Bringing Your Car Into Mexico

There are several factors to be considered when determining how you will be able to bring a vehicle into Mexico. These factors include:

• Where are you going in Mexico?
• What type of visa will you have?
• How old is your vehicle, and what is its value?
• Is your vehicle a car or an RV?
• Is your intent to temporarily or permanently import your vehicle?
• How long will you stay in Mexico?
• Will you be applying for a Permanent visa at some point?

Immigration Law Reform in 2012

A new set of Regulations of the Immigration Laws of Mexico were officially put into effect on November 1, 2012. These reformed laws have changed the rules for visas and the import of foreign plated cars. 

Anyone who had an FM2 or FM3 visa continue to use their current visa until the expiration date.

The Migratory status of “Non-Immigrant” (previously known as FM3), “Immigrant” (formerly known as FM2), and Immigrated (Inmigrado) will no longer exist; however, anyone who had an FM2 or FM3 visa continue to use their current visa until the expiration date.

The new visa categories pertain to the ‘conditions of stay.’ The new designations are: 

• Visitor (Visitante)
• Temporary Resident (Residente Temporal)
• Permanent Resident (Residente Permanente)

To learn more about visa and immigration rules, you can check here. In all cases, you will use the multi-immigration form, but for a tourist visa, this form (FMM) serves in part as your visa along with the stamp in your passport.

It is important to note that there are different rules for Permanent Residents restricting their ability to bring foreign-plated cars into Mexico on a TIP.

Zona Libre and Sonora

There are unique and more relaxed rules for Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur.

There is no need to apply for a Temporary Import Permit (TIP) if you plan to use your vehicle within the State of Sonora’s Zona Libre (Free Zone). This Free Zone includes the popular cities of Agua Prieta, Bahia de Kino, Caborca, Guaymas, Hermosillo, Magdalena, Nogales, Puerto Peñasco, San Carlos, and Santa Ana (northwest corner of Sonora, west of Highway 15). 

If you plan to travel outside of the Free Zone yet remain within the state, you can get a “Sonora Only” permit (learn more here). While foreign-plated vehicles driven solely within the Free Zone and Sonora do not require a TIP, your US or Canadian car plates must be valid, and any stickers must also be kept current. 

If you intend to drive the vehicle beyond the Free Zone and Sonora, you will need to apply for a TIP. The same is true if you take your car from La Paz to the Mexican mainland (by ferry).

Mexican Car Insurance

In all cases, you will need Mexican car insurance. Mexico does not recognize American auto insurance policies. If you get into an accident anywhere in Mexico, you will not be able to use your car insurance to cover the damages. As a result, Mexican authorities may arrest you and impound your car until the matter can be settled. Without a proper way to pay for damages, the process may take a while. Not to mention that this discussion may all be happening in Spanish. 

Getting into an accident is already enough to disturb your travel plans, don’t let it ruin them by having an insurance mishap. The risk and consequences are too significant not to purchase a policy before you go to Mexico. Luckily, it is easy and comparatively inexpensive to get your Mexican car insurance policy.

You must carry Mexican auto insurance to drive legally in the country, as liability coverage is mandatory. If you are involved in an accident while driving in Mexico, the maximum amount you may have to pay out if another party is injured or killed in an accident varies depending on where you drive. Therefore, you should check the Mexican state laws for those you will be driving in, as it impacts the amount of car insurance you will need while  in Mexico. 

Based on Mexican laws for possible payouts on bodily injury or fatality, it is generally recommended that drivers get a minimum of about $300,000 worth of third-party liability damage coverage. That may be more than your limits back home, but it is considered prudent to carry this much coverage. If you do not carry collision or comprehensive coverage on your current policy back home, you will be ineligible for it in your Mexican insurance policy. Learn more here.

Begin at the Border, Online or a Consulate Office

With the exceptions for Sonora and the Baja Peninsula states, if you plan to drive a foreign-plated vehicle beyond Sonora and the Free Zone, you will need a TIP, and you can get this online, at the border, or Conslultate Office. They are not available at Mexico’s interior checkpoints.

A TIP can only be obtained through Mexico’s Banjercito government agency. You can obtain your permit online at the Banjercito website or at the border. Online purchases must be made 7-60 days prior to travel into Mexico. The TIP is valid for any type of vehicle weighing less than three and a half metric tons (7,716 lbs. GVRW), for up to 180 days. If your vehicle is registered as a motorhome, you can get an RV TIP that is good for ten years.

