To get Mexican license plates, you take the vehicle and a set of ownership, identity, and residency documents to your state’s vehicle control office (often called Control Vehicular, Secretaría de Finanzas, or in Mexico City, SEMOVI), pay the plate issuance fee, and walk out with plates and a tarjeta de circulación. One condition decides whether you can even start: the car must either have been bought inside Mexico with a Mexican invoice (factura) or permanently imported through customs. A foreign-plated car on a temporary import permit cannot be registered or plated in Mexico. The permit ties the vehicle to your immigration status, and the car has to leave when you do.1Consulate of Mexico in Phoenix. Foreigners Traveling to Mexico by Car
If you bought the car from a Mexican dealership or a private seller and hold a factura, skip to the documents section. If you drove a car in from abroad and want to keep it here, you have an importation step to complete first.
Nationalizing a Foreign Vehicle First
Permanent importation, called nationalizing (importación definitiva), converts a foreign-titled car into a Mexican-titled one. It has to be done through a licensed customs broker (agente aduanal) at an authorized port of entry, and the person named on the title must be there. Only Mexican citizens and foreign residents holding a valid temporary or permanent resident visa are eligible.
Which Cars Qualify
Mexico’s importation decree, extended through November 30, 2026, restricts which used vehicles can enter permanently. The car must have been manufactured or assembled in North America. A fast check: the first digit of the VIN should be 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5. Vehicles from outside the continent are generally excluded unless they are classic cars at least 30 years old.2Trade.gov. Mexico Used Vehicle Imports
Model year matters too. For 2026, vehicles from model years 2017 and 2018 qualify for a 10% ad valorem import duty when accompanied by a certificate of origin or a manufacturer’s declaration. Vehicles ten years or older also face a 10% duty. In the border strip and certain designated zones, used vehicles five to nine years old pay a reduced 1% duty; ten-year-old and older vehicles pay 10% regardless of location. All nationalized vehicles owe 16% VAT on top, calculated on the customs-assessed value. The title has to be clean, with no flood, salvage, or theft history.3Trade.gov. Mexico Import Regulations – Used Vehicles
What You Get From the Broker
The broker files the import petition (pedimento de importación), pays the duties and taxes, and issues the official customs receipt showing the vehicle cleared. Keep the pedimento. You will need it at the registration office and every time you renew. Bring the original foreign title, a valid ID, and proof of your Mexican residency when you meet the broker.
Documents to Bring to the Registration Office
Requirements vary a little by state, but every state asks for the same core set:
- Official identification. Mexican citizens use their INE voter card; foreign residents bring passport and resident card.
- CURP, your Unique Population Registry Code. If you hold temporary or permanent residency, it was generated automatically by the National Migration Institute and appears on your resident card.
- RFC, your tax identification number, issued by SAT.
- Proof of address: a utility bill (electricity, water, or phone) no older than three months. It does not always need to be in your name.
- Proof of ownership: the Mexican factura if you bought the car domestically, or the pedimento de importación if you nationalized it.
- Proof of liability insurance from a Mexican-domiciled carrier.
- Proof of prior tax payments. If the vehicle was previously registered, any outstanding refrendo or tenencia balances have to be cleared first.
Bring originals and photocopies of everything. Offices rarely make copies for you. Some states also require a passing emissions inspection before plates are issued.
Getting an RFC as a Foreign Resident
The RFC is what trips up most foreigners, because it needs its own appointment at a SAT office. Book one at citas.sat.gob.mx under “Inscripción en el RFC de Personas Físicas.” Bring your resident card, CURP, proof of address, and a USB flash drive. Some SAT offices ask temporary residents for a letter explaining why they need the RFC. If your paperwork is in order, processing is same-day.
At the Vehicle Control Office
State treasury or vehicle control offices handle plating. Names differ: Secretaría de Finanzas, Oficina de Recaudación, and Control Vehicular are the common ones. Mexico City uses the Secretaría de Movilidad (SEMOVI).4Secretaría de Movilidad de la CDMX. Secretaría de Movilidad de la CDMX
At the office an official reviews your documents and matches the VIN on the vehicle against the paperwork. Some states do a physical inspection on the spot; others send you to a separate facility. The office also runs the vehicle through the Registro Público Vehicular (REPUVE), the federal database that flags stolen cars and vehicles caught up in legal proceedings.5Gobierno de México. Consulta Ciudadana del Registro Público Vehicular – REPUVE
Once the checks pass, you pay at a designated cashier or authorized bank and receive your plates plus the tarjeta de circulación, the registration card that proves the vehicle is legally cleared to drive. Look over the plates and the card before you leave. Fixing a typo later means another trip.
What You Pay at Plating
Total cost varies by state and by the vehicle’s value. Three charges apply:
- Plate issuance and registration fee (alta de placas). A one-time charge, roughly 300 to 3,600 pesos depending on the state. Some states fold a vehicle control incorporation fee into this.
- Refrendo. The annual fee that keeps plates valid, running from around 100 pesos for motorcycles up to about 3,400 pesos for newer cars.
- Tenencia. An annual ownership tax based on commercial value. Some states have eliminated or subsidized it; others still charge it. In Mexico City in 2026, vehicles valued under 550,000 pesos are exempt. Where it applies, newer and higher-value cars are hit hardest.
Verify current fees with the state office where you plan to register. Many states publish online calculators, but the numbers change each fiscal year.
Insurance You Have to Have
Since 2019, federal law has required every vehicle on Mexican roads to carry liability coverage from a Mexican-domiciled insurer. The minimum is 100,000 pesos for third-party bodily injury and 50,000 pesos for property damage, 150,000 pesos combined.6CONDUSEF. Seguro Obligatorio de Responsabilidad Civil Vehicular Most registration offices ask for proof of coverage as part of the plating process, so buy the policy before your appointment. Driving without insurance carries a fine of roughly 150 USD, and causing an accident without coverage can mean detention until the case is resolved.
Keeping Your Plates Valid
The tarjeta de circulación renews annually even though the physical plates last several years, until the state redesigns them. Renewal is built around paying the refrendo (and tenencia where it applies) within the first three months of each year in most states.
Renewal is lighter than the initial registration. You generally need last year’s registration card, official ID, proof of address, and payment. Many states now let you pay the refrendo and tenencia through an online portal and issue an updated tarjeta de circulación once payment clears.
Letting a renewal lapse does not cancel your registration, but it makes the vehicle illegal to drive and generates late fees that grow quickly. Any outstanding balance has to be cleared before you can renew, sell the vehicle, or register a different one.