Argentine who died in the US: death registration and repatriation of remains

When an Argentine citizen dies in the United States, the Argentine consulate for the district where the death occurred can register the death in the Argentine civil registry. The Los Angeles consulate explains that this registration is a prerequisite for obtaining the Argentine death record (partida de defunción) and, where relevant, ending a benefit (jubilación o pensión). You file the US death certificate with the Hague Apostille and a translation, the deceased’s original DNI and a 40-dollar fee (Los Angeles and Atlanta, checked October 3, 2026). Moving the body or ashes is a separate process handled by the family, the funeral home and the airline; the consulate neither grants permits for nor pays for repatriation.

Versión en español

Key facts

ItemDetail (checked October 3, 2026)
Where it is registeredAt the consulate for the district where the death occurred
Fee40 dollars (Los Angeles; Atlanta by money order payable to “Consulate of Argentina in Atlanta”); Chicago: USD 40 per 25 lines of the record
How to fileIn person or by postal mail (Los Angeles, Atlanta)
TimingAbout two weeks (Los Angeles); about three weeks (Atlanta)
Definitive recordIssued in digital form by the Buenos Aires City Civil Registry (Miami, Atlanta)
Moving remainsCoordinated by the family, funeral home and airline; the consulate grants no permits and pays nothing

The fee basis is Decree 266/2000 on consular fees, which sets the Consular Unit at one US dollar and charges 40 units per birth, marriage or death record “por cada 25 renglones o fracción” (per 25 lines or fraction).

First step: notify the consulate

Several consulates recommend reporting the death to the office for that district. The contacts they publish:

OfficePublished contactPage updated
New York(212) 603-042323/03/2026
Miami(305) 373-188916/07/2026
Chicago (emergencies)(312) 909-030819/12/2017

To find which consulate covers the place of death, see the Argentine consulates in the US directory or consulates by state.

Registering the death: documents

The Los Angeles consulate’s list (updated March 9, 2026):

DocumentDetail
US death certificateWith the Hague Apostille and a translation by a professional translator
Deceased’s original DNINot returned: the consulate must send it to RENAPER
Requester’s IDCopy of their DNI or passport
Contact detailsA sheet with the requester’s details
Fee40 dollars, by one of the payment methods the consulate accepts

Atlanta (09/09/2025) asks for the same with two specifics: payment is a 40-dollar money order payable to “Consulate of Argentina in Atlanta”, and if a deceased woman appears on the US certificate with a married surname different from her maiden name, the apostilled and translated marriage certificate is added. To receive the Argentine certificate by mail, Atlanta asks for a prepaid envelope.

The New York consulate asks for a copy of the death certificate with the Hague Apostille, which stays in its records, and explains that the consular registration is useful for inheritance and pension matters in Argentina. Chicago (26/11/2025) asks for the apostilled original, its translation and the requester’s DNI showing an address in the district.

The consulate does not obtain the US certificate: “El Consulado General no está habilitado por la ley local para obtener esos certificados” (the consulate is not authorized under local law to obtain those certificates) — Atlanta. The family obtains it directly from the issuing US authority (Atlanta); see vital records by state. The apostille on that certificate is placed by the US authority; see how to apostille a document in the US.

The name must match the DNI exactly

This is the rejection reason consulates stress:

  • The deceased’s name must appear on the US death certificate exactly as on the Argentine DNI (Los Angeles).
  • “No se aceptarán certificados estadounidenses que usen una letra inicial de “middle name”, o de cualquier otra parte del nombre” (US certificates using an initial for a middle name, or any other part of the name, will not be accepted) — Los Angeles. New York and Miami say the same: no initials or abbreviations.
  • Married surname: Los Angeles says to reconcile it on the certificate itself with the AKA (“also known as”) field or similar; Atlanta, by putting the original name in the “Maiden name” field and adding the marriage certificate.
  • If there are differences, you request an amendment from the office that issued the certificate (New York, Atlanta).

Step by step

  1. Check the name on the US death certificate against the Argentine DNI and request an amendment if needed.
  2. Apostille and translate the certificate.
  3. Gather the deceased’s original DNI, your own ID and the contact sheet.
  4. Email a scanned copy to the consulate for review if your office offers it (Los Angeles suggests it; Miami and Atlanta ask you to start by email).
  5. File the originals in person or by mail (Atlanta: Departamento de Opciones, business days 9 to 12) and pay the fee.
  6. Receive the certificate or registration. Los Angeles: ready in an estimated two weeks after the documents are received and verified; Atlanta: about 3 weeks.
  7. Wait for the definitive record. When the Buenos Aires City Civil Registry completes the entry, it issues the “Partida de Defunción Definitiva (formato digital)” and sends it to the consulate, which forwards it to you (Miami; Atlanta says the same).
  8. Present the record to ANSES if the person received a retirement pension or pension (jubilación o pensión): the Argentine death record must be presented by the interested person to ANSES to end the benefit (Los Angeles).

Alternative in Argentina: the Los Angeles consulate says the same documents can be filed directly in Argentina with the Civil Registry, RENAPER and ANSES, and suggests consulting a local agent (gestor).

Moving the body or ashes to Argentina

The consulate’s role is limited:

  • “El Consulado General no otorga permisos para el repatrio de restos humanos a Argentina” (the consulate does not grant permits to repatriate human remains to Argentina); the family coordinates shipment directly with the funeral home and the airline (New York, 23/03/2026).
  • “El Consulado no otorga permisos, ni afronta gastos para el repatrio” (it grants no permits and covers no costs) — Miami. The Embassy in Washington lists paying for repatriation of ashes or remains among the things that are not the consul’s job.
  • The Los Angeles consulate has no involvement in the transfer.

Documents the consulates list:

TransferDocuments (New York)What other offices add
Body(1) Death certificate. (2) Certification from the local health authority that the person did not have an infectious-contagious disease. (3) Funeral-home certificate that the body was prepared under international transport rules and placed in a hermetically sealed metal containerAtlanta and Miami: a certificate from the person who prepared the body, and the non-contagious-disease certificate is presented to the Dirección de Sanidad en Fronteras (border health directorate). Chicago: a notarized embalming certificate with an apostille
Ashes(1) Death certificate. (2) Cremation certificate stating the urn contains only human ashes and the person’s nameAtlanta: a shipping certificate from the origin airport’s border health office, where applicable

In every case: “Toda la documentación debe llevar la “Apostille” de la Convención de La Haya” (all documents must carry the Hague Apostille) — New York. Los Angeles adds that they must be translated into Spanish. New York notes the consulate does not need to intervene in those documents, which are handled with the funeral home. Atlanta and Miami suggest asking the airline well in advance whether ashes can travel as accompanied baggage.

Two additional details from the Los Angeles transfer-of-remains page (checked October 17, 2026):

  • For a body, the funeral-home certificate must also state that the hermetically sealed metal container is placed inside another container suitable for transport.
  • For ashes, the cremation certificate must be issued by the crematorium.

Who can file

The consular lists ask for a copy of the requester’s DNI or passport (Los Angeles, Atlanta), and Miami and Atlanta accept a foreign ID document if the requester is not Argentine. None of the pages checked asks the requester for US immigration documents.

Official sources

Last verified: 2026-10-17. General procedural information for educational purposes. Each consulate’s fees, timing and requirements can change. Verify directly with the Argentine consulate for the district where the death occurred. Not legal advice.