When a U.S. citizen dies abroad

The American Consulate General in Monterrey serves the families of Americans who die in its Consular District, which includes the Mexican states of Nuevo León, Durango, San Luis Potosí, Zacatecas, and the southern part of Coahuila.  For information on other states in Mexico, please contact the Embassy or the appropriate consulate.

It is critical that families contract a funeral home to help them carry out funeral arrangements.  The U.S. Consulate General in Monterrey maintains a list of funeral homes (PDF 82K) operating within its Consular District that have been used by U.S. citizens in Mexico.  Funeral services and preparations are carried out in accordance with the laws and facilities available in Mexico, but in some cases they may fall short of those expected in the U.S. 

Although the consulate staff is unable to act as agents for American citizens making funeral arrangements, we can help locate and notify the next-of-kin of their loved one's passing, inform families about the Mexican legal requirements for claiming a loved one's remains, and assist in shipping personal effects to the United States. 

The next-of-kin is responsible for all costs of the funeral home, and/or shipment of remains or personal effects.  It is also the responsibility of the family to carry out the funeral arrangements with assistance from the contracted funeral home.  Please be aware that Mexican authorities will often request identification documents for both the next-of-kin and the decedent, such as passports, birth certificates, or marriage certificates. 

The U.S. Consulate General in Monterrey also prepares a Report of Death of a U.S. Citizen Abroad based on the local Mexican death certificate.  This document can be used in most legal proceedings in the United States as proof of death overseas.  To prepare this document, consular staff will need original evidence of U.S. citizenship of the decedent and the original Mexican death certificate.

Disposition and Shipment of Remains

The following information is provided to assist families with their initial decisions following the death of a loved one.  Costs are estimates only based on surveys of area funeral homes.  Current Mexican laws on Disposition of Remains are cited and the estimated cost for services for each major city within the Monterrey consular district is detailed.

A. Maximum Period Before Interment

Mexican law does not place a limit for interment of embalmed remains.  Ordinarily, when the remains are not embalmed, disposition should take place between 12 and 24 hours after death, except with specific authorization of public health authorities.

Burial must take place within 24 hours after death, unless a judicial investigation requires a longer waiting period, or the Department of Health has authorized the remains to be embalmed or otherwise preserved.

B. Embalming

There are at least three funeral homes in each major city within our consular district which have embalming facilities.  Embalming may be performed between 12 and 24 hours after death.

C. Cremation

Local and national laws permit cremation, which may be performed between 12 and 24 hours after death.  There are at least two crematory furnaces in Monterrey.

D. Caskets and Containers

Remains that are to be transported out of the country by plane must be placed in a zinc, lead or iron casket hermetically sealed.  The casket, or in case of cremation, the urn, must be placed inside a wooden box of three centimeters thickness.  This regulation is not completely enforced.  Authorities do not object to the use of any metal casket or the thickness of the wooden case, and the only instance when the metal casket is sealed by soldering is when the remains were decomposed or in very poor condition when embalmed. 

However, the wooden case is always nailed.  When the remains are to be transported out of the country by land, the wooden case is not required.  Caskets and containers available locally meet the requirements for shipment of remains out of the country.

E. Exportation of Remains

a)  Requirements for the exportation of human remains:

1. Embalmment of the remains.
2. The remains must be placed in a metal casket, which must be encased in a nailed wooden box if shipped by air (See paragraph D).
3. Transit permit and final destination information.
4. Death certificate from the Civil Registry (2 certified copies).
5. Consular Mortuary Certificate and Embalmer's Affidavit signed before the American Consul.

b)  Requirements for exportation of ashes:

1. The ashes must be placed in a metal urn.
2. Death Certificate from the Civil Registry (2 certified copies).
3. Consular Mortuary Certificate and Cremation Certificate.

F. Costs

For average estimates for five major cities in our consular district please see Cost for Disposition and Shipping of remains(PDF 74k). All costs have been converted from local currency to U.S. Dollars at the rate of exchange of 14.00 Mexican pesos  = U.S. Dollars $1.00

G. Exhumation and shipment

Federal Regulations permit exhumation of adults' remains after six years of interment and after five years for children's remains.  This general time requirement may be increased or decreased by the Public Health Department depending upon health considerations in the individual case.

Death certificate and ownership title or lease contract of the cemetery lot are required to exhume remains after six years of interment.  Shipment should be made in a metal container (sealed by soldering) which is placed in a wooden box.

Following are average estimates of the cost of exhumation and preparation for shipment of remains in the following cities:

                                   Mexican Pesos                                  Dollars

1.  Monterrey                $  9,240.00                                   $   733.00

2.  Saltillo                     $10,250.00                                    $   813.00

3 . Durango                  $21,000.00                                    $1,666.00

4 . San Luis Potosí        $11,106.00                                    $   881.00

5.  Zacatecas                $16,790.00                                    $1,332.00

H. Autopsy

An autopsy is mandatory in cases where the person might have died as a result of a crime, and only the district attorney (Ministerio Público) handling the case can waive this requirement.  Other cases classified by the Mexican authorities as violent deaths, such as unaccompanied people found dead with no explanation, deaths resulting from an accident, trauma, fatal blow, etc., also require an autopsy.

As long as the deceased had not previously stated/written his/her opposition to an autopsy, the following is required for an autopsy:

• Order from the district attorney’s office (Ministerio Público), or from the judicial or health authorities;
• Authorization from disponente originario (deceased); or
• Authorization from disponentes secundarios (i.e., next-of-kin, health authorities, etc.).

Services for non-Americans

The U.S. Consulate General in Monterrey can facilitate the entrance of remains of non-Americans to the United States by issuing a Consular Mortuary Certificate.  To request this document, the funeral home or the family of the deceased should provide the Consulate with:

For remains:

1. Embalmment certificate;
2. Death certificate from the Civil Registry;
3. Transit permit and destination information (plane, ship or bus); and
4. Affidavit by the local funeral home representative, signed before the American Consul.
5. The cost for this service is $60.00 USD.  The fee for the notary service provided on the affidavit from the local funeral home representative is $50.00 USD.

For ashes:

1. The ashes must be placed in a metal urn;
2. Death Certificate from the Civil Registry;
3. Destination information (plane, ship or bus); and
4. Cremation Certificate
5. The cost for this service is $60.00 USD.

This service is available Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., except on American and Mexican holidays and the first working Monday of each month.