The notario público in a Mexican home purchase

A state office, not a federal one

The notary laws read for this guide all place the function with the state executive:

• Mexico City. The Head of Government issues the notary patents (Ley del Notariado, art. 4), and art. 44 defines the notary as “the legal professional invested with public faith by the State”. The text read is the copy published by the city’s Congress with a header dated 11 June 2018; later amendments were not checked.
• Quintana Roo. Art. 1 says the notarial function “originally corresponds to the State”, which entrusts it to private legal professionals; art. 2 defines the patente as the authorisation granted by the state executive. Art. 5 reserves notarial functions “solely and exclusively” to notaries in office. Last reform: 25 March 2025.
• Tabasco. Art. 2 places the notariat with the state executive, delegated by patente to law professionals; art. 26 requires the notary to take the oath before the governor and to post a guarantee in favour of the state treasury. Last reform: 6 May 2026.

The consequence for a buyer is practical: the qualifications, the number of notaries per district, the fee schedule (arancel) and the complaint route all depend on the state where the property sits.

What the notary does in a purchase

The detail varies, but the three laws converge on the following tasks.

1. Examines the title. In Quintana Roo, when the property is real estate the notary must examine the titles and cite at least the last ownership title and its registry data, or explain why it is not yet registered (art. 89, item IV). Tabasco’s law has an equivalent requirement.
2. Requests the certificate of liens. Under the federal civil code the notary must ask the registry for a certificate of existence or non-existence of liens before the deed is granted; this request also works as a preventive notice (CCF art. 3016). Mexico City’s code sets a seven-day maximum for the certificate; see the certificate of liens.
3. Identifies the parties and reads the deed. Quintana Roo art. 90 lists the ways identity is recorded; art. 95 lets the parties ask for changes before signing, with the notary recording that the deed was read and explained. See the deed.
4. Handles taxes. On the seller’s side the notary calculates the provisional income tax on a sale “under his or her responsibility” and pays it within 15 days of signing (LISR art. 126). On the buyer’s side, in Guanajuato “the Notary Public shall sign and file” the acquisition-tax declaration for deeded transactions (arts. 50-51 of the Ley Hacendaria Municipal, in force since July 2026). Your own state may differ.
5. Files the deed. The notary sends the post-signing notice to the registry within 48 hours (CCF art. 3016) and normally files the deed for registration; see the property registry.
6. Reports certain transactions. Quintana Roo art. 22 BIS requires notaries to inform a financial-intelligence unit about transfers of real rights when the agreed price, the cadastral value or the commercial value, whichever is highest, reaches 16,000 UMA. At the 2026 UMA of MX$117.31 that is MX$1,876,960 (a Payotte calculation). The federal anti-money-laundering rules were not read for this guide.

What the notary does not do

• Does not act as one party’s lawyer. Mexico City art. 14 requires the notary to treat the parties alike: the notary cannot treat one party as a client and the other not. For advice on your side only, a lawyer is a separate role; see the lawyer profile.
• Does not hold your money in escrow. Quintana Roo art. 20, item III, prohibits receiving deposits of money or securities on the acts the notary handles, except sums for the costs, taxes and fees caused by the deeds, cheques payable to banks for secured debts and a few other cases. Ask how the price will be paid.
• Does not replace a lawyer for you alone. Quintana Roo art. 22 (item V) lets the notary give legal consultations and (item VIII) draft private contracts, but impartiality toward both parties remains the rule.
• Does not decide foreign-ownership questions. The SRE does; see the overview for foreign buyers. The notary only requires proof of regular migration status (Ley de Migración, art. 65).

Your freedom to choose

NOM-247, Appendix A, item 14, lists among a home buyer’s rights the right “to freely choose the notary public” for the deeding. That norm applies to sales by developers. Item 13 of the same appendix says a buyer cannot be refused or conditioned on grounds that include nationality. Payotte does not list, rank or recommend notaries: state laws restrict notarial advertising (Jalisco art. 44, in the text read, allows it only in the form the notaries’ council authorises case by case), and you should check the notary’s appointment with the state government.