If you are traveling to Mexico with your car as a tourist, you should prepare a Temporary Import Permit (TIP) for the vehicle. Firstly, as a traveler, you are unable to otherwise import your car into Mexico, in other words, to complete a full import. Secondly, even if they could, the procedure for full import is economically expensive, requires the involvement of a customs agent and is not always practical, while temporary import — it's fast and cheap. Third, a temporary import permit gives you the right to drive around Mexico with foreign plates, although you cannot change the plates to local ones or sell the car.
A TIP can be issued for any type of vehicle weighing less than three and a half tons for a period of up to 180 days. If your vehicle is registered as a motorhome, you are able to obtain a special RV TIP for 10 years.
Travelers, temporary residents of the country, and in addition Mexicans permanently residing abroad have the right to prepare the temporary import of a car into Mexico. Permanent residents, and in addition Mexicans living in Mexico, are not eligible for the temporary importation process.
It is possible not to apply for temporary import of a car if you do not intend to travel outside of:
- zones 25 km wide from the Mexican border,
- Baja California Peninsula (2 states),
- in the northwestern part of the State of Sonora, west of Highway 15D and north of Guayama, while it is more advisable to prepare a Sonora driving permit locally at a lower cost,
- State of Quintana Roo.
You can only prepare a temporary import permit at the Mexican border. Exception — ferry crossing in La Paz. In this case, the responsibility for obtaining a TIP falls entirely on the owner of the car. When entering Mexico through the US land border, you will NOT be prompted to complete a TIP or asked if you have one. You can freely import a car without a TIP. The problems will start later. The traffic police have the right to check the car for foreign license plates, and for driving without a TIP it will be sent to the impound lot. Having taken it from there, you still cannot purchase a TIP and continue to drive legally in Mexico. However, you will also never be able to legalize a non-imported car, whether you have a TIP or not.
There are two ways to apply for a temporary import permit for a vehicle: in advance online and at the border. The acquisition procedure at the border will cost a little more. In any case, the TIP is tied to the migration document, for this reason the guest of the country must first purchase the FMM migration form, and then the TIP. The resident is able to prepare a TIP on his temporary resident card.
Purchasing a temporary import permit online
First we getmigration form FMM. If you are a resident of Mexico, you do not need to apply for FMM as a guest of the country — skip this block and go to the TIP purchase description.
Let's move on to thisaddress, select «entry by land», read the requirements and confirm your agreement with them. Next, fill in all required fields.
In the first block «Entry information» You should indicate exactly the border crossing point through which you will enter Mexico. It is possible to indicate approximate dates of entry and exit. All the same, the FMM will begin to operate from the date it is issued at the border and will be valid for 180 days.
After filling in all fields, checking and saving the data, pay FMM using a bank card. For 2021, the FMM registration price is 594 MXN, or approximately $31. FMM will be sent by email. You are required to print both the migration form and the confirmation of payment, this is mandatory!
The data in this block is available to registered users. Registration is simple and free.Entrance
You can also prepare a temporary import permit at one of the following Mexican consulates in the United States:
- Arizona: Phoenix,
- California: Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Sacramento,
- Colorado: Denver,
- Illinois: Chicago,
- New Mexico: Albuquerque,
- Texas: Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston.
It is not possible to purchase a permit for the temporary import of a car if such a car is listed as stolen or marked by VIN number as scrapped in Mexico, the USA and Canada.
Purchasing a temporary import permit at the border
We don't suggest buying TIP at the border for one simple reason: if you don't know how to do it, you'll have to run after customs officials and convince them that you need TIP. When entering Mexico from California, immigration officers will tell you that TIP is not needed and you can go as is. But migration officers do not sell TIP, and you definitely need one if you are going to travel outside the zones described at the beginning of this article.
If you have not filled out the FMM migration form online in advance, fill it out first at the border. Tell the immigration officer you need an immigration form. He may answer that FMM is not needed if you stay in Mexico for no more than 7 days. Insist that you — needed!
If you are a resident of Mexico, you should not apply for a new FMM, you must use the portion you received when you left Mexico — register your entry through it.
Having received the FMM and paid for it (594 MXN), you will have to independently find the CIITEV or Banjercito office, which must be located on the territory of the border crossing. If you enter Mexico at night, the Banjercito office may not be open and you will have to wait until the morning for it to open. There you need to present all the same documentation that is needed to obtain a temporary permit online. Residents are required to present a resident card instead of an FMM.
