How to start a business in Mexico as a foreigner (2026)
Starting a business in Mexico as a foreigner: moderate.
Mexico permits 100% foreign ownership in most sectors without a local partner, and offers a free electronic, notary-free SAS regime with no minimum capital. However, foreigners typically incorporate a S.A. or S. de R.L. before a notary/public broker, must register foreign capital in the RNIE within 40 business days, and face foreign-ownership caps (10%/49%) or outright reservation in specific strategic sectors.
Legal framework
Ley de Inversión Extranjera (Foreign Investment Law) and Ley General de Sociedades Mercantiles, administered by the Secretaría de Economía; foreign capital recorded in the Registro Nacional de Inversiones Extranjeras (RNIE). Electronic incorporation of a Sociedad por Acciones Simplificada (SAS) is offered via gob.mx/tuempresa.
Key points: starting a business in Mexico
Foreign ownership generally open
Foreign investment may hold up to 100% of the capital of Mexican companies in most economic activities without needing a Mexican partner; no general nationality requirement for shareholders.
Reserved and capped sectors
Certain activities are reserved to the State or Mexican nationals; others cap foreign participation, e.g. 49% for explosives/firearms manufacture, domestic newspaper printing, freshwater/coastal fishing and port administration, and 10% for production cooperatives. Higher participation in some areas needs Foreign Investment Commission approval.
Electronic SAS option, no minimum capital
Standard incorporation via notary
Most foreign-owned entities use a S.A. de C.V. or S. de R.L. de C.V., incorporated by a notary public or public broker (corredor público) who drafts the deed and bylaws; a name-use permit from the Secretaría de Economía and at least two shareholders are required.
Mandatory RNIE registration
Companies with foreign investment must register in the Registro Nacional de Inversiones Extranjeras within 40 business days of incorporation; since 1 January 2025 filings are made through the RNIE digital platform, and late filing draws penalties of 30-100 UMA per day.
Tax and beneficial-ownership obligations
New companies register with the SAT (tax authority) for an RFC; since 2022 entities must identify and keep records of their beneficial owners, and a legal representative (foreign or Mexican) is needed to operate.
Timeline of decisions
- Law · officialLey Nacional para Eliminar Trámites Burocráticos enacted, CONAMER abolished
President Sheinbaum signed and published the National Law to Eliminate Bureaucratic Procedures, cutting federal business-related procedures from 342 to 151 and extinguishing CONAMER, transferring its functions to the Digital Transformation and Telecommunications Agency (ATDT). The law mandates a unified digital citizen portal (Llave MX) and standardises procedures across all three levels of government.
Diario Oficial de la Federación
- Decision · officialDoing Business 2020: Mexico ranked 60th, no reforms for second consecutive year
The World Bank's Doing Business 2020 report placed Mexico 60th of 190 economies (second in Latin America after Chile), but noted that Mexico had failed to introduce any measurable business-climate improvements for the second consecutive year. The 'starting a business' sub-indicator remained weak, with costs and time well above OECD averages.
World Bank
- Law · officialCódigo de Comercio reform digitises Registro Público de Comercio
Congress reformed the Código de Comercio to require the Registro Público de Comercio (RPC) to operate via an automated federal computer programme under the Secretaría de Economía, with mandatory electronic pre-capture of registral acts and defined maximum response periods. The reform laid the technical foundation for later online incorporation portals (tuempresa.gob.mx) by making the commercial registry data a federal digital asset.
Cámara de Diputados — Leyes Federales
- Guidance · officialSARE federal agreement, same-day business licensing for low-risk activities launched
The Federal Executive published the agreement establishing the Sistema de Apertura Rápida de Empresas (SARE), entering into force 1 March 2002. SARE capped local-government procedures for low-risk businesses (covering 685 SCIAN activities) at 24-72 hours and one single office visit. Studies subsequently documented a direct 5% increase in new-business creation and 2.8% increase in employment in municipalities where it was implemented.
Diario Oficial de la Federación
- Law · officialLey General de Sociedades Mercantiles enacted, foundational commercial-company statute
Mexico enacted the Ley General de Sociedades Mercantiles (LGSM), the comprehensive federal law governing formation, governance, and dissolution of all commercial companies, including Sociedades Anónimas and Sociedades de Responsabilidad Limitada. Still the bedrock statute for business formation today, it established mandatory notarial incorporation and Public Commerce Registry inscription, requirements that subsequent reforms have progressively softened or digitised.
Cámara de Diputados — Leyes Federales
Sources
- economia.gob.mx/files/comunidad_negocios/ied/foreign_investment_law.pdf
- gob.mx/cms/uploads/attachment/file/202844/Regime_of_foreign_direct_investmen
- gob.mx/tuempresa/articulos/crea-tu-sociedad-por-acciones
- gob.mx/tramites/ficha/constitucion-de-sociedad-por-acciones-simplificada-sas
- gob.mx/tuempresa/articulos/registro-nacional-de-inversiones-extranjeras-rnie
- rnie.economia.gob.mx/
- bakermckenzie.com/-/media/files/insight/guides/2025/doing-business-in-mexico-2025.pdf
- sat.gob.mx/consultas/27517/consulta-los-requisitos-para-realizar-tu-inscripiocon
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Next topicOrientation, not legal advice: verify against the primary sources linked above. Last verified 23 May 2026. Methodology & how to cite · State of Technology Regulation 2026