Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed that there will be no extension of the deadline for registering mobile numbers. All telephone lines not linked to user personal data before June 30, 2026 will be limited in service starting July 1.
In general, the restrictions apply to prepaid numbers of all telecom operators, including Telcel, AT&T Mexico and Movistar Mexico, the purchase of which did not involve user identification.
After July 1, unregistered numbers will not be completely canceled, but at the same time they will lose basic functionality. Owners of such lines are unable to make regular calls, send SMS and use the mobile Internet. You will still be able to call 911 and file official civil defense alerts.
How to register a Mexican phone number, we explained in thispublications.
The authorities explain the introduction of mandatory registration as a fight against telephone fraud, extortion and virtual kidnappings. Each line must be linked to a specific owner through a CURP or ID document. When registering remotely, video identification can be additionally used.
Although there is very little time left before the registration deadline, as of mid-April 2026, only about 30 million lines were registered in Mexico out of approximately 130 million active mobile numbers in the country. This means that more than 70% of users have not yet completed the mandatory identification procedure. Among companies, 29% of AT&T users completed registration, 28% — Bait, 19% — Telcel and 16% — Movistar.
Although opponents of registration sought the abolition of compulsory registration through the courts, the only thing they were able to achieve — prohibition on collecting biometric data during stages.
The government emphasizes that there are no penalties for failure to register. However, the number will remain blocked until the owner goes through the identification procedure. The phone number itself is not lost and can be reactivated after registration is completed.