UCD (Unión Campesina Democrática) — is a Mexican public organization that provides services for owners of American and Canadian cars who want to legally drive within Mexico. She proposes the creation of permits that give permission to use such vehicles without having to fully register them in Mexico.
UCD approval — This is a kind of legalization of an American car for temporary use in Mexico. It is not considered a full-fledged registration or issuance of Mexican license plates, but it does allow you to avoid fines and problems with the law when traveling in certain states in the country.
UCD resolution is suitable for:
- old cars (10 years and older), which do not make sense to be officially cleared through customs,
- so-called «chocolate» auto,
- cars of temporary and permanent residents, which are not always profitable to officially clear through customs.
Old cheap American cars are imported into Mexico without customs clearance, then driven for several years with a UCD permit, then simply thrown away.
The UCD organization provides its members (and not only members) with legal support and preparation of the necessary paperwork for the use of American cars in Mexico. However, it is important to note that such permits are only valid in states where UCD has offices. In other words, if you only travel within certain states, UCD will suit you just fine. You should not travel outside of these states because your car is not legal there.
Currently there are UCD offices in the following states:
- Guanajuato,
- Durango,
- Hidalgo,
- Queretaro,
- Coahuila,
- Michoacan,
- Zacatecas,
- San Luis Potosi,
- Tamaulipas.
The cost of obtaining a UCD permit may vary depending on the office and the services provided. The process usually involves submitting an application, providing the required paperwork, and paying the applicable fees.
After issuing a UCD, the car owner is given:
- special license plates,
- glass stickers,
- confirmation from the SAT tax service that the vehicle is legally located in Mexico,
- confirmation from the State Highway Patrol.
The permit is issued for a period of 1 year, then it must be renewed for the next year, most often in December.
So, a UCD permit can be useful for owners of American cars who plan to temporarily drive around Mexico and want to avoid legal problems. It does not replace full vehicle registration in Mexico and is limited to certain states. Before applying, it is recommended that you carefully familiarize yourself with the rules and criteria of a particular UCD office.
Unión Campesina Democrática(UCD) or Unión Democrática Campesina (UDC) emerged in the late 1980s — in the early 1990s as a peasant socio-political movement in Mexico. Its original purpose was to protect the interests of rural residents (campesinos) — small farmers, community landowners and agricultural workers.
In the early 2000s, some regional branches of UCD, especially in northern Mexico (in the states of Chihuahua, Durango, Sonora, Coahuila, Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon), began to legalize American cars imported without customs registration. In border areas, many residents owned U.S. cars without Mexican license plates, and the government import procedure was expensive and bureaucratic. Regional UCD leaders saw a chance to offer low-cost «legalization» such cars under the banner of «social justice». Officially, this was presented as protecting the rights of poor peasants who could not afford expensive registration.
Over time, «registration» automobiles has become virtually a separate line of business within UCD, especially in the northern and central states. Today, under the UCD brand, there is a network of regional organizations that are legally independent from each other. Some of them retain a social-agrarian focus, but most well-known UCD departments deal specifically with the procedure for obtaining «permits» for American cars.
However, the official position of the Mexican government remains unchanged: permits and numbers issued by UCD have no legal force outside the territory of certain states and do not replace registration or temporary importation.