How do you translate a Guatemalan death certificate (certificado de defunción) for USCIS?
USCIS asks for a full English translation of a Guatemalan death certificate with the translator’s signed certification. We translate the RENAP certificado de defunción in full: both pages, the details of the death, the verificador and correlativo numbers, the QR code and the registrar’s signature. It doesn’t matter whether you got it at a RENAP office or printed it from RENAP’s online portal. A death certificate is usually two pages: $25 for the first, $20 for the second, ready within 24 hours after payment.
What the certificate shows
To register a death, RENAP (Registro Nacional de las Personas) needs at least the deceased’s names and surnames, sex, the cause of death, and the place, date and time of death or of the removal of the body (RENAP (opens in a new tab)). We translate every field on your copy, including the cause of death in the medical wording it uses, if your copy shows it.
The Department of State describes the security features of the current certificate (travel.state.gov (opens in a new tab)):
- a barcode and the verificador number at the top right;
- the correlativo number at the top left, under the RENAP logo;
- a QR code at the bottom center and the registrar’s digital signature at the bottom right;
- sometimes a round blue seal, which isn’t required.
Both the front and the back are required, so the translation covers both pages. RENAP notes that the signature and seal on the back carry legal validity as well (RENAP (opens in a new tab)).
RENAP, not the town hall
The State Department asks for the death certificate from RENAP, not from the municipality. The officer’s title on it is Registrador Civil de las Personas. Certified copies aren’t issued: the recipient checks the certificate by its QR code or on RENAP’s validation page, and the code works for six months or three checks, whichever comes first (travel.state.gov (opens in a new tab)). The translation keeps every number exactly as printed, so anyone can match it to the original.
You can order the certificate online from RENAP with the deceased’s CUI (personal identification code), including for a relative (RENAP (opens in a new tab)). RENAP says the certificates it issues, including those obtained online, are valid for any procedure that requires them (RENAP (opens in a new tab)).
Where the translation goes
- USCIS: for example, as proof that an earlier marriage ended: the Form I-485 instructions name a death certificate among the usual evidence (p. 9 (opens in a new tab)). The translation and certification go with a copy of the certificate. What USCIS accepts
- NVC and US consulates: the Department of State doesn’t ask for a translation of a certificate in Spanish if you are applying for your visa in Guatemala or another country where Spanish is an official language. What NVC accepts
- Immigration court: a typed certification with the translator’s address and phone. What the court accepts
Our Spanish documents are translated and certified by a native Spanish speaker. What to file in your case is for you or your attorney to decide.
Sample translation
The sample has the original, the translation and the signed certificate. Personal details are blurred.
Questions
The hospital gave us a death report. Is that the certificate?
No. The hospital or INACIF report is what RENAP needs to register the death. The document the State Department lists is the certificate RENAP issues after the registration. If you need the report translated too, we translate it as a separate document.
How much does it cost?
We charge by the page: $25 for the first page and $20 for each additional page in the same order. A two-page certificate plus one more one-page document is $65.
Do I need a notary or an apostille?
Not for USCIS: it asks for the translator’s signed certification, and it’s included. If your certificate already carries an apostille, we translate it as part of the document.
How long does it take?
1–4 documents: within 24 hours after payment; faster, within 12 hours (+$15 a page) or 3 hours (+$30 a page, paid between 8 am and 6 pm Pacific time). For 5 or more, we give you the date with the quote.
How we do it
- Full translation
every stamp, signature and handwritten line
- Signed certificate
with the translator’s name, address and phone
- A PDF, ready to file
original, translation and certificate, translation pages numbered
- Price
$25 for the first page up to 250 words, $20 for each additional page, in the same document or another one.
- Turnaround
1–4 documents: within 24 hours after payment; faster, within 12 hours (+$15 a page) or 3 hours (+$30 a page, paid between 8 am and 6 pm Pacific time). For 5 or more, we give you the date with the quote.
This is a summary of what the agency publishes, not legal advice.