Certified Copies from Mexico in a Nutshell

Is it possible to get “certified copies” in Mexico? Good question, and the answer is, it depends. First of all, let’s clarify the terminology. “Certified copies” is one of the many vague (and slightly maddening) industry terms often used. Certified copies of the Articles of Incorporation let’s refer to as CCA, and certified copies of the Articles and amendments, we’ll call CCAAs.

A company’s articles of incorporation or acta constituva in Spanish, are drafted by a Mexican notary (who is a “super attorney”) in a document known as an escritura publica or public deed. Once the deed/Articles are finalized, the notary will electronically transmit a synthesis of the deed to the Public Registry where the company’s records will be kept. Many Mexican Public Registries neither retain, nor have ever received the full acta constituva. Rather, the Registry will have received this electronic summary prepared by the Notary in a prescribed format. This is true of the Public Registry in Mexico City, where we receive the most document requests.

A certified copy of the full acta constituva may be available by written request with the authorization of the subject company, directly to the notary’s office which drafted it. This is true if the notary’s office still has the original and has not sent the original to the Mexican National Archives. The same is true of the public deed for the amendments, which may all be drafted by different notaries.

For most official uses in the USA, a client wants the CCA or CCAAs issued by the competent authority, which in Mexico, is the Public Registry.

If the company’s records are in the national database, SIGER, Sistema Integral de Gestión Registral, an electronically issued certified copy of the summary CCA and CCAAs can be obtained in 1 – 3 business days.

If the company’s records are not in SIGER, we can get the summary CCA and CCAAs. Because each Public Registry operates independently, the form of what is issued may be different, but the substance is the same.

The largest public registry in Mexico City issues the folio mercantil which includes the summary of the articles, and summary of amendments filed with the registry in one document– so the CCAAs. In other registries, outside Mexico City, for the CCAAs, the Registry issues a Certificado de Historia Registral, which summarizes all the filings available on the company. It is also possible to request the CCA, which would be the summary of the articles only, and no amendments.

That’s it in a nutshell. Complicated? Yes, a bit, but with IBCF you can count on a highly experienced team and a network of agents who will make sure that whether you need CCA or CCAAs you get the nut, and not a shell.

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