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The Mexican consulate in Houston after a crash: what it offers and how Texas crash reports work

What the Consulate General of Mexico in Houston says its protection department does, how to reach it, what documents it issues, and how the crash report and other records work in Texas after a crash. Checked October 29, 2026.

10 min readPublished October 29, 2026Last updated October 29, 2026Edited by Joseph Budzinski, CTO, InjuryClaimGuide

The short answer

The Consulate General of Mexico in Houston says its Department of Consular Protection and Legal Affairs "brinda información, orientación y asistencia a los connacionales dentro de la circunscripción de este Consulado, asesorando en temas penales, migratorios, laborales, civiles, familiares y administrativos" (gives information, guidance and assistance to Mexican nationals within the consulate's district, advising on criminal, immigration, labor, civil, family and administrative matters), that it sees people without an appointment Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and that for emergencies people can call the CIAM, (520) 623-7874, or (713) 857-6504 (Consulate, Protection directory). On the U.S. side, the police write the crash report, and Texas law releases it on written request to the people it lists, including any person involved in the collision (Transp. Code §550.065). What the consulate can do in a specific case is for the consulate to say; how Texas law applies to a particular crash is something a licensed Texas attorney can explain.

This guide provides general informational guidance and is not legal advice. It summarizes what the consulate's official pages and Texas law say; it does not speak for the consulate, does not cover immigration law and says nothing about what any agency will or will not do.

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Key facts (as of October 29, 2026)

  • District. The Consulate General of Mexico in Houston says its district "comprende 37 condados incluyendo al Condado de Harris" (covers 37 counties, including Harris County) (Consulate, About the consulate).
  • Address. 10555 Richmond Ave., Houston, TX 77042, with the entrance and parking at 3200 Rogerdale Rd. (Consulate, Contact).
  • Main phone. (713) 271-6800, Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; the contact page gives extension 2050 for Protection.
  • Emergencies. The CIAM, (520) 623-7874, answers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; the Houston consulate's emergency number is (713) 857-6504 (SRE).
  • Protection without an appointment. Second floor, 3200 Rogerdale Rd., Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Consulate, Protection directory).
  • Documents by appointment. Through MiConsulado at (424) 309-0009, by WhatsApp at the same number, or at citas.sre.gob.mx (Consulate, Services for Mexicans).
  • The crash report. The officer who investigates a crash with injuries, deaths or apparent damage of $1,000 or more writes it and files it with TxDOT not later than the 10th day (§550.062).

What does the consulate say its protection department does?

The consulate's "About the consulate" page says that, for the protection of Mexicans' rights and interests, the consulate handles "todo tipo de consultas en materia migratoria, penal, laboral, civil, familiar, administrativa" (all kinds of questions on immigration, criminal, labor, civil, family and administrative matters), and that it checks "que los diversos procedimientos legales que involucran a mexicanos se apliquen conforme a las normas jurídicas correspondientes" (that the legal proceedings involving Mexicans are applied in accordance with the corresponding legal rules) (Consulate, About the consulate).

The page of the Department of Consular Protection and Legal Affairs lists these main services (Consulate, Protection directory):

  • informing Mexican nationals detained by an immigration or criminal authority about their rights;
  • locating missing or detained persons;
  • guidance on requesting humanitarian parole for close relatives of people in the district who are terminally ill or have died; the page notes that the decision to grant it belongs only to U.S. authorities;
  • arranging the support needed to transport the remains of Mexican nationals to Mexico;
  • information about the legal options for filing a complaint about violations of labor or safety laws or about discrimination in the workplace;
  • advice and guidance on family problems, gender violence or child abuse;
  • assistance to victims of human trafficking;
  • information on preventive protection, including rights and obligations before the authorities.

The page does not mention traffic crashes by name. This guide does not say the consulate handles any particular crash, claim or case; to find out, the page invites people to visit the consulate or contact it by phone or email.

How do you contact the Mexican consulate in Houston?

According to the consulate's Contact and Protection pages:

  • Main line. (713) 271-6800, Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The contact page gives extension 2050 for Protection. The Protection directory, for its part, lists extensions by topic; among them, general guidance on consular protection, 2003; civil matters, 2007 and 2004; labor matters, 2004 and 2006; and legal affairs and letters rogatory, 2005.
  • Email. atencionpublicohou@sre.gob.mx, which the contact page lists for "dudas sobre trámites" (questions about procedures) and the Protection page also gives for more information.
  • In person, no appointment. The protection department sees people on the second floor of the consulate, at 3200 Rogerdale Rd., Houston, TX 77042, Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and the page says "NO REQUIERE CITA" (no appointment required).
  • Emergencies, any hour. The contact page describes the Center for Information and Assistance to Mexicans (CIAM), (520) 623-7874, open 24/7, as a "centro de llamadas que te orienta para localizar familiares, brindarte orientación si has sido víctima de algún abuso o fraude, entre otros" (a call center that helps you locate relatives and gives you guidance if you have been a victim of abuse or fraud, among other things). The Protection page gives the CIAM or (713) 857-6504 for emergencies. Mexico's Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores publishes the same Houston number and gives the CIAM from Mexico as 001 520 623 7874 (SRE).
  • Appointments for documents. MiConsulado, (424) 309-0009, by phone or WhatsApp, or at citas.sre.gob.mx (Consulate, Services for Mexicans).

