No…but now we have a U.S. Consular Agency and a new consular agent. The new office is located on 1 Sur, which is one block south of Juarez in Playa Del Carmen. You will find the office in “The Palapa” located between 15 and 20 Avenue. We walked down 20th from Juarez, made a left on 1 Sur and this is what we saw.

We stopped in to meet the Consular Agent, Samatha Mason. Samantha has lived for many years in Cozumel, but is new to the U.S. Foreign Service. Playa del Carmen is a tough first assignment…don’t you think.  If you like, she will be happy to add you to her local registry of U.S. citizens living in the Playa del Carmen Mexico area. Her office phone number is (984) 873-0303. Her fax is (984) 873-0481. This is a voluntary list that might be beneficial if you have a personal emergency or if there is a natural disaster like a hurricane. She also plans some educational programs for expats in the area. You can find the U.S. Consulate webpage at http://merida.usconsulate.gov.

One of the services that the Consular Agent can offer you is that of a notary public for U.S. government  or personal documents. We required a notary for some postal forms required by our mail forwarding agent in the U.S. Having a recognized U.S. Notary in the local area was very helpful. There is a fee for this service. In our case about $30.00 US.

There is also a Consular Agent in Cozumel. To find the office from the Cozumel Ferry terminal, walk straight across the street when you leave the pier. Walk straight down the plaza about a half block until you see Fat Tuesdays bar on the left. Walk left under the arch (or through the bar) to the back of the shopping plaza. Go up the stairs and the Consular’s office is on the second floor in the corner.