract void or enforceable in Guatemala is a question no text or ruling we read answers.

What this means for registering the child. Art. 72 of the RENAP Law (Decreto 90-2005) lets a birth abroad be registered at the request of a party before the consul or directly at RENAP, and says it “Se regirá por el reglamento respectivo”. We did not read that regulation, so this page cannot tell you how RENAP or a consulate treats a US birth certificate or a US court order that names the intended parents. An earlier version of this section said registration goes through whenever the US certificate lists the Guatemalan as a legal parent; we could not source that and removed it.

Before you start the consular registration, talk to a Guatemalan family lawyer, and ask the consulate what it will need in your specific case.

Common errors that delay or void the trámite

Check these points before your appointment.

Error 1 — Apostille on the wrong copy

If your consulate asks for an apostille, it goes on the certified copy from Vital Records, not on a photocopy. Order the certified copy from the state and have the apostille put on that same copy. The apostille is a stamp with a unique code that physically attaches to or is added as a certified additional page.

Error 2 — Apostille from the wrong state

An apostille comes from the Secretary of State of the state that issued the certificate (for a birth certificate, the state where the child was born), not where you currently live. If your child was born in Texas and you now live in California, you send the birth certificate to the Texas Secretary of State, not California’s.

Error 3 — Missing ID for the parent not attending

If only one parent can attend, you still need to bring valid photo ID of the absent parent + a notarized statement of authorization or recognition. Ask whether your consulate requires this even if the custodial mother/father signs alone.

Error 4 — Expired DPI or passport of the Guatemalan parent

The DPI or passport of the Guatemalan parent must be valid. If expired, renew first (in the US, both DPI and passport are renewed at the consulate). See passport renewal from the US.

Error 5 — RENAP certificate of the parent older than 6 months

The RENAP birth certificate of the Guatemalan parent must be less than 6 months old at the appointment. If you ordered it 8 months ago, get a new one. It costs Q15 at a RENAP office in Guatemala, or US$6 requested from abroad.

Error 6 — Paying for a translation nobody asked for

For its own window, MINEX requires a legal translation only when the birth certificate is in a language other than Spanish or English. A US certificate in English may need none; ask your consulate what it requires, and who may translate, before paying for one.

Error 7 — Forgetting your appointment confirmation

A consulate may turn you away if you arrive without your printed appointment confirmation or screenshot, even with the email receipt. Print + screenshot, both.

Error 8 — Not bringing the child when the consulate requires it

A consulate may require the child’s presence for photo capture, or may accept the registration without the child. Call the consulate before the appointment to confirm policy.

Related trámites

If you are registering your child, here are other diaspora trámites likely useful:

• Apostille US documents for Guatemala — explanation of apostille and the steps by state.
• Apostille US documents when moving to Guatemala — broader move guide.
• Birth registration abroad (original guide) — sister guide with the general consular flow.
• Register a naturalized Guatemalan at RENAP — if you naturalized as Guatemalan.
• Nationality for children of Guatemalan parents (MINEX) — for cases where the parent’s naturalization came after the child’s birth.
• Consular ID card (MINEX) — Guatemalan ID for diaspora in the US.
• Renew your Guatemalan passport from the USA — if your passport is expired.
• Diaspora services hub — full directory of trámites for Guatemalans in the US.
• RENAP hub — all civil registry trámites.
• Find your nearest consulate — directory with phone and hours.

Official sources

This page is based on:

• Political Constitution of Guatemala, Articles 144 and 145 (PDF published by the Congreso).
• Law of the National Registry of Persons (Decree 90-2005), Articles 6, 72, 85 and 103 — Congreso PDF — an image-only scan with no text layer, so it is not searchable.
• Civil Code, CENADOJ compilation current to 8 August 2025 (Organismo Judicial), Articles 199, 200, 210, 221 and 227 — the filiation rules quoted in the surrogacy section.
• Law of the National Registry of Persons, RENAP copy (PDF) (Decree 90-2005), Articles 72 and 73 — text copy published by RENAP; source of the Art. 72 and 73 quotes.
• Civil Code Article 376, cited here before, was repealed by Article 103 of the RENAP Law; births abroad are now governed by Articles 72 and 85 of that law.
• Hague Apostille Convention — status table: Guatemala acceded on 19 January 2017 and the Convention has been in force for Guatemala since 18 September 2017 (approved by Congress in Decreto 1-2016; Decree 46-2016, cited here before, reforms the State Procurement Law).
• Official RENAP page: www.renap.gob.gt/servicios/inscripcion-de-nacimiento-en-el-extranjero-consular.
• MINEX appointment system: minex-gob-gt.my.site.com/pc/s/citas-de-nacionalidades.
• MINEX consulate directory: www.minex.gob.gt/Consulados.aspx.

Verified: RENAP and IGM fees on 30 September 2026 (RENAP services page, RENAP tariff, RENAP consular-inscription requirements, IGM tariff Acuerdo IGM-029-2023); MINEX statements as reported by the AGN on 19 February 2025. Confirm everything else with the specific consulate before the appointment.

Note: Apostille fees and turnaround are set by each US state. For the state where your child was born, contact that state’s Secretary of State or check its official page.

Correction (30 September 2026): this page gave a consular fee of USD 50-85, a “typical total” of USD 100-300, a processing time of 4-10 weeks (with 1-2 week and 3-8 week stages), appointment waiting times by consulate, a passport fee of USD 50-85 and a DPI fee of Q85, and said an apostille and a certified Spanish translation are always required. None of that had a source. RENAP’s published charges are: free on time, US$25 for a late inscription requested abroad; the consular passport is US$65 (5 years) or US$100 (10 years) under the IGM tariff; RENAP’s tariff lists the DPI at Q100 (US$15 abroad); and MINEX’s own list asks for a legal translation only when the certificate is not in Spanish or English. See our corrections policy.