A court ruling that changes someone’s civil status or civil capacity in Guatemala only reaches their civil record once RENAP registers or annotates it. This page compares six of those cases side by side, using RENAP’s own service checklists, the RENAP law (Decreto 90-2005) and RENAP’s internal cancellation manual. Divorce, record corrections and name changes have their own guides: divorce registration, correcting a civil record and name change.

The six cases compared

CaseLegal basisWho files with RENAPDocuments RENAP listsFee
Marriage annulment or insubsistence (nulidad o insubsistencia)Decreto 90-2005 Art. 70 f)Not published on the service page; the judge must send the final ruling (Art. 80)Certification of the court rulingNo service fee in the sources used; free within 30 days (Art. 84)
Reconciliation after legal separationDecreto 90-2005 Art. 70 f)Not published; the judge must send the final ruling (Art. 80)Certification of the court rulingNo service fee in the sources used; free within 30 days (Art. 84)
Declaration of interdictionDecreto 90-2005 Art. 70 n)Legal representative or guardian, by written requestCertification of the court ruling; written request; birth-registration certificate of the person declared in interdictionNo service fee in the sources used; free within 30 days (Art. 84); birth certificate Q15.00
Guardianship (tutela) appointmentDecreto 90-2005 Art. 70 o)Legal representative or guardian, by written requestCertification of the court ruling; written request; certification of the acta de discernimiento of the guardian and supervisory guardian (original and photocopy, where applicable); birth-registration certificate of the minor or adultNo service fee in the sources used; free within 30 days (Art. 84); birth certificate Q15.00
Paternity challenge annotationDecreto 90-2005 Art. 70 q)Not published; the judge must send the final ruling (Art. 80)Certification of the court ruling; certification of the birth registration to be annotatedNo service fee in the sources used; free within 30 days (Art. 84); birth certificate Q15.00
Cancellation of a duplicate registrationDecreto 90-2005 Art. 82Without a court order: the affected record holder or their legal representative; or the civil registrar on its own initiativeWithout a court order (manual §6.1.2): sworn administrative declaration; constancia or certificate of the entry to cancel; constancia or certificate of the correct entry; supporting records or images, if any; other supporting documents; registrar’s report, when required. Court-ordered route: not covered in this guideNot published

For the first five cases, RENAP’s service pages also list the two Article 16 items described below. None of the RENAP sources used for this guide cite a Civil Code article for these registrations, so the table shows only the Decreto 90-2005 basis. The 30-day free rule in Art. 84 applies to civil-status and civil-capacity registrations in general; see Fees for what happens after 30 days.

Quick summary

  • Only final rulings are registered. Decreto 90-2005 Art. 80 says court rulings are registered “únicamente en caso que” they are final, and gives the judge 15 days from finality to send the information to the Civil Registry.
  • File anywhere. Art. 71 allows these registrations “en cualquiera de los Registros Civiles de las Personas a nivel nacional”.
  • Free within 30 days. Art. 84 says registrations made within 30 days “se efectuarán en forma gratuita”, and the right to register is never lost after that.
  • Every case needs the certified court ruling (certificación de la resolución judicial), except a duplicate-record cancellation, which can also be granted on documents alone (Art. 82).
  • Result: Art. 70 says these registrations are annotated in the individual record RENAP keeps for each registered person.
  • Not published: total processing time, online filing, consular or from-abroad filing, and lawyer or court costs.

Requirements shared by the five court-ruling services

RENAP’s service pages for annulment, reconciliation, interdiction, guardianship and the paternity annotation each carry a note citing Article 16 of Acuerdo de Directorio 104-2015 (the Civil Registry registration regulation). In the service pages’ words, “en todas las inscripciones y anotaciones que sean solicitadas deberá presentarse” the following. This list is given as the service pages state it:

  1. RENAP’s form, where one exists: “Formulario proporcionado por el Registro Nacional de las Personas -RENAP-, en los casos de existir, según el tipo de inscripción o anotación”.
  2. Proof of payment for late registration, where it applies: “Comprobante de pago por concepto de inscripción extemporánea, cuando corresponda”.

