The Registro Público de la Propiedad in Mexico

What the registry is and what it holds

The code lists what is registered in the Registro Público de la Propiedad Inmueble (federal CCF art. 3042): titles that create, transmit, modify, limit or extinguish ownership and other real rights over real estate; the family estate (patrimonio familiar); leases longer than six years or with rent paid more than three years in advance; and other titles the law orders registered. Mexico City’s code (art. 3042) adds expropriation decrees, and states that leases of part or all of a property above the same limits are registered.

Registry offices are run by the states. The Tabasco notary law, for example, names the Director of the Public Registry of Property and Commerce among the officials to whom the notary must report the seal used (art. 26). Practice, fees and online portals are set locally and were not read as part of this guide.

It is open to the public

Mexico City’s civil code (art. 3001) says the registry “shall be public”: the registrars must allow anyone who asks, “whether or not they show an interest”, to see the entries, and must issue certified copies, certificates of whether or not there are entries for a property, and the certificates of liens required by art. 3016. Certifications “may not be denied”. Other states have their own provisions; do not assume the same access rule holds everywhere.

What registration does and does not do

• Third-party effect. Registrable documents that are not registered do not harm third parties (CCF art. 3007). Mexico City words it: they “will only have effect between the parties and not to the detriment of a third party”.
• Declarative, not constitutive. Registration “has declaratory effects” (CCF art. 3008): it does not turn a void act into a valid one. Mexico City art. 3008 says that expressly.
• Good-faith protection. The registry protects rights acquired by a good-faith third party once registered, even if the grantor’s title is later annulled, except where the cause of nullity is clear from the registry itself (CCF art. 3009).
• Presumption. A registered right is presumed to exist and to belong to its holder (art. 3010).
• Priority. Preference between real rights over the same property is set by priority of registration, whatever the date of creation (art. 3013), and the order of documents by the date and order number of their filing (art. 3015).

The chain of notices around a sale

The sequence in the federal code, art. 3016, is what makes a purchase safe between signing and registration:

1. Before the deed is granted, the notary asks the registry for a certificate on the existence or non-existence of liens. The request works as a preventive notice; the registrar notes it in the property’s record without charging duties, and the note lasts 30 calendar days.
2. After the deed is signed, the notary gives a second notice within 48 hours; it lasts 90 calendar days.
3. If that notice comes within the first 30 days, its effect goes back to the date of the first request. If the deed itself is filed within those periods, its registration takes effect against third parties from the date of the notice, with the corresponding entry number. If it is filed late, it takes effect only from its filing date.

Mexico City’s code (art. 3016) keeps the structure with different numbers: the registry must deliver the certificate within seven days; the first note lasts 60 calendar days; the “notice of execution” after signing lasts 90 calendar days, and the code allows filing the deed itself, or an electronic form, in place of the notice. Other states may differ again; ask the notary for the periods in the state of the property.

Who can file

Any person with a legitimate interest, or the notary who authorised the deed, can ask for registration (CCF art. 3018). In practice the notary files. The registrar may suspend or refuse registration only in the cases the law allows (Mexico City art. 3000 says the causes of suspension or denial are applied strictly). If a filing is refused or suspended, the title can be noted provisionally (CCF art. 3043, item V).

Prior registration: the chain of title

To register a title, the right of the person who grants it must already be registered or noted, unless it is a first registration (inmatriculación) (CCF art. 3019). A buyer should therefore expect the notary to refer to the seller’s own registered title and its registry data; see the deed.

Which professional to consult

The notary public files the deed (notary’s role); a real-estate lawyer can read the registry history for you (profile). Ask the state registry how to obtain a certificate yourself.