To bring a foreign-plated car into Mexico, most foreign visitors and temporary residents must obtain a Temporary Import Permit (TIP). The main exceptions are specific “Free Zones,” where a TIP is not required if the vehicle stays within the designated area. All drivers must also secure Mexican auto insurance.
Temporary Import Permit (TIP)
A TIP is a legal document that allows you to drive a foreign-plated vehicle in Mexico for a limited time. It is required for travel beyond the border zones and free zones.
How to obtain a TIP:
- Online: Apply through the Banjército website 10 to 60 days before your trip. Processing a TIP at the border is possible but can cause delays during peak season.
- Consulates: Some Mexican consulates in the U.S. can issue permits up to six months in advance.
Requirements for a TIP:
- Documentation:
- Vehicle title or registration.
- Valid driver’s license.
- Passport.
- Tourist visa (FMM) or temporary resident permit (Residente Temporal).
- Financial:
- Payment for the permit ($44 USD + IVA as of February 2020).
- A refundable deposit, the amount of which depends on your vehicle’s model year.
- Other:
- Mexican car insurance is mandatory.
- The vehicle cannot have a lien on the title.
Free zones and exceptions
Travelers visiting certain border regions may not need a TIP, provided they do not travel further inland.
- Free Zone: The area within about 15 miles (25 kilometers) of the U.S. border is a free zone.
- Baja California: The entire Baja peninsula (both Baja California and Baja California Sur) does not require a TIP. However, you will need a TIP if you take your car by ferry to the Mexican mainland.
- Sonora: Most of the state of Sonora is a free zone. Driving outside of this zone requires a “Sonora Only” permit or a full TIP.
- Quintana Roo: The state of Quintana Roo is also a free zone for vehicles entering from Belize. Driving outside the state requires a TIP.
Rules for temporary vs. permanent residents
The rules for foreign-plated cars depend on your immigration status.
- Visitors (FMM) and Temporary Residents (Residente Temporal): Can obtain a TIP for the duration of their visa. The car must leave the country before the permit expires or risk confiscation and losing the deposit.
- Permanent Residents (Residente Permanente): Cannot get a TIP. They must either keep their car within a free zone or go through a complex process to permanently import and nationalize the vehicle with Mexican plates. It is often more economical to sell the vehicle and buy a new one in Mexico.
Before you cross the border
- Get a TIP: Secure your TIP online through the Banjército website to save time at the border.
- Buy Mexican insurance: Your U.S. or Canadian policy is not valid. Purchase Mexican auto liability insurance from a certified provider.
- Gather documents: Have your passport, driver’s license, vehicle registration, and TIP (printed or digital) ready.
Driving in Mexico
- Return the TIP: When you leave Mexico, you must return the TIP to a Banjército office at the border to receive your deposit refund. Failure to do so can result in fines and prevent you from obtaining future permits.
- Driving by others: The rules for who can legally drive a foreign-plated car are specific. A foreign tourist or resident may drive the vehicle, but a Mexican national can only drive it if the owner is also in the car.
The most current information on bringing a foreign plated car into Mexico in detail can be found at: i
Advantages & Disadvantages of Permanent Imports vs. Temporary Import Permits (TIPs)
Permanent Importation Permit:
When holding a permanent Importation Permit you can:
- sell the car here in Mexico.
- keep the car in Mexico if you want, regardless of INM status.
- only import 8 or 9 year old NAFTA vehicles for $2,000 to $3,000 in import duties and fees.
- pay no cash deposit when you bring the car into Mexico.
- import just one vehicle per person a year.
Also:
Mexican drivers can drive your car, without you (or some other expat) being in the car.
The car must be licensed here, and the registration renewed at your State every year ($$).
Possibly charged an annual State ownership tax (tenencias $$) depending on your state’s rules.
There is no longer a need to go to a (non-airport) Aduana’s office every year to register your new INM permit expiration date.
State taxes will be charged on the imported vehicle at the time of purchasing Mexican Plates.
You must formally export a US plated car through a 72 Hour CBP procedure, and have the US title cancelled at the border before Mexico Aduanas will import the vehicle.
Eligible Vehicles
Only NAFTA made foreign cars and pickups can be temporarily imported by expats with FMM’s (Visitor / Tourist Visas), and Resident Temporal INM permits (what used to be called FM3’s No Inmigrante Rentista & No Inmigrante Lucrativo) by getting a Temporary Import Permit (Permiso de Importación Temporal de Vehículos) from Aduana / Banjercito. Alternately, only NAFTA vehicles can be permanently imported, and 6 year old and older vehicles can be imported permanently at modest import duties at the US-Mexico border crossings.
Note that if you are only staying in the 25 km border area, or
ONLY going into specially designated free zones like Baja California, California Sur, Quintana Roo, or parts of Sonora, then you do not have to get a Temporary Import Permit (TIP). These cars must only stay in those areas. If you decide to go to other parts of Mexico, you must return to the border and get a TIP.
Temporary Importation Permit (TIP):
~ You cannot sell the car here in Mexico.
Current & select types of INM permits are required if you keep the car in Mexico.
If you change from ordinary Residente Temporal over to working Residente Temporal or to Residente Permanente, then you cannot keep the car here on a Temporary Import Permit, you have to take it out of Mexico or face having it permanently confiscated.
Mexican drivers cannot drive your car, without you (or some other expat with a Temporary Resident or Visitor visa) being in the car.
There is no need to license the car in Mexico, and many States do not require that you keep your foreign plates current.
No annual State ownership taxes (tenencias $$) is charged.
You can import an additional car or truck.
A cash deposit must be paid when you bring the car into Mexico the first time.
You must go to a (non-airport) Aduana’s office every year in person to register your new INM permit expiration date with Aduana well before your TIP permit expires.
If you bring in a trailer, then the trailer is attached to your towing vehicle’s TIP. This means when you go to cancel the vehicle TIP, you must also have the trailer with you.
If I do not get a TIP in Quintana Roo, will I be charged taxes on the vehicle?
Dear Lisa, I o do not believe so but you must check with immigration. Laws are constantly changing.