NOTARIAL SERVICES

The head of the Mexican Consulate General in San Diego, California, is authorized to act in the capacity of a Notary Public. However, by provision of Article 85 of the Regulations of the Mexican Foreign Service Law (RLSEM), this notarial function is limited, and therefore the Consulate DOES NOT perform all the functions that a Notary Public carries out within Mexico. Its authority is exclusively for the issuance of the following:

Characteristics of notarial acts issued at the Consulate General of Mexico:

  1. They are issued at the request of the applicant.
  2. They can only be granted when they are intended to have legal effects in Mexico.
  3. They have the same legal force throughout the Mexican Republic as notarial acts authorized by notaries in Mexico City.
  4. They produce immediate legal effects in Mexico without any additional procedures (such as apostille, legalization, translation, or re-recording), in accordance with Article 130 of the Federal Code of Civil Procedures and Article 143 of the Notarial Law for Mexico City.

Limitations of the Consulate’s notarial authority:

  • It cannot authenticate legal facts or participate in the signing of contracts.
  • It cannot certify or ratify signatures on any document.
  • It cannot authorize notarial acts intended for use in another country.

Powers executed before a U.S. Notary Public

For powers of attorney executed before a U.S. notary public and intended for use in Mexico, they must first be apostilled by the competent local authorities. After being apostilled, and in accordance with Article 143 of the Notarial Law for Mexico City, powers granted outside the Mexican Republic must be translated by a certified translator (if not in Spanish) and protocolized before a Mexican notary public in Mexico so they can take legal effect. Protocolization consists of bringing the foreign document before a Mexican notary public so they register it in their protocol, issue a deed for the act, and thereby enable the document to have legal force in Mexico.

Protocolization does not apply to powers granted before Mexican consular offices, since powers granted before an authorized consular official have full immediate effect in Mexico without any additional procedures (apostille, legalization, translation, or protocolization).

IMPORTANT NOTICE

Please note that the requirements presented in this section apply to the Consulate General of Mexico in San Diego, California, and are subject to change without prior notice. You are advised to review this page carefully before scheduling your appointment.

APPOINTMENT REQUIRED

Notarial procedures are performed only by appointment, which you can obtain through the “MiConsulado” system by calling or WhatsApp at 1-424-309-0009 or online at https://citas.sre.gob.mx, making sure to schedule an appointment for the Department of Fe Pública (Notarial Services).

Detalles