Obtaining Your TIP Online

Banjercito recommends buying online. Applying for the permit online on the Banjercito Website will speed up the process and allow you to avoid potentially long lines at the border.

You must first get your FMM online to be able to get the TIP. Don’t forget that when you buy your FMM online, you must stop at the border and get immigration (INM) to stamp/validate it. Bring both your printed FMM and your receipt to show proof of payment.

You will receive your permit by email. Print it and your receipt, and keep the printed copy with you while driving in Mexico. Use your email as verification of your TIP purchase. If you do not have Internet access, your printed copy will be your backup.

Obtaining Your TIP at the Border

TIPs may be purchased at Banjercito CIITEV offices located at Aduana (Customs) locations at various US/Mexico border locations. In this case, you will obtain your FMM at the same time. Find Banjercito locations in Arizona, California, New Mexico, or Texas here.

Banjercito will send you an email with your TIP and give you a printed copy, along with your receipts. Keep your email and copy with you at all times while driving in Mexico.

Obtaining Your TIP at the Mexican Consulate

You can also buy a permit at one of the following Mexican Consulates in the US. As mentioned earlier, you will obtain your FMM at the same time, but don’t forget to get it stamped at the border.

• Arizona: Phoenix
• California: Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Sacramento
• Colorado: Denver
• Illinois: Chicago
• New Mexico: Albuquerque
• Texas: Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston

Banjercito will give you your receipts and a copy of the TIP, which will also be sent to your email. Keep a copy with you at all times while driving in Mexico.

Required Documents

It is recommended that you carry three black and white copies of each of these documents. (Mexico considers color copies to be an attempt at forgery.)

• Passport, passport card or green card
• If you are not a Mexican citizen, a Mexican immigration permit — such as a tourist, temporary, or permanent visa is required along with your FMM.
• A non-Mexican driver’s license with photo
• Original and photocopy of the title and registration of the vehicle issued by a foreign authority in the applicant’s name (If the title or registration is in the name of a spouse, a marriage certificate must be presented. Only the owner of the vehicle and/or his/her spouse can get a TIP.)
• Proof of temporary Mexican auto insurance for your vehicle.

If you have a leased, financed, or company car, you will also need the following:

• Leased Vehicles: Lease contract and notarized letter of permission from the leasing company.
• Financed Vehicles: Credit contract and notarized letter of permission from the lienholder or lending institution.
• Company Car: A notarized letter of permission confirming the employment relationship and authorizing the employee to import the vehicle into Mexico.

TIP Declarations – You will also need to do the following:

• Sign a declaration, pledging to return the vehicle within the 180-day period for which the permit is valid and not disobey any other regulations.
• Pay approximately $51.00 USD at the border or $45.00 USD online, plus IVA (tax) with cash or a non-Mexico issued credit card. The cost can vary based on the peso exchange rate and will likely increase from time to time.
• Pay a deposit, which will be refunded if the vehicle import permit is canceled within the 180-day period, and no violations have taken place.

According to the Banjercito website, the IVA and deposit amount can vary depending on the peso to dollar exchange rate. An International credit card (American Express, Mastercard, Visa) in the name of the driver of the vehicle (importer) or cash will be needed to pay the fees. Your card number could be held or charged for the import amount. Be sure to contact your credit card company upon your return, to be sure you’ve received a refund.

Entering Mexico on a Visitor (Visitante) Visa

If you are visiting Mexico on a tourist/visitor permit, you can import your foreign-plated vehicle to Mexico, but you must export it again before the permit expires. These tourist visas last 180 days (about six months) and cannot be renewed or extended beyond this period. 

If you drove into Mexico as a visitor with a tourist visa (Visitante) and your foreign-plated vehicle has a TIP, that TIP is directly associated with your visa. Banjercito states that these TIPs are not extendable and that after 180 days, they will become invalid, at which point, the vehicle will be illegal in Mexico, and holders will lose their deposits. Therefore, if you are in Mexico with a vehicle and both your visa and the car’s TIP are about to expire, you need to drive out of Mexico before tat expiration.

Entering Mexico with a Temporary (Residente Temporal) Visa

Holders of Residente Temporal and Residente Temporal Estudiante may import their car to Mexico using a Temporary Import Permit (TIP). The vehicle will remain legal in Mexico for so long as the resident permit remains current. 