The consulate updates these pages on its own schedule; the date of the last update appears at the bottom of each one. The numbers in this guide were copied from them on October 29, 2026.

What is the consulate's PALE program?

The consulate describes the "Programa de Asistencia Jurídica a personas mexicanas a través de Asesorías Legales Externas en los Estados Unidos de América (PALE)" as legal advice and representation for Mexican nationals that the Government of Mexico covers at a preferential rate, through contracts with attorneys, law firms and non-governmental organizations in different branches of U.S. law. The page says the program gives advice on immigration, civil, criminal, labor and human rights matters, and that for more information people can go to the protection department, call (713) 271-6800 or write to atencionpublicohou@sre.gob.mx, without an appointment (Consulate, Abogados PALE).

InjuryClaimGuide is not part of the PALE program, sends no one to it and has no information about the attorneys who take part in it. What the program covers in a specific case is for the consulate to say.

What documents does the consulate issue?

The "Services for Mexicans" page groups the services by department: Documentation, Civil Registry, Certifications, Notarial Acts (powers of attorney), Protection and Communities. The services it links include the passport, the matrícula consular, certified copies, death registration, notarial powers of attorney and transport of remains (Consulate, Services for Mexicans).

The matrícula consular. The consulate says the matrícula "es un documento que expiden las Oficinas Consulares que certifica la nacionalidad e identidad de una persona mexicana que reside en el exterior" (is a document issued by consular offices that certifies the nationality and identity of a Mexican national living abroad), and that it "sirve para identificarse ante algunas instituciones gubernamentales locales y ante cualquier autoridad mexicana" (serves as identification before some local government institutions and before any Mexican authority). To get one, the page asks for proof of Mexican nationality, of identity and of an address within the district, using the documents it lists, and an appointment through MiConsulado (Consulate, Matrícula Consular).

This guide does not say which U.S. offices, insurers or hospitals accept the matrícula; no official source we reviewed says so for a crash.

How does the crash report work on the U.S. side?

  • At the scene. The driver of a vehicle in a crash that injures someone, or damages a vehicle someone is driving or attending, must give his or her name and address, the vehicle's registration number and the name of the liability insurer, show a driver's license if requested and available, and provide reasonable assistance to anyone injured (§550.023).
  • The officer's report. An officer who investigates a crash that injured or killed someone, or damaged the property of any one person to an apparent extent of $1,000 or more, must write a report and file it electronically with TxDOT not later than the 10th day after the crash (§550.062).
  • Who may get it. The full report is released, on written request and payment of the fee the statute sets, to the people §550.065(c) lists: among them "any person involved in the collision", that person's authorized representative, the drivers, the owners of vehicles or property damaged, the insurers covering the vehicles or people involved, and "any person who may sue because of death resulting from the collision". Anyone may request a redacted copy (subsection (c-1)).
  • From TxDOT. TxDOT sells the report through its Crash Report Online Purchase System, emails it after the purchase, and says people who do not meet the statute's criteria receive a redacted copy (TxDOT, Crash reports and records).
  • In Houston. The Houston Police Department's crash report request form asks the requester to choose the §550.065 category that applies, to sign under a perjury warning, and to give an "Identification Type & Number", with a driver's license, a state ID and a passport as examples (HPD, Crash Report Request Form, Rev. 12/25). HPD publishes the same form in Spanish, and the form lists (713) 308-8500, option 3, for questions.

Our guides on getting a crash report in Houston and how to read a Texas crash report explain each step, and our §550.065 reference entry prints the statute. When someone dies in a crash, our guide on when a family member dies in a Texas crash explains the Texas-side records.

What does Texas law say about consular officers and workers' compensation?

If the crash happened at work, the Texas workers' compensation law names non-citizens and consular officers:

  • Coverage. "A resident or nonresident alien employee or legal beneficiary is entitled to compensation under this subtitle" (Labor Code §406.092(a)).
  • Consular representation. A nonresident alien employee or legal beneficiary may, at his or her election, be represented officially by a consular officer of the country of which the person is a citizen. That officer may receive benefit payments for distribution to the person, and the statute says receipt of the payments constitutes full discharge of the insurance carrier's liability for those payments (§406.092(b)).

