DIRECT ACCESS TO PROCEDURE
Search Old RENAP Birth Records
→ Check eportal RENAP first
Key steps:
  • 1. Search online first: RENAP's certificates by name (portal.renap.gob.gt or the RENAP SE app for Android) take the full name and event date, no CUI needed (read 28 October 2026)
  • 2. If NOT found: visit the RENAP office of the municipality of registration
  • 3. Bring: ID, ancestor full name, approximate date, great-grandparent names
  • 4. Pay Q15 per certification (there is no search fee)
RENAP hotline: 1516 (in Guatemala) | Offices: One per municipal cabecera

TL;DR: For certificates by name, RENAP directs users to portal.renap.gob.gt or its RENAP SE Android app. Enter the full name and event date; this service is intended for searches when the CUI is unknown (RENAP, read 29 October 2026). Cost: Q15 per record found. If you live abroad, hire a gestor or have a relative in Guatemala go on your behalf with a simple power of attorney.

When RENAP was created in 2005, it inherited all civil registry books that for over 100 years had been kept by municipalities. Digitization of those books is an ongoing process that is still incomplete.

In practice:

  • Records before 1877 are not civil registry — they are parish records at the Archdiocese of Guatemala

This matters for many cases: people seeking a parent or grandparents record for dual citizenship in Spain (Ley de Memoria Democratica), Italy (jure sanguinis), Germany (StAG); heirs claiming property registered in a grandparents name; families processing IGSS survivor pensions.

Requirements

You need at minimum:

  • Valid DPI of the requester (you, or a representative)
  • Full name of the person sought (with both paternal and maternal surnames)
  • Approximate birth date — at least the year, plus month/day if known
  • Place of registration — municipality and department where they were registered (not necessarily where born)
  • Parents names — these greatly help confirm the right person
  • Q15 in cash per certification (the tariff does not charge for the search)

If you are searching for a deceased relative, bring documents that demonstrate the family link (your own birth certificate showing parentage). If you are doing this for someone alive, you need a simple power of attorney signed by them authorizing you to retrieve the document.

Step-by-step

  1. Search the eportal first. Visit eportal.renap.gob.gt. For certificates by name, RENAP points to portal.renap.gob.gt or its RENAP SE app for Android, where you enter the full name and event date even when the CUI is unknown (read 29 October 2026).

  2. Identify the municipality of registration. Not always the actual birthplace. Ask older relatives where the family “went to register newborns”.

  3. Call 1516 (RENAP hotline). Ask for confirmation that the municipal office still has the books for the year you need. Some small offices transferred old books to the departmental headquarters.

  4. Visit the RENAP office of the municipality. Arrive early (8 AM). Bring ID, full name, approximate date, parents names. Ask for the officer in charge of historical archive.

  5. The officer searches the bound books. Books are organized by year. RENAP publishes no search turnaround on its service page (checked 2 November 2026); RENAP’s tariff has no fee for the search.

  6. Pay Q15 for the certification once found. The office prints it with original seal and signature. Ask when it will be available.

  7. Verify the information. Before leaving, check that names, dates, and details are correct. Errors in old books are common (variable spelling, confused dates).

  8. Apostille at MINEX if you will use the record abroad. Since 9 April 2024 the apostille costs Q75 per document (Acuerdo Gubernativo 35-2024, per AGN). It is issued by MINEX’s Department of Authentications (2a. avenida 4-17, zona 10), and can be requested at apostilla.minex.gob.gt. More info at MINEX Apostille.

Requests from abroad and card payments

RENAP lists a birth-certification tariff of US$6.00 for requests from abroad (read 28 October 2026). For services collected electronically using a debit or credit card, its tariff adds a 25% surcharge for banking management. RENAP also lists bank-slip payment through BANRURAL and BANTRAB for online certificates.

RENAP’s separate record-search form allows a successful search to lead to assignment of a CUI. The agency states that this assignment is free; the code has 13 digits and remains unchanged until death (read 28 October 2026).

Cost and timing

ItemCostTime
eportal search (digitized)FreeConfirm with RENAP
Official printed certificationQ15Confirm with RENAP
Search in an old bookNo fee in RENAP’s tariffNot published on the search page
Certified copy of the book entry / literal certificationQ25 / Q75Confirm with RENAP
MINEX apostilleQ75 per document (AG 35-2024)–

Common errors

I do not know which municipality to search

Ask uncles, cousins, or older relatives where the family “went to the city hall” back then. If nothing works, the Archdiocese of Guatemala archive holds parish books (baptisms) that serve as collateral evidence.

I found the book but pages are damaged or illegible

Document the damage with photos and ask the RENAP officer to issue a certificate of damaged page (constancia de hoja inutilizada). With that and other collateral documents (baptism, school, military), you can initiate a replacement of the entry (reposición de partida) through a notary or a court — RENAP asks for the final resolution and the negative certificate. See RENAP tardy registration.

Name has variations (compound surnames, different spelling)

This is common in old books. For example, “Hernandez” may appear as “Hernandes”, “Lopez” as “Lopes”, or “Maria Concepcion” simplified to “Concepcion”. Ask the officer to search variations. If you find a record with slightly different name but consistent data (parents, date), then file a rectification afterwards. See RENAP record rectification.

The book does not exist (fire, loss)

RENAP issues a negative certificate (constancia negativa, Q25). With it, a replacement of the entry (reposición de partida) is processed through a notary or a court; RENAP registers it with the certified final resolution and the negative certificate of the entry being replaced.

For the diaspora: family gestor option

If you live in the United States, Spain, Canada, or anywhere abroad and need an old record of a relative for procedures like dual citizenship or inheritance, you cannot do the search directly from abroad. Three practical paths:

Option A — Family in Guatemala with simple power of attorney. Your sibling, cousin, or nephew in Guatemala goes to the municipal RENAP office with a simple authorization signed by you (no notary needed for low-cost RENAP procedures). Cost: Q15 per birth certification (Q25 for a certified copy of the book entry) plus relatives’ travel expenses.

Option B — Professional gestor. Hire a lawyer or gestor specialized in historical RENAP procedures and agree the fee for the full service (search, certification, apostille, shipping) before you start. Useful when you have no family in Guatemala or the case is complex (lost book, multiple municipalities).

Option C — Personal visit. If you are planning a trip to Guatemala, confirm the timeframe before planning your visit.

For diaspora researching ancestry for Spanish nationality via Ley de Memoria Democratica or Italian jure sanguinis, parish records (baptism books) at the Archdiocese of Guatemala archive are also accepted as complementary evidence and sometimes go further back than civil registry.