The escritura pública: Mexico's property deed

What the federal code says

The Código Civil Federal (last reform published 14 November 2025) gives the basic rules for sales of real estate:

• Art. 2316: a sale needs no special form to be valid “except when it concerns real estate”.
• Art. 2317: a sale of real estate whose appraised value does not exceed 365 times the daily general minimum wage may be made in a private document signed by the parties before two witnesses, with the signatures ratified before a notary, a competent judge or the property registry.
• Art. 2319: two originals are made, one for the buyer and one for the registry.
• Art. 2320: above that value, the sale “shall be made by public deed”.
• Art. 2321: for goods already registered and not above the threshold, a cash sale can be formalised on the registry certificate itself, ratified before the registrar.
• Art. 2322: a sale of real estate “shall not produce effects against third parties until after it is registered”.

The code still says “minimum wage”. The constitutional desindexation decree provides that references to the minimum wage as a unit of account or reference in federal and state laws mean the Unidad de Medida y Actualización (UMA). INEGI published the 2026 UMA: MX$117.31 a day, in force from 1 February 2026. The federal civil code governs federal matters; a purchase of a flat in Cancún or a house in Guadalajara is governed by the civil code of that state.

State codes: same idea, own unit

Mexico City’s civil code repeats the same structure (arts. 2317 and 2320) but uses its own Unidad de Cuenta de la Ciudad de México instead of the minimum wage. The value of that unit was not read for this guide, so the Mexico City peso threshold is not stated here; check it with the notary. For the other states, the civil code of the state of the property must be read. The practical lesson is that “MX$42,818” is the federal figure and not a rule you can apply everywhere.

What the deed contains

Notary laws describe the content of a deed. Two examples:

Quintana Roo (Ley del Notariado, art. 89). The notary writes in Spanish (words in another language are allowed only as technical terms). The deed states place and date, the notary’s name and office number, the act and the parties; records the documents seen; for real estate the notary examines the title or titles, cites at least the last ownership title with its registry data or explains why it is not registered; records the parties’ declarations “under oath to tell the truth”, after warning them of the penalties for false statements; and identifies the property by nature, location, boundaries and, as far as possible, area. Art. 95 lets the parties ask for additions before signing, in which case the notary records that the deed was read and explained. Art. 97 requires final authorisation once all legal requirements have been met.

Jalisco (text read: decree 21459/LVII/06, arts. 84 and 87). The deed is in Spanish, amounts in numbers and words (words prevail if they differ), and the property data come from the registry or, if the property is unregistered, from a cadastral certificate. For transfers of real rights the notary inserts a certificate of freedom from liens valid for a maximum of 45 working days from issue, with listed exceptions (donations, succession proceedings, and a case where the buyer agrees in writing to waive it). That text is the original 2006 decree and later amendments were not checked.

Foreign buyers and the deed

Three federal points affect the deed for a foreigner:

• The Ley de Migración (art. 65) requires foreigners to prove regular immigration status in real-estate acts before a notary, and to make the renunciations required by article 27 of the Constitution.
• For a purchase outside the restricted zone the foreign investment regulation (art. 8) requires foreign documents to be legalised or apostilled and translated by an official translator (perito traductor).
• In a restricted-zone fideicomiso, the deed is signed by the bank as trustee after the SRE permit; see the trust explained.

After signing

The deed is kept in the notary’s protocol; the parties receive a certified copy (testimonio). Registration is what makes the sale effective against third parties; see the property registry. For the full order of events, see the step-by-step guide.

Which professional to consult

The notary public drafts the deed (how the notary works). A real-estate lawyer can read the draft deed on your behalf (profile).