The certificacion de nacimiento (birth certificate) is the single most fundamental document in Guatemala’s civil registry system. You need it to get your first DPI, to apply for a passport, to register a marriage, to enroll in school, and as a supporting document for dozens of other procedures. It is issued by RENAP and contains your full legal name, date and place of birth, parents’ names, and other vital data.
You can get one at any RENAP office for Q15, or request it through RENAP’s e-portal, which emails you the certificate. RENAP says the online certificate carries the same validity and security features as the paper one, with a verification code, a unique number and a QR code.
A Guatemalan birth certificate is valid for at most six months from the date of issue: IGM, citing RENAP’s Acuerdo de Directorio 58-2015 Art. 5, states this rule, and RENAP’s own DPI requirements ask for a certification issued within the last six months.
Quick summary: Costs Q15 at RENAP, or US$6 when requested from abroad (consulate, embassy, mobile consulate or electronically). Available at any RENAP office or through the e-portal, which emails the certificate. Valid for at most 6 months from issue (IGM, citing RENAP Acuerdo de Directorio 58-2015 Art. 5; RENAP’s DPI requirements say the same). From the US: the e-portal, a consulate, or a relative at a RENAP office; for use in the US, add the apostille.
Fees re-verified 1 September 2026 against RENAP’s own tariff instruments — Acuerdo de Directorio 15-2020 (Arts. 2, 6, 7) and its reform Acuerdo de Directorio 62-2022, published in the Diario de Centro América on 10 November 2022. All unchanged. Check our exchange rate page for today’s USD/GTQ rate.
How long is a Guatemalan birth certificate valid? Six months
IGM, citing RENAP’s Acuerdo de Directorio 58-2015 Art. 5, says birth certificates are valid for at most six months from the date of issue. We have not yet read Acuerdo de Directorio 58-2015 at RENAP itself; IGM’s passport portal is where the citation appears. The same six-month limit shows up in these requirement lists:
| Who asks | How recent it must be | Source |
|---|---|---|
| RENAP, for a DPI | «La certificación debe haber sido emitida en los últimos seis (6) meses.» | RENAP, DPI requirements |
| IGM, for a minor’s passport extension sticker | «Certificado de nacimiento original, con una vigencia no mayor de seis meses.» | IGM passport portal |
| IGSS, for pensioners who are minors | A photocopy of the birth certificate with «6 meses de vigencia» | IGSS notice, 6 November 2019 |
So the practical rule is: order the certificate within six months of the procedure you need it for. A certificate ordered longer ago than that is past the six-month limit.
Checking a certificate you already have. RENAP runs an online verification page where you enter the certificate’s correlative number plus its verifier or identifier code (renap.gob.gt/verificacion-de-certificado).
For use in the United States, a Guatemalan certificate needs the Foreign Ministry’s apostille; RENAP describes the legalisation of the Central Registrar’s signature as the prior step to the apostille, at Q50 plus a Q10 stamp (RENAP describes this for minors’ birth certificates). The full US route is in Guatemalan birth certificate with apostille, from the US.
Cost
| Item | Cost | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Birth certification at any RENAP office in Guatemala | Q15 | AD 15-2020 Art. 2 nº1 |
| Legalisation of the civil registrar’s signature (added to the Q15) | +Q50, plus a Q10 fiscal stamp (SAT-7130 form), per RENAP | AD 15-2020 Art. 2 nº12; RENAP news item “Legalización de Certificados” |
| The same certification requested from abroad — consulate, embassy, mobile consulate, or electronically | US$6 | AD 15-2020 Art. 6 nº1 |
| Online with digital signature | Q15 | AD 15-2020 Art. 2 nº1 |
| Card-payment surcharge, on any RENAP service paid electronically by debit or credit card | +25% | AD 15-2020 Art. 7 |
So a Q15 certification paid online by card comes to Q18.75, which Art. 9 rounds up to the next whole unit — Q19. Any other RENAP service requested from abroad is billed at US$1.00 per Q1.00 (Art. 8).
RENAP’s tariff excludes birth-certification and DPI requests abroad from that general currency-conversion rule (read 27 October 2026).
Source: RENAP tariff, read 27 October 2026.
There is no separate “international format” certificate. The US$6 line is a place-of-request price for the ordinary birth certification, not a different document. What makes a certification usable abroad is the apostille from the Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, not the price you paid for it.
Requirements
- DPI del solicitante — your national ID, or the ID of whoever is requesting the certificate
- Full name and birth date of the person whose certificate you need (if different from the requestor)
- Payment of Q15
You do NOT need to go to the RENAP office where you were originally registered. Any RENAP office nationwide can issue the certificate.
RENAP main page (renap.gob.gt). Extended-hours announcements and new sede openings are posted here — check before traveling to an office.
