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Certified Guatemalan Property Deed Translation
Certified translation of the documents that record the ownership of land and buildings in Guatemala, including the registry annotations and endorsements that carry the legal effect and that a reader unfamiliar with the system will otherwise skip.
$24.95/page
Flat rate per page, up to 250 words. No hidden fees.
100% USCIS acceptance
Every certified translation is guaranteed to be accepted by USCIS.
24-hour delivery
Most 1-3 page documents are delivered within 24 hours. Same-day available.
Two registries for the whole country
Guatemala has only two property registries — the Registro General de la Propiedad in Guatemala City and the Segundo Registro in Quetzaltenango — and property is recorded as a finca with folio, libro and department.
That four-part citation is the identifier. Which registry holds it depends on the department, and we name it, because searching the wrong one returns nothing.
The cadastre, which is separate and incomplete
The Registro de Información Catastral is a separate and still incomplete survey-based system, so a finca may have a registry record with no cadastral survey and a boundary description from a century ago.
Overlapping and inconsistent fincas are a known Guatemalan problem rather than a translation error. We give both records where the file holds them.
Communal and possessory land
A great deal of Guatemalan rural land is held under derechos de posesión or by indigenous communities under communal arrangements, documented by municipal records rather than a finca.
Those documents are not deeds and translating them as such misstates the tenure. We name what the document is and the body that issued it.
The DPI, and the languages
Parties are identified by DPI, thirteen digits ending in the municipal and departmental codes.
Documents are in Spanish, but a party may speak K'iche', Mam, Q'eqchi' or Kaqchikel, and the notarial instrument then records an interpreter. We translate that recital. See our Spanish page.
Ordering, and what the certification covers
Upload the document, choose certified translation at $24.95 per page of up to 250 words, and it comes back typically within 24 hours as a PDF formatted to mirror the original, with a signed certificate of translation accuracy on letterhead. Marginal annotations are translated in place, in the margin, and every seal, stamp and registry endorsement is translated with the text. See how we translate and certified versus standard.
Frequently asked questions
How many registries are there?
Two, in Guatemala City and Quetzaltenango. Searching the wrong one returns nothing.
What identifies the property?
Finca, folio, libro and department. All four are the citation.
My document is a possessory right.
Not a deed. Municipal or communal documentation of possession, with different tenure.
The boundaries seem very old.
Many fincas have no cadastral survey. Overlapping descriptions are a known Guatemalan problem.
Ready to get started?
Upload the document and receive the certified translation, typically within 24 hours.