The cancellation sources used for this guide do not cite Article 16, so these two items are not applied to duplicate-record cancellation here.

The interdiction and guardianship pages also quote Article 37 of the same regulation as giving RENAP the power “para requerir documentación adicional” (to request additional documents) that helps resolve an application. Bring more than the minimum if your case is unusual.

Three rules from Decreto 90-2005 apply to every case that runs through a court:

  • Finality (Art. 80). The ruling must be final (ejecutoriada). The judge has 15 days from finality to transmit it to the Civil Registry, and failing to do so carries criminal and civil liability.
  • Deadline (Art. 84). Civil-status and capacity registrations are due within 30 days; after that they count as late, but “En ningún caso se perderá el derecho a la inscripción” (the right to register is never lost).
  • Venue (Art. 71). Any Civil Registry of Persons in the country.

Fees

  • Within 30 days: free (Decreto 90-2005 Art. 84).
  • Late: Art. 84 says late registrations cost what the regulation sets. RENAP’s tariff (Acuerdo de Directorio 15-2020, Art. 2) lists late registration at Q25.00, with a parenthetical exception for registrations ordered by a competent judge. None of the six service pages says how that exception applies to its case, so confirm at the registry before paying.
  • Supporting certificates: a birth-registration certificate costs Q15.00 and a certificate of other registry entries costs Q25.00 (same tariff).
  • Duplicate-record cancellation: neither RENAP’s cancellation manual nor its cancellation service page publishes a fee.
  • Not published: lawyer fees, the court’s charge for certifying the ruling, and any total cost.

1. Marriage annulment or insubsistence

RENAP service: “Inscripción de Nulidad o insubsistencia del matrimonio”. The legal basis is Decreto 90-2005 Art. 70 f), which covers “Las resoluciones que declaren la nulidad e insubsistencia del matrimonio” along with divorce, separation and reconciliation.

Documents: only the certified ruling (“Certificación de la resolución judicial”), plus the shared requirements above.

Not published: who may present the request at RENAP, and any procedure to undo the registration. For a copy of the marriage record, see marriage certificate.

RENAP service: “Anotación por reconciliación”. Art. 70 f) lists rulings on “la separación y la reconciliación posterior” as registrable.

Documents: the certified ruling, plus the shared requirements.

Not published: who may present the request, and whether a reconciliation annotation can reverse a divorce that has already been registered. RENAP’s checklist says nothing on this, so do not assume it does. Divorce registration is covered on its own page, and the court side in our judicial divorce guide.

3. Declaration of interdiction

RENAP service: “Inscripción de Declaratoria de Interdicción”. Art. 70 n) covers “La resolución que declare la interdicción transitoria o permanente” (temporary or permanent interdiction).

Documents:

  • “Certificación de la resolución judicial”
  • “Solicitud por escrito del representante legal o tutor” (written request from the legal representative or guardian)
  • “Certificación de la inscripción de nacimiento del menor o adulto declarado en estado de interdicción” (birth-registration certificate of the person declared in interdiction)

Lifting it: RENAP has a separate service, “Anotaciones en inscripción de nacimiento por rehabilitación de la declaratoria de interdicción”, with the same three documents. RENAP does not publish the court’s test for rehabilitation or how long it takes.

4. Guardianship (tutela) appointment

RENAP service: “Inscripción de Tutela”. Art. 70 o) covers “La designación, remoción, renuncia del tutor, protutor y guardadores” (appointment, removal and resignation of guardians, supervisory guardians and custodians).

Documents:

  • “Certificación de la resolución judicial”
  • “Solicitud por escrito del representante legal o tutor”
  • “Certificación del acta de discernimiento del cargo del tutor y protutor, en original y fotocopia, cuando corresponda” (the record formally conferring the guardian’s and supervisory guardian’s offices)
  • “Certificación de la inscripción de nacimiento del menor o adulto”

Not published: separate filing requirements or timing for registering a guardian’s removal or resignation, even though Art. 70 o) makes both registrable.

