Born in Mexico, never registered: birth registration at a Mexican consulate

Some people born in Mexico came to the United States without ever being registered with Mexico’s Civil Registry, so they have no Mexican birth certificate. The Consulate General of Mexico in Los Angeles publishes a procedure to register at the consulate people born in Mexican territory who are now abroad, children of Mexican or foreign parents. According to that page, registration is free, it happens in three stages, and the consulate decides within no more than 60 business days whether it proceeds. Additional copies of the record cost US$20.00 each (2026 fee tables of the Los Angeles and Chicago consulates, checked October 3, 2026). Availability varies by consulate: confirm with yours before gathering documents.

Versión en español

First: does your consulate do this registration?

The official sources do not agree, and it is worth knowing before you start:

  • Los Angeles publishes, in its Civil Registry section, the page “Requisitos para el registro de nacimiento de personas nacidas en territorio nacional que se encuentran en el extranjero” (updated November 12, 2025). It says the Civil Registry allows people born in Mexico, children of Mexican or foreign parents, to be registered at the consulate.
  • The birth-certificate copy pages of Chicago and of Los Angeles itself say: “En el Consulado no se realizan registros de personas nacidas en México” (consulates do not register people born in Mexico).

It may be that the certificate-copy desk does not register births while the Civil Registry office does, but no source explains it. So this page states only what the sources show: the Los Angeles consulate publishes this procedure; other consulates may not offer it. Find your consulate in the Mexican consulate directory or the list by state and ask.

Cost and timeline

ItemDetailSource
Birth registrationFreeLos Angeles consulate: “EL REGISTRO ES GRATUITO”
Additional copies of the recordUS$20.00 each2026 tables from Los Angeles and Chicago, “Copia certificada de acta del registro civil”, checked October 3, 2026
DecisionNo more than 60 business daysLos Angeles consulate: “El Consulado resolverá en un plazo NO MAYOR A 60 HÁBILES, sobre la procedencia o no del registro”

The Los Angeles procedure page shows a pre-2026 per-copy price; the 2026 tables are the current ones.

Documents: if the parents are Mexican

RequirementDetail per the Los Angeles consulate
AppearanceThe person being registered appears, at any age; a minor comes with the parents, guardian or whoever holds parental authority
Proof of parentageBirth certificate from the hospital or clinic where the person was born, or from the registered midwife who attended the birth. Los Angeles lists what it must contain: the mother’s full name, date and place of birth; the newborn’s footprint and sex; the date and time of birth; the address where the birth occurred and the seal of the public, private or social Health Sector institution; and the name and signature of the certifying medical authority (with professional license number, if a physician). It is checked against Health Sector databases
If there is no such certificateA delivery record (constancia de parto o de alumbramiento) with the name and signature of the physician or midwife registered with the Health Ministry who attended the birth, and the place, date and time of birth and the mother’s full name, or a DNA expert test done by a certified laboratory
Parents’ nationalityBirth certificate, certificate of Mexican nationality or naturalization letter
Parents’ marriage recordIf they are not married, the father appears in person or presents a special power of attorney before a Mexican notary or Mexican consular office; otherwise, the registration is made as the child of a single mother
ID of each parentValid, with photo and signature. At least one must identify as Mexican: Mexican passport, high-security matrícula or voter card (INE)
Identity of the person being registeredAny official documentation proving it
WitnessesTwo witnesses over 18, with official ID
AddressProof of address

Documents: if the parents are foreign nationals

The Los Angeles page has a parallel list for people born in Mexico to foreign parents. It differs in three points:

  • You must prove that the mother was in Mexico at the time of birth.
  • The parents’ birth certificates must be apostilled or legalized, as applicable.
  • The parents’ ID is a valid passport from their country of origin.

The rest (appearance, proof of parentage, the unmarried-father rule, identity, two witnesses, proof of address) is the same.

Notes that apply to both cases

  • Foreign documents: the page says foreign documents “de un país distinto al de la Adscripción de la Representación Consular” (from a country other than the one where the consulate sits) must be legalized or apostilled, as applicable, and translated into Spanish.
  • The DNA test is done when the consular officer deems it appropriate.
  • The consular officer may ask for additional documents if the case calls for it.

Step by step (three stages)

  1. Appointment. In Los Angeles, “TRÁMITE SOLO CON CITA” (appointment only), by phone; public hours Monday to Friday, 7:00 to 14:00. The consulate appointment tracker helps follow availability at other consulates.
  2. Stage one — document review. Only one person presents the documents and fills out the application.
  3. Stage two — registration appointment. The person being registered, the parents and the witnesses attend to sign the record and give fingerprints.
  4. Decision. The consulate decides within no more than 60 business days whether the registration proceeds.
  5. Stage three — certified copies. The person registered or the parents pick up the copies by presenting the registration receipt and the payment receipt.

A late-registered record and other procedures

The Declaratoria de Nacionalidad page of the same Los Angeles consulate calls a record “extemporánea” (late) when the registration was made more than one year after the date of birth, and for that procedure it asks for a supplementary document. If you will use the record for other procedures after registering, ask the consulate whether they will require additional documents because the registration was late.

Your US immigration status

The Los Angeles requirements are based on birth in Mexico and parentage; they do not ask for US immigration documents.

Official sources

Last verified: 2026-10-03. General procedural information for educational purposes. The availability and requirements of this registration vary by consulate and can change. Verify directly with the Mexican consulate that serves you. Not legal advice.