Reviewed by Carlos Vargas, Texas Licensed Funeral Director (TFSC #119648) ·
The consulate’s answer is the one that counts
Websites, relatives and even funeral homes repeat what a consulate required the last time they dealt with one. Requirements change, differ between consulates of the same country and differ again between a burial and cremated remains. The only reliable answer is the one the consulate gives you for this case, and it is worth getting it once, completely, from a named office on a known date.
This builder prepares a page of questions to take to that call or visit, with room to record who answered. It contains no consulate’s requirements and makes no statement about what any country accepts.
Prepare the page for your call
Use office names and roles. Do not type personal names, passport numbers or case numbers.
The controls require JavaScript. You can copy the headings on this page and write the note by hand.
Why Texas sends you to the consulate
The Texas DSHS Death Registration Handbook, revised January 2026, describes what is generally required for Mexico: a Burial-Transit Permit, a certified copy of the Texas death certificate and an Apostille from the Texas Secretary of State, with a possible Spanish translation of the certificate and the Apostille. For every other country it says only that the funeral director should check with the consulate of that country for specific requirements, and that a Burial-Transit Permit must be obtained if the body is removed from Texas. It also mentions that a letter of non-communicable disease, if needed, can be requested with the help of the local registrar.
In other words, the State of Texas publishes no list for most destinations, and even its Mexico description is qualified with the word “generally.” The questions below ask the consulate to confirm each of those items instead of assuming them.
Ask about authentication in the consulate’s own words
The Texas Secretary of State explains that its universal Apostille is attached to Texas public records and operates as an apostille for countries that are party to the Apostille Convention and as an authentication for countries that are not. The Texas step is the same either way, but what the consulate does next may not be. Some consulates add their own legalization to documents from non-Convention use; some want the translation authenticated too.
So ask two separate questions: whether the Texas certificate must carry the Secretary of State’s certificate, and whether the consulate then adds anything of its own. Our translation needs organizer continues from there.
What the finished page contains
Select Build text when you have filled in what you can. Blank answers become lines to complete during the call.
| Part | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Heading and statement | Says the page is the family’s notes, not the consulate’s requirements |
| Contact record | Which consulate, the date and the role of the person who answered |
| Your case | The destination in general words and whether it concerns a burial or cremated remains |
| Twelve questions | Documents, originals, authentication, translation, permits, identity papers, fees, hours and how papers are returned |
Write the answers beside each question and share the page with the funeral director, who will be preparing several of those documents.
Keep private details out of the page
Any edit clears the previous text, so build it again after a change. The builder script does not transmit your answers or write them to browser storage; other services on this site follow their own privacy terms. Record the office and the role of the person who answered, not personal names. Do not type the name of the person who died, passport numbers or case numbers.
Questions about contacting a consulate
- Does this page list what my consulate requires?
- No. It lists what to ask. Requirements come only from the consulate, for your case, on the date you ask.
- Should the family or the funeral home call the consulate?
- Either can. Many consulates speak more readily with a relative. Share the answers with the funeral director so the documents match what was asked for.
- What if two consulates of the same country give different answers?
- Follow the consulate that will actually process your documents, and keep its answer in writing if it will give one.