How to Get It
Option 1: In Person at Any RENAP Office
- Go to any RENAP office nationwide (over 340 offices across all departments)
- Present your DPI and request a birth certificate
- Pay Q15 at the office (cash avoids the 25% card surcharge)
- Receive the certificate at the office
- Request legalization of the registrar’s signature if needed for official use (Q50 additional)
Option 2: Online Through eportal.renap.gob.gt
- Visit eportal.renap.gob.gt
- Create an account or log in
- Select “Certificacion de Nacimiento”
- Enter the CUI number or personal data of the person whose certificate you need
- Pay Q15 by credit/debit card or electronic transfer — card payments add the 25% surcharge set by Art. 7 of the tariff
- Receive the certificate by email, as RENAP describes the online service
- Download and print — the digital version is legally valid
Option 3: At a Guatemalan Consulate (from the US)
- Visit your nearest Guatemalan consulate (see our birth abroad registration guide for locations)
- Request a birth certificate
- Pay the consular fee
- Ask the consulate how long it takes: we found no published processing time for consular requests on RENAP’s or MINEX’s pages (checked 24 September 2026)
Processing Time
| Method | Time |
|---|---|
| In person | At the office |
| Online (eportal) | Sent to your email (RENAP) |
| Consulate | No published time; ask the consulate |
Types of Certificates
RENAP issues several types of certificates from birth records:
- Certificacion simple — standard birth certificate for most domestic use (Q15)
- Certificacion legalizada — the same certificate with the civil registrar’s signature legalized, needed for more formal procedures (Q50 on top of the Q15). The tariff line is the legalisation of the registrar’s signature, not a different certificate
- Requested from abroad — the same certification, ordered at a consulate, embassy, mobile consulate or electronically, is priced in dollars at US$6 (Art. 6 of the tariff). That is a place-of-request price, not a distinct “international” document
- Certificacion con firma electronica — digital certificate with electronic signature, obtained online
When You Need This Document
A current birth certificate is required for:
- DPI (first time) — must be issued within the last 6 months
- Passport application
- Civil marriage
- School enrollment
- University degree authentication
- Adoption procedures
- Insurance beneficiary claims
- Inheritance proceedings
- Most legal proceedings involving identity
Details
If your birth was never registered at RENAP, you cannot get a birth certificate — because the underlying record does not exist.
Signs you might not be registered:
- You have never had a DPI and were never issued a birth certificate
- RENAP returns “no record found” when you search by name
- You were born at home and your parents never went to a civil registry
What to do:
- Request a constancia negativa from RENAP (Q25 under the tariff, AD 15-2020 Art. 2) to confirm you are not registered
- Follow our late birth registration guide — the process costs just Q25 and can be done at any age
- After registration, you can immediately request your birth certificate and then apply for a DPI
RENAP’s consolidated tariff exempts late registrations ordered by a competent judge from the late-registration charge (read 27 October 2026).
Source: RENAP consolidated tariff, read 27 October 2026.
If no birth date can be established at all, you may need a fe de edad (age certification) through the courts.
Details
A child born outside Guatemala (for example, in the United States) to a Guatemalan parent has no RENAP birth record until the birth is inscribed. RENAP’s requirements for a consular inscription are the notice of the birth to the Guatemalan consulate of the country where it happened, and the form the Foreign Ministry’s consular service sends to the civil registry. Once inscribed, the Guatemalan birth certificate can be requested like any other.
Since 15 February 2025, according to MINEX as reported by the AGN, children of Guatemalans born abroad who are over 18 can also do the inscription at Guatemalan consulates themselves.
For the steps from the US, for children and adults, see registering a US-born child, or yourself as an adult, as Guatemalan and registering a birth abroad.
Important: Your child does not lose US citizenship by being registered as Guatemalan. Both countries allow dual nationality.
Details
A misspelled name, a wrong birth date or incorrect parent information on the certificate originate in the underlying birth record (partida de nacimiento), not in the certificate itself. To fix them:
- Identify the error by requesting a current certificate from RENAP
- Gather supporting evidence (baptismal record, school records, other official documents showing the correct information)
- Hire a notary to initiate a rectificacion de partida
- After correction, request a new birth certificate (Q15) with the corrected data
Fix the record before starting a procedure that depends on it, so the certificate you present matches your other documents.
From the US (Diaspora Info)
Guatemalans in the United States have multiple ways to obtain birth certificates:
- Online is the easiest — eportal.renap.gob.gt works from anywhere. The digitally signed PDF is legally valid in Guatemala
- Consulates can help — RENAP’s tariff prices the certification requested at a consulate, embassy or mobile consulate at US$6
- For US legal use — what makes the certification usable is the apostille from the Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, not a special certificate type. Ordering the certification from a consulate or electronically from abroad is billed at US$6; a family member in Guatemala can then handle the apostille
- Request a family member’s certificate — you can request anyone’s birth certificate if you have their full name and data. This is useful for handling legal matters for elderly parents or deceased relatives
- Multiple copies — if you are handling several procedures, request multiple certificates at once to save trips. Check how recent each procedure wants it before ordering in bulk
Tips & Common Mistakes
Mind the six months. IGM, citing RENAP’s Acuerdo de Directorio 58-2015 Art. 5, says a birth certificate is valid for at most six months from issue. Order it close to the date you will use it.
