Guatemala DPI national ID from the US: US$15 at the consulate

The Documento Personal de Identificación (DPI), Guatemala’s national ID, is issued by the Registro Nacional de las Personas (RENAP). From the United States you apply through a Guatemalan consulate or the embassy: you pay US$15.00 (RENAP’s fee for a DPI requested abroad, checked October 3, 2026), present a recent birth certificate and have your biometrics taken at the consulate. The DPI is produced and shipped to the consulate; RENAP’s general rule is 30 business days plus whatever time distance adds, and the consulate confirms when you can pick it up. One recent development: printing DPIs in the US was announced in September 2026, but has no start date.

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Key facts

ItemDetail (checked October 3, 2026)
Issued byRENAP (Registro Nacional de las Personas)
Where you apply from the USGuatemalan consulates and embassy, including mobile consulates (RENAP fee schedule, Article 6)
Fee from abroadUS$15.00, “pago en consulado” — paid at the consulate (RENAP)
Base documentBirth registry certificate issued within the last six months (first DPI)
BiometricsAt the consulate or embassy
Delivery period30 business days, plus the time needed because of distance (RENAP general rule)
Validity10 years; indefinite for people over 70 (RENAP)
PickupAt the consulate where you applied, on the date the consulate confirms

The DPI request types RENAP lists

RENAP’s requirements page lists five kinds of request:

  1. First DPI.
  2. Early application for young people who have turned 17; the DPI is delivered starting on the day they turn 18.
  3. Renewal on expiration.
  4. Replacement for theft, loss, destruction or damage.
  5. Replacement for a change in any printed data, chip data, or the person’s biometrics.

Requirements

Two official sources describe the requirements at different levels of detail:

SourceWhat it asks for
Official summary in the Diario de Centro America (September 18, 2026), for people living in the US1) Birth certificate issued less than six months ago. 2) Payment of US$15. 3) Go to the consulate or embassy for biometric data capture.
RENAP general requirements page — first DPIPayment receipt under the fee schedule (Board Agreement 15-2020 and amendments) and the original and a photocopy of the registry certificate issued within the last six months.
RENAP general requirements page — renewal or replacementPayment receipt under the fee schedule.
RENAP page for services abroad (renap.gob.gt/SAMSE)“Recibo de pago” (payment receipt).

RENAP’s general page does not distinguish between offices in Guatemala and consulates, and the September 2026 summary lists the birth certificate without separating request types. If you are renewing or replacing, confirm with the consulate whether it asks for a recent certificate.

If you don’t have a birth certificate issued within the last six months, you can request one from the US: see Guatemalan birth certificate from the US (US$6.00 from abroad, per RENAP’s fee schedule checked October 3, 2026).

Step by step

  1. Gather a recent birth certificate (for a first DPI, the original and a photocopy).
  2. Pay US$15.00 (RENAP’s fee for a DPI requested abroad, checked October 3, 2026). RENAP says payment is made at the consulate. The official sources checked do not state which payment methods are accepted; confirm with the consulate.
  3. Go to the consulate or embassy for biometric data capture.
  4. Track the shipment. According to RENAP, you receive several messages tracking your DPI’s shipment and a phone call to confirm delivery details.
  5. Wait for the consulate to confirm. When you get the message that your DPI was delivered, contact the consulate or embassy where you applied. RENAP explains that consulates complete administrative steps when they receive DPIs, so the consulate must confirm the exact pickup date.
  6. Pick it up. RENAP’s general rule is personal delivery to the applicant, at RENAP offices or consular offices, with a record of delivery.

If someone else picks it up

RENAP’s general rule allows delivery to a third person who shows their own DPI and presents one of these: written authorization from the holder with the signature legalized before a notary, or a general or special mandate (a special mandate must include the specific power to receive the DPI). For applications made abroad, confirm with the consulate how it applies this rule. If you need to grant a mandate from the US, see Guatemala power of attorney at a US consulate.

Timing and validity

  • Timing: 30 business days, extended “by the time necessary because of distance” (RENAP general rule, checked October 3, 2026). RENAP does not publish a separate timeline for each US consulate.
  • Validity: RENAP’s page for returning Guatemalans refers to the DPI’s “10-year validity period”. Per the requirements page, the DPI of people over 70 has indefinite validity.

Over 60: what RENAP says and what it doesn’t

RENAP’s general requirements page says that for a first DPI or a replacement, people over 60 “are exempt from paying for the birth certificate and the DPI fee.” That page does not say whether the exemption applies to the US$15 consular fee, and RENAP’s page for services abroad shows only US$15.00. Confirm with the consulate before paying.

2026 developments: announced, not in effect

  • DPI printing in the US (announced). On September 18, 2026, the Diario de Centro America reported that MINEX and RENAP signed an “Interinstitutional Coordination Agreement for printing the DPI of Guatemalans in the United States.” According to the article, printing and delivery will be sped up through the consulates in Lake Worth Beach, Florida, and Los Angeles, California, and from those two locations DPIs “will be distributed” to Guatemalans in the US. The article is in the future tense and gives no start date. Until an official source confirms it is operating, the process above (shipment to the consulate and a confirmed pickup date) is the one RENAP publishes.
  • Minors’ DPI (DPIME). According to a Ministry of the Interior note dated October 1, 2026, DPIME issuance “began this October 1, at the various offices of RENAP,” and the first issuance is free. The note does not mention consulates, so this guide does not present it as available in the US.

Online replacement

RENAP’s eportal (eportal.renap.gob.gt) is described as a platform that “allows people to replace the DPI” and request certificates. RENAP does not say whether online replacement works for someone living in the US; confirm before paying.

What could not be confirmed

  • Appointments. The official sources checked do not describe the current booking system. The old site citaconsularguatemala.com redirected on October 3, 2026 to a MINEX page that did not load an appointment system for us. The MINEX website could not be consulted that day. Contact your consulate; the list is at Guatemalan consulates in the US.
  • Office name. RENAP groups its services abroad on a page called “SAMSE”; its page for returning Guatemalans uses the title “Subdirección de Atención al Migrante y Servicios en el Extranjero” and mentions a “ventanilla de DAMSE”.

Your US immigration status

The requirements RENAP publishes for the DPI are the payment receipt and, for a first DPI, a recent birth certificate. None of the sources checked asks for US immigration documents.

Official sources

Last verified: 2026-10-03. General procedural information for educational purposes. RENAP and Guatemalan consulate fees, timelines and requirements change. Verify directly with RENAP and your consulate before paying. Not legal advice.