Reviewed by Carlos Vargas, Texas Licensed Funeral Director (TFSC #119648) ·
The Houston consulate covers Texas
The Consulate General of Brazil in Houston says it serves the Brazilian community in Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas, so a Dallas family belongs to Houston. Its page gives the address as 5444 Westheimer Rd, Suite 1900, Houston, TX 77056, and says every consular service must be requested through the ministry’s e-Consular system. It lists separate mailboxes: registros.houston@itamaraty.gov.br for birth, marriage and death records, and assistencia.houston@itamaraty.gov.br for assistance to Brazilians.
The consulate’s emergencies page counts notifying relatives in Brazil of a death among consular emergencies and gives the duty telephone +1 (281) 384-4966. It is for emergencies only; lost passports and missed flights are listed as things that are not.
Documents Brazil’s foreign ministry lists for a body
The ministry’s service page on registering a death abroad has a section on carrying ashes and mortal remains to Brazil. It says that in every case transport may take place only after authorization by the administration of the airport of embarkation, which must be shown the original death record; a certificate of embalming, conservation or cremation; a medical statement that the death was not from an infectious or contagious disease; and the authorization to remove the body granted by the police authority where the death occurred, which the page calls the original free mortuary transit.
Where death was caused by a contagious or quarantinable disease, the body must be in a hermetically sealed metal casket. Cremated remains must be in sealed, impermeable urns. The page tells families to check the specific instructions of their consular post, so write to Houston before documents are ordered. A Texas funeral director will recognize most of this list; the police authorization does not match a Texas form by name, and Houston should say what it accepts in its place.
The health rule has changed since that page was written
The same page points readers to ANVISA Resolution 33 for health control of remains. Brazil’s health surveillance agency has since replaced its rules more than once. The text now in force, ANVISA’s RDC 932 of October 10, 2024, says that, except for ashes, human remains must travel in funerary caskets with every care taken to minimize any risk to public health, and that the documents on conservation must be available to the health authority on request. An earlier, more detailed resolution was revoked by this one. Because the published guidance and the current rule do not match, ask the receiving funeral home in Brazil what ANVISA’s airport post asks for today.
Recording the death at the consulate
The same service page explains that a Brazilian who dies abroad may have the death registered at the consular post on the declaration of a Brazilian relative, or of a representative the family chooses, and that a foreign citizen may make the declaration if no Brazilian can. It lists the death registration form; the local death certificate; the cremation certificate where there is one; an identity document of the person who died, and an expired passport is accepted; and the declarant’s own valid identification. The page says the service is free. The consular death certificate must later be transcribed in Brazil at the first civil registry office of the person’s last domicile, or of the Federal District.
Apostille
The HCCH status table shows that Brazil acceded to the Apostille Convention on December 2, 2015 and that it entered into force for Brazil on August 14, 2016. The ministry’s list above does not say which documents need an apostille for the journey itself. If a registry, bank or court in Brazil asks for one on the Texas death certificate, it is issued by the state; see the Texas Secretary of State authentication FAQ. Ask Houston whether it wants a sworn Portuguese translation.
What Brazil says about paying, and a narrow exception
The ministry’s service page says there is no legal provision for the Brazilian state to pay for carrying ashes or remains of Brazilian citizens to Brazil. The underlying rule is article 257 of Decree 9,199 of 2017: consular assistance does not cover burial expenses or the transfer of the bodies of nationals who die abroad.
A 2025 amendment to that article added an exception. On an exceptional and reasoned basis the foreign ministry may set the prohibition aside if the family proves it cannot afford the transfer, the cost is not covered by insurance or an employment contract, the death occurred in circumstances that cause commotion, and there is budget available. The decree leaves the criteria and procedure to a ministerial act, which we did not find. Treat this as something to ask the consulate about, not something to plan on. The insurance and assistance guide lists other places to ask.
From DFW to São Paulo
American Airlines publishes a route page from Dallas/Fort Worth to São Paulo (GRU) that describes nonstop or connecting service, so ask which applies on the proposed date. American Airlines Cargo’s TLC page says its specialists work directly with funeral homes and mortuaries on the advance arrangements. LATAM Cargo also publishes a human remains service page, without naming routes. Brazil is large: for a burial in Minas Gerais, Goiás, Bahia or another state, settle the domestic leg with the receiving funeral home before the international flight is booked.
| Step | Who to ask |
|---|---|
| Death certificate, preparation and casket | The funeral director here |
| What Houston accepts for each listed document | Consulate General of Brazil in Houston |
| Health control on arrival | ANVISA’s airport post, through the receiving funeral home |
| Recording the death | The Houston consulate, then a civil registry office in Brazil |
| Any request under the 2025 exception | The Houston consulate’s assistance mailbox |
| Acceptance of the casket and the flight | The airline’s cargo desk |
Questions families ask about a return to Brazil
- Which Brazilian consulate covers Dallas?
- The Consulate General in Houston, at 5444 Westheimer Rd, Suite 1900. Its page lists Texas among the states it serves.
- Will the Brazilian government pay for the transfer?
- As a rule, no. The ministry says there is no legal provision for the state to pay, and the decree on consular assistance excludes it. A 2025 amendment allows a narrow, discretionary exception.
- Does the death need to be registered with Brazil?
- It can be registered at the consulate on a relative’s declaration, free of charge, and the consular certificate is later transcribed at a civil registry office in Brazil.
Sources checked and case confirmation
Sources checked September 21, 2026. The ministry’s published list cites a health resolution that has since been replaced, and the ministerial act for the 2025 exception was not found. Confirm documents, fees, route and receiving arrangements for the individual case. Contact Vargas–London with the origin and destination to discuss the next step without sending medical or identity documents through the inquiry form.