5. Paternity challenge annotation

RENAP service: “Anotaciones en la inscripción de nacimiento por impugnación de paternidad”. The legal basis is the general clause in Decreto 90-2005 Art. 70 q): “Los actos que, en general, modifiquen el estado civil y capacidad civil” of natural persons.

Documents:

  • “Certificación de la resolución judicial”
  • “Certificación de la inscripción de nacimiento en la que se hará la anotación” (the birth registration that will carry the annotation)

Not published: who may present the request, who may bring the court case, and its grounds. RENAP’s checklist covers only recording the ruling. If the child was born in the US, see registering a birth abroad.

6. Cancellation of a duplicate registration

This is the one case that does not always need a court. Decreto 90-2005 Art. 82 says registry entries are cancelled when a final court ruling orders it, or when the application comes with documents that “justifiquen clara y manifiestamente” the cancellation. RENAP’s service page is the general request for “cancelación de inscripción y/o anotación”, not a duplicate-specific page. The duplicate-specific details below come from RENAP’s internal cancellation manual, and the who-files and document rules describe a request made without a court order.

Who may request it (manual §6.1.1): the affected record holder or their legal representative, or “de oficio, por el Registrador Civil de las Personas” when required.

Documents for a request without a court order (manual §6.1.2):

  • a sworn administrative declaration (Declaración Jurada Administrativa), which is not accepted “con tachones, borrones, sin firma o impresión dactilar” (with crossings-out, erasures, or without a signature or fingerprint)
  • a constancia or certificate of the entry to cancel (the manual says “Constancia y/o certificación”)
  • a constancia or certificate of the correct entry
  • supporting records or images of both entries, if any exist
  • other documents that clearly justify the request. RENAP’s cancellation service page lists, as supporting documents (atestados), “Documentos con los cuales se pueda comprobar la viabilidad de cancelar la inscripción y/o anotación”
  • a signed and sealed report from the civil registrar explaining the reason, when required

Court-ordered cancellation: the manual handles cancellations ordered by a judge in a separate section (§7). This guide does not reproduce that section’s document list, so ask the registry what to bring with the judge’s order.

How it moves (manual):

  • The civil registrar, not the applicant, forwards the file electronically to cancelaciones@renap.gob.gt (§6.1.4). The manual does not offer public email filing.
  • RENAP checks within 3 days of receipt that the file is complete (§6.2).
  • If corrections are requested, registrars in the department of Guatemala have 3 days to respond and other registrars 2 additional days. If they miss the deadline, the file is rejected and the process starts again (§6.1.5).
  • If the request includes a CUI, it first goes to the Departamento de Registro de Ciudadanos to link the CUI to the correct entry (§6.1.7).
  • When a judge orders the cancellation, the annotation is made within the judge’s deadline or within “las 24 horas siguientes de recibido el expediente” (§7.2).

Result (manual, Annex 4): the duplicate book entry is cancelled and “carece de efecto legal alguno” (has no legal effect). The remaining entry stays in force, “quedando con pleno valor probatorio y efectos legales” (with full evidentiary value and legal effect).

Not the same thing: when one book entry was typed into the SIRECI system more than once, the manual treats it as a data-entry error. In that case there are multiple indexes, “pero no existe una multiplicidad real” of the registration. The fix is to delete the repeated indexes, which registrars request from the Departamento de Registro de Ciudadanos (§8(a)).

Not published: a fee, a total processing time, a filing-from-abroad route, and any way to undo an approved cancellation. To locate an old book entry first, see old birth record search.

What RENAP does not publish for these six

  • A total processing time for any case
  • An online filing route
  • A consular, from-abroad or power-of-attorney route
  • Lawyer fees or the court’s certification charges
  • The Civil Code grounds for the underlying court cases

Sources

All sources retrieved October 15, 2026.