Residente Temporal permit holders who have a foreign-plated vehicle in Mexico under a TIP can continue to keep their vehicles in Mexico for so long as the Residente Temporal permit remains valid.

Entering Mexico with a Permanent (Residente Permanente) Visa

This is where things change a bit. If you are carrying a Residente Permanente visa, you will not be allowed to bring your foreign-plated car into Mexico on a TIP. However, you can go through a process to permanently import the car. However, if you want to formally import your car, you should probably hire a Customs Broker to help you do this. (The import rules are complex depending on the vehicle type, where it was manufactured, its age, etc.)

Expats with Permanent Residency Status and Cars in Mexico

If you have a foreign plated car in Mexico now and have an (old) FM2 or change your immigration status from Residente Temporal to Residente Permanente, you will need to make some choices about what do to with your foreign-plated vehicle. This would also be true if you relocate from the Free Zone or Sonora to somewhere else in Mexico. In these circumstances, people often either export the car permanently, keeping it, or selling it, or they may choose to then re-import the car using a Customs Broker.  Just be aware, permanently importing your vehicle means that you will not only pay an import tax but also 16% IVA (Mexican VAT).

There is a ‘Safe Return’ procedure you can use it your vehicle is currently “illegal” (or will become illegal when you switch from Residente Temporal to Residente Permanente), and you want to take the car out of the country, you can apply for a “Retorno Seguro” permit from SAT, which gives you five days to drive the car out of the country (to the US or to Belize).

Canceling Your Permit

You must cancel (surrender) your vehicle TIP upon final re-entry into the US. If you do not, you will lose your deposit and not get another Temporary Import Permit. This is how Mexico verifies the vehicle has left the country. You CANNOT surrender and buy a new permit online or anywhere within the interior of Mexico.

You do not have to exit Mexico from the same port as you entered to cancel your permit. You must cancel and surrender your permit at an approved Banjercito TIP return location on the border. Find Banjercito locations in Arizona, California, New Mexico, or Texas here.

Keeping Your US Registration

When bringing your car to Mexico, you may wish to maintain some flexibility in being able to take your car back to the US now and then. A county in South Dakota has capitalized on this need.  They will register your car without the need for residency or other in-country testing such as safety or smog.  Some people find it beneficial to keep their US registration current and to renew their US insurance whenever they are in the US.

The DMV for Clay County, South Dakota has a very informative website with the details of this loophole on this page:  http://dor.sd.gov/Motor_Vehicles/Non_Resident_Information/

Important Facts

You will lose your deposit fee:

• Driving a vehicle with an expired vehicle import permit in Mexico.
• Selling an imported vehicle in Mexico.

Additional Facts:

• Temporary Vehicle Import Permits (TIPs) cannot be renewed.
• You cannot surrender and obtain a new TIP within the interior of Mexico.
• You cannot surrender and obtain a new temporary permit through a Mexican Consulate abroad.
• You cannot surrender and obtain a new TIP online.
• If a vehicle has not been returned to Banjercito offices at the border and the TIP canceled, a new permit cannot be issued.
• You will not be given a TIP if your vehicle has any restrictions in the US or Canada (determined by the Vehicle Identification Number or VIN), like ‘salvage’ or theft.
• Permanently importing your vehicle means that you will not only pay an import tax but also 16% IVA (Mexican VAT).

Useful Links and Resources

MexPro – This is an excellent resource for both learning and executing all sorts of tourist and ex-pat transactions.

https://www.mexpro.com/

Mexperience – This is also a great information resource for planning your visit or relocation to Mexico.

https://www.mexperience.com/

MexicoByVehicle – This is a fantastic resource geared towards enjoying Mexico by vehicle. Information about visas, TIPs, insurance, and more.

https://www.mexicobyvehicle.com/

Gobierno de Mexico – This is a great starting point for information from the Mexican Government, specifically for individuals.

https://www.sat.gob.mx/personas

And also, immigration and identity services like FMM, Humanitarian visa, and so on.

https://www.gob.mx/tramites/identidad

And Mexican Consulate offices around the world

https://consulmex.sre.gob.mx/

Sonora and Free Zone

http://omawww.sat.gob.mx/aduanas/vehiculos/importacion_temporal/Paginas/solo_sonora.aspx

Banjercito – Online TIP application

https://www.banjercito.com.mx/registroVehiculos