Benefits depend on the employer having workers' compensation coverage. Our guide Injured at work in Texas explains that coverage and its deadlines, and our §408.001 reference entry explains the exclusive-remedy rule.

What does Texas law say about notaries and unrequested contact?

Two Texas laws deal with people who offer legal help without being lawyers, or without being asked:

  • Notaries. Government Code §406.017 makes it an offense for a notary public to state or imply that he or she is an attorney licensed to practice law in Texas, to solicit or accept compensation to prepare documents for or otherwise represent another person in a judicial or administrative proceeding, "including a proceeding relating to immigration", or to use the phrase "notario" or "notario publico" to advertise notary services (Gov't Code §406.017). The same section says a person does not violate it by offering or providing language translation or typing services and accepting compensation, and excepts a notary who is also licensed to practice law in Texas and in good standing with the State Bar of Texas.
  • Contact in the first 30 days. Penal Code §38.12(d) makes it an offense for a Texas-licensed attorney, chiropractor, physician, surgeon or private investigator, or a person licensed, certified or registered by a Texas health care regulatory agency, with the intent to obtain professional employment, to give a person who has not sought their services a written communication or a solicitation, including in person, by telephone or by a social media direct message, about an accident involving that person or a relative, before the 31st day after the accident, among other limits (Penal Code §38.12).

Our barratry reference entry, §38.12, prints the full statute and says where these contacts are reported.

What records do people commonly keep?

It can help to keep these in one place:

  • the date, time and exact place of the crash;
  • the other driver's name, address, registration number and insurance company;
  • the crash report number and the name of the agency that wrote it;
  • names and phone numbers of witnesses;
  • photos of the vehicles, the license plates, the place and the injuries;
  • medical records and bills;
  • the date of any call or visit to the consulate and the name of the person who answered;
  • letters, forms and claim numbers from any insurance company;
  • copies of the identity documents that were shown, such as a passport or a matrícula consular.

Our guide on what evidence helps an injury claim explains how records like these are used.

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Frequently asked questions

Does the Mexican consulate in Houston help after a car crash?
The consulate's page says its Department of Consular Protection and Legal Affairs gives information, guidance and assistance to Mexican nationals within its district, advising on criminal, immigration, labor, civil, family and administrative matters. The page does not mention traffic crashes by name. To find out what it can do in a specific situation, the consulate gives its phone number, (713) 271-6800, and its email, atencionpublicohou@sre.gob.mx.
What is the phone number of the Mexican consulate in Houston?
The consulate's contact page gives the main line, (713) 271-6800, Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with extension 2050 for Protection. For emergencies, the consulate gives the Center for Information and Assistance to Mexicans (CIAM), (520) 623-7874, which answers 24 hours a day, and its emergency number, (713) 857-6504. Appointments for documents are made through MiConsulado at (424) 309-0009 or at citas.sre.gob.mx.
Do you need an appointment for the protection department?
No, according to the consulate. Its Protection page says people are seen on the second floor of the consulate, at 3200 Rogerdale Rd., Houston, TX 77042, Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and that no appointment is required. Document services, such as a passport or a matrícula consular, are by appointment through MiConsulado.
What is the consulate's PALE program?
The consulate describes the Program of Legal Assistance to Mexican Nationals through External Legal Advisors in the United States (PALE) as legal advice and representation for Mexican nationals that the Government of Mexico covers at a preferential rate, through contracts with attorneys, law firms and non-governmental organizations. For more information, the page says to go to the protection department. InjuryClaimGuide is not part of that program.
Can a consular officer represent an injured Mexican worker in Texas?
The Texas Labor Code says a nonresident alien employee or legal beneficiary may, if he or she chooses, be represented officially by a consular officer of the country of which the person is a citizen in workers' compensation matters, and that the officer may receive benefit payments for distribution to the person (§406.092(b)).
Who can request the crash report for a Texas crash?
Transportation Code §550.065 says the full report is released, on written request and payment of the fee, to the people it lists, including any person involved in the collision, that person's authorized representative and any person who may sue because of death resulting from the collision. Anyone may request a redacted copy.
Can a notary public in Texas represent me in a legal matter?
Texas Government Code §406.017 makes it an offense for a notary public to state or imply that he or she is an attorney licensed in Texas, to solicit or accept compensation to prepare documents for or represent someone in a judicial or administrative proceeding, or to use the words “notario” or “notario publico” to advertise notary services. The same section allows a person to charge for translation or typing services, and excepts a notary who is also a licensed Texas attorney.

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