Cost of purchasing TIP at the border or at Mexican consulates — about $60, the deposit amount is the same as indicated above. You can pay by credit card or cash. If you contact the CIITEV office, you need to pay through a bank branch, which should be nearby.
Drawing up a temporary import permit at the border
If you purchased a temporary import permit for a vehicle in advance online:
- Apply for entry and FMM from the migration officer. He will put a stamp on it with the date of entry,
- stamp the vehicle's import date on the TIP and ensure that the permit is scanned so that the import data is entered into the system. At some posts the migration officer can do this, at others you will have to go to the Banjercito office, as described above.
There is no need to pay anything, you have paid everything in advance.
If you bought TIP at the border:
- no auxiliary actions are needed, Banjercito has already processed the importation and entered vehicle data into the system.
Frequently asked questions
Validity periodA permit to temporarily import a vehicle into Mexico is 180 days for tourists and until the expiration date of the resident card for temporary residents. TIP is linked to your migration document. You must remove the vehicle from Mexico before the permit expires or renew it.
Can TIP be extended?For travelers — no, you can't. You are required to remove the vehicle before the end of the permit's validity period. We know that in some states, Banjercito offices have renewed their permits after purchasing the new FMM immigration form due to the coronavirus. But under normal circumstances, TIP cannot be extended.
If you are a resident or have changed your status from visitor to resident after entry, you may be able to renew your permit by submitting a written request to any customs office in Mexico. The procedure is described in other publications on our website. There is one peculiarity here. You will lose your deposit if you apply for an extension after the TIP expires. You are required to purchase a new migration document before the expiration date of the old one (this can be done within 30 days) in order to have time to renew your car import permit and not lose your deposit.
The deadlines are even more stringent when you enter Mexico with a resident visa and are required to exchange it for a resident card within 30 days. You will only have a short time to apply for a TIP renewal before it expires (30 days). To contact customs, use the NUT number that you received from the migration service before you receive a new migration document. Therefore, we advise you to first enter Mexico with a resident visa, obtain a resident card, and then leave Mexico, purchase a TIP and import the car as a full-fledged resident.
What happens if youyou won't take it out on timefrom Mexico a car imported under temporary import? You will lose your deposit if you are even 1 day late. Your driving privileges in Mexico will be revoked. But you have the right to draw up a permit to export a car without paying, which will allow you to get to the border and remove the car within 5 days without any problems. You are allowed to take your car out through any checkpoint.
In addition, starting from 2020, you will not be able to purchase a new TIP in your name until you export the previously imported vehicle. The owner of the car who did not take it out of Mexico may also have problems with subsequent entries.
Is it allowedleave Mexico, and then get the car removed? The removal of the vehicle must only be formalized at the Banjercito offices at the border before crossing the border. You cannot arrange for vehicle removal and return the deposit through Banjercito offices or Mexican consulates within the United States. If you «slipped» border, return, physically present the car to the Banjercito office and arrange for its removal.
Multiple entrances and exits. Within the validity period of a temporary permit, you can cross the border several times using the same permit. At the same time, exit and entry are possible through any checkpoints, and not just through the one at which the TIP was issued. Try not to apply for a new FMM since your TIP is tied to the old one. This is only permitted when traveling across a land border.
Howre-import a car into Mexico? After export, you must purchase a new temporary import permit. It is possible to do this no later than 10 days before the date of new import, but not earlier than the car was exported. In this case, it is permitted that you will have to pay the deposit again, and then wait for the return of the previous one.
Who is able to drive a car?imported under a temporary import permit? The following persons may drive such a vehicle:
- car owner,
- temporary permit holder,
- their close relatives if there is confirmation of family ties,
- any person, if the owner of the car or temporary permit is present in the cabin.
Under any circumstances, having an international driving license is mandatory.
How is TIP checked?The permit is no longer available as a sticker. When checking, a traffic police officer has the opportunity to check the availability of a permit by car number through his smartphone. It can also scan your paper copy of the TIP. Although you are not required to have your permit on you, we strongly advise you to carry it with you in case the police officer claims that your vehicle was not in their database.
Is it possiblesell or rebuild a car, imported under temporary import regime? No, you can't. More precisely, it is officially impossible. Resellers offer 30-50% of their market value for such cars. If, after the sale, such a car is found in a crime or a traffic accident, the problems will be with the old owner, not with the buyer.