Legalization is a separate step. Some procedures, and the apostille for use abroad, call for the Central Registrar’s signature legalized — Q50 on top of the Q15. Know which one you need before you go.
Online certificates are valid. RENAP says the certificate obtained online has the same validity and security measures for any procedure, with a verification code, a unique number and a QR code. If an institution questions it, point to RENAP’s online verification page.
You can request anyone’s certificate. You do not need to be the person named on the certificate. Anyone can request a birth certificate for anyone else — useful for handling family matters or when the person is elderly, incapacitated, or abroad.
If there is an error, fix it first. If you notice a mistake in your birth certificate (wrong name spelling, incorrect date), fix the record before starting a procedure that depends on it. See our birth record correction guide to fix the error before proceeding.
Common Errors and Solutions
“Acta no encontrada” / “Record not found” on the online portal
If the e-portal cannot find the record, try in person. Solution: (1) request the certificate in person at the RENAP office of the municipality where the birth was originally inscribed (not the office closest to where you live); (2) bring an approximate year and the parents’ full names; (3) if you live abroad, ask a family member in Guatemala to do this in person — the eportal cannot reach the physical archives.
“Datos no coinciden” / “Data mismatch” with what RENAP shows
Possible causes include: (1) a parent’s surname is spelled differently in the original birth record than on your DPI; (2) the birth was inscribed in a different municipality than you think; (3) there are minor errors (accents, transposed letters) in the original inscription. Solution: ask RENAP for a “consulta de inscripcion” — they can tell you exactly how the record is inscribed. If there is a real error, you will need a rectificacion de partida before requesting a corrected certificate.
Online payment fails on eportal.renap.gob.gt
RENAP says the e-portal takes credit or debit cards or a bank payment slip, but it does not say whether US-issued cards are accepted; see Guatemalan portals that accept US cards. Options: (1) try a Guatemalan card from a family member; (2) call your US bank to authorize the foreign transaction in advance; (3) if both fail, request the certificate at a Guatemalan consulate in the US, or have a family member request it in person at any RENAP office in Guatemala and mail it to you.
Certificate accepted but rejected at apostille window
Apostilles are issued by the Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores in Guatemala City. RENAP’s tariff defines no “international format” certificate — the US$6 line is simply the price when the certification is ordered from abroad. What MINEX needs is a current certification carrying a signature and seal it can authenticate, which in practice means a recently issued certificate and, for some receiving institutions, one with the registrar’s signature legalized (the Q50 line). Tell the RENAP window it is for an apostille, and confirm the format before travelling to MINEX.
The institution says the certificate is “expired”
If it was issued more than six months ago, it is past the limit IGM cites from RENAP’s Acuerdo de Directorio 58-2015 Art. 5. Order a new one close to your appointment date.
Related RENAP Procedures
- DPI (National ID) — requires a birth certificate issued within 6 months
- Late Birth Registration — if your birth was never registered
- Birth Record Correction — fix errors in the underlying birth record
- Birth Abroad Registration — register a foreign-born child as Guatemalan
- Age Certification (Fe de Edad) — when no birth date can be established
- Civil Marriage
Common Questions
How much does a Guatemalan birth certificate cost?
A birth certificate (certificacion de nacimiento) costs Q15 at any RENAP office or through the online portal. Having the registrar’s signature legalized costs a further Q50. Requesting the same certification from abroad — at a consulate, embassy, mobile consulate or electronically — costs US$6. Card payments carry a 25% surcharge (Art. 7 of the tariff).
How long is a Guatemalan birth certificate valid?
At most six months from the date of issue: IGM, citing RENAP’s Acuerdo de Directorio 58-2015 Art. 5, sets that limit, and RENAP’s own DPI requirements ask for a certification issued within the last six months.
Can I get my Guatemalan birth certificate from the United States?
Yes: through RENAP’s e-portal (an account with your CUI and an email; RENAP emails the certificate), at a Guatemalan consulate (US$6 in RENAP’s tariff for requests from abroad), or through a relative at any RENAP office. For use in the US, add the apostille: see birth certificate with apostille from the US.
What if my birth certificate has an error?
If there is a mistake in your name, birth date, or other information, you need a rectificacion de partida (birth record correction) before you can get a corrected certificate. See our guide on birth record correction for the full process.
Can someone else request my birth certificate for me?
Yes. Birth certificates in Guatemala are public records. Anyone with your full name and CUI number (or date of birth and parents’ names) can request a certificate on your behalf at any RENAP office or online. No power of attorney is needed.