Capítulo IX. Del documento personal de identificación

The Personal Identification Document, which may be abbreviated DPI, is a public, personal and non-transferable document of an official nature. All Guatemalans and domiciled foreign nationals over eighteen (18) years of age, registered with the RENAP, have the right and the obligation to request and obtain the Personal Identification Document. It constitutes the sole Personal Identification Document for all civil, administrative and legal acts, and in general for all cases in which identification is required by law. It is also the document that enables citizens to identify themselves in order to exercise the right of suffrage. The respective regulations shall govern matters concerning the DPI.

The Personal Identification Document shall have the cost determined by the Board of Directors; however, for natural persons who are part of social groups that the Board of Directors of RENAP determines lack the economic capacity to pay the cost of the DPI, the Board shall authorize the issuance of their Personal Identification Document free of charge. The regulations shall establish the matters concerning this subject.

Carrying the Personal Identification Document is mandatory for all Guatemalans and resident foreign nationals; its use shall be subject to the provisions of this Law, its regulations, and other supplementary rules.

The Personal Identification Document shall be printed and processed with materials and techniques that provide it with conditions of inalterability, quality and non-transferability of its data; its size and other physical characteristics shall conform to international standards such as ANSI/NIST, ANSI/INCITS, ISO and applicable ICAO norms for this type of document, without prejudice to the efficiency and speed of its issuance. The materials used in its manufacture, as well as the procedures proper to it, must provide it with the greatest reliability against any attempt at reproduction, tampering or forgery.

For purposes of the official identification of natural persons, no private individual, authority or public official may require the presentation of any document other than the Personal Identification Document; nor may it be seized or retained.

The Personal Identification Document -DPI- is issued to all Guatemalans born within and outside the national territory, and to resident foreign nationals, as follows:

a)In the case of Guatemalans by birth, from the date of registration of the birth in the respective Civil Registry of Persons;

b)In the case of resident foreign nationals, from the time they are granted permanent residence by the Directorate General of Migration, following a report on that matter made by said authority to RENAP. For that purpose, they must register in the respective Civil Registry of Persons. In this case, the DPI shall be issued in a different color;

c)In the case of persons who have acquired nationality by naturalization, from the moment they reliably and documentarily prove such fact before the respective Civil Registry of Persons. For the three preceding cases, a unique identification code shall also be assigned, and it shall remain unchanged until the death of the natural person, as the sole reference for their identification.

The Personal Identification Document -DPI- must contain, at a minimum, a photograph of the face of the holder, facing forward and with the head uncovered, which shall be captured live, and it must also contain the following data:

a)Republic of Guatemala, Central America;

b)The name of the National Registry of Persons;

c)The designation of Personal Identification Document -DPI-;

d)The unique identification code assigned to the holder;

e)Given names and surnames;

f)Sex;

g)Place and date of birth;

h)Marital status;

i)Signature of the holder;

j)Date of validity of the document;

l)The vecindad (municipal residency status) of the holder;

m)The residence of the holder, which shall be recorded on the information storage medium of the card.

The Personal Identification Document of minors is a public, personal and non-transferable document; it shall contain physical characteristics that distinguish it from the document for persons of legal age, which shall be established in the corresponding regulations.

The DPI of minors shall contain, in all cases, the data set forth in Article fifty-six (56) of this Law, with the exception of subparagraphs i) and k).

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It shall be printed and processed with materials and techniques that provide it with conditions of inalterability, quality, and non-transferability of its data; its size and other physical characteristics must conform to international standards, such as ANSI/NIST, ANSI/INCITS, ISO, and the applicable ICAO standards for this type of documents, without prejudice to the efficiency and speed of its issuance. The materials used in its manufacture, as well as the procedures proper to it, must ensure the greatest reliability against any attempt at reproduction, manipulation, or forgery.

Exceptionally, the printing of the document without the fingerprint shall be authorized when the person has a permanent impairment affecting all of his or her fingers. Likewise, the signature requirement may be omitted when the person is illiterate or is permanently unable to sign.

The Unique Identification Code of the person -CUI-, constitutes the basis upon which society and the State identify the person for all purposes. It shall be adopted mandatorily and progressively by all State agencies as the sole identification number of the natural person; in all cases in which there is an obligation to keep a register, this number shall be incorporated progressively with the objective of replacing the numbers that are in the public registers of all identification systems, within a time limit that must not exceed the thirty-first (31) of December of the year two thousand sixteen (2016).

The RENAP shall issue the replacement of the Personal Identification Document in case of loss, robbery, destruction or deterioration. The replacement shall have the same characteristics as the original, and it must be stated that it is a replacement. The request for and authorization of the replacement may be made through any electronic system, a procedure that must be provided for in the respective regulation.

The Personal Identification Document -DPI- shall be valid for ten (10) years, provided that its holder does not make changes to his or her marital status, civil capacity, or name, or substantially alter his or her physical appearance by accident or other causes. In these cases, the RENAP shall issue a new Personal Identification Document -DPI-. Once the ten-year period has elapsed, the DPI shall be considered expired and shall lapse for all legal purposes.

Upon expiration of the period referred to in the preceding article, the Personal Identification Document (DPI) shall be renewed for the same term, except for persons over seventy (70) years of age, in which case it shall be valid indefinitely and its renewal shall not be necessary, except in the cases established by law or when it is deemed pertinent.

All young persons who have reached seventeen (17) years of age may apply for their DPI, which shall be delivered to them as of the day on which they turn eighteen (18) years of age.

All natural persons have the obligation to inform RENAP of any change in their residence, vecindad and domicile, or of any event or act relating to their civil status, civil capacity and other identifying data.

The Directorate General of the National Civil Police and the Army of Guatemala are obligated to inform RENAP immediately, for the purpose of updating the citizens' database, regarding the persons who are enlisted in or discharged from those institutions. For the same purposes, the corresponding judicial authorities must report, within a time limit of fifteen (15) days, on the persons who, by final judgment, have been suspended in the enjoyment of their political rights.