Temporary Import Permits for Mexico – TIP 2024
How to Get a Car/Truck/Motorcycle Permit (TIP) for Mexico
For 2022, the Banjercito vehicle permits (TIPS) online cost MXN $1063.84, which figures to USD $52-$55 using their exchange rate of a little over 20 pesos to the dollar. The permit fee is the same for Only Sonora, motorhomes, motorcycles as well as all-Mexico cars and pickups.
Technically 3/4 ton vehicles are not allowed (7700 pounds, aka your Silveardo or Ram 3500’s, or your Ford F350s). In Texas they enforce this sometimes. But but if you get the permit online you have a better chance. In Sonora and Baja this usually is not an issue.
You must pay the Mexican Treasury Department (Hacienda) by credit card (VI, MC) or debit card with a VI or MC logo. You need the title or registration for your car or RV (title only for motorcycles).
Ensure your documentation has the VIN # and License Plate # on it. Otherwise, you may be denied a permit.
Does Everyone Need the TIP?
You must obtain a Mexican vehicle permit if you are driving in Mexico beyond the Free Zone. The Mexico Free Trade Zone includes parts of Sonora and most all of Baja California and Baja California Sur. No permits are required to go to Rocky Point (Puerto Penasco) or as far south and west in Sonora as Guaymas, San Carlos, and Empalme. A special “Sonora Only” permit is required if you drive farther south or east, but only in Sonora. Should you cross at Agua Prieta, you need a federal vehicle permit that is good for the whole country. You can get the Sonora-only or all-Mexico vehicle permit at the Banjercito kiosk on MEX-15 at Empalme, SE of Guaymas. The free zone extends along the border 12-16 miles wide with the western exceptions. Click on the link below, fill in the details and we will email you a PDF copy of the map.
The TIP Deposit
There is a deposit on all vehicles, and the amount is based on the age and type of vehicle. Your deposit is returned when you return your vehicle and cancel your TIP. If you don’t cancel your TIP, you will be banned from driving in Mexico until you do.
- For 2007 and newer vehicles: $400
- 2001-2006 vehicles: $300
- 2000 and older: $200
This is charged to your credit card immediately.
If you cancel the permit on time, you get your deposit back. It is refunded to your credit card two to three business days after you cancel your permit. Cash deposits are returned when you cancel the permit.
If you return your vehicle permit even a few minutes late, you lose your deposit, though you can still cancel.
If the permit is issued at 9:00 AM on day 1, it expires at 9:00 AM on day 180. Be sure to check the expiration date of your permit in case they figured the number of days on your permit differently.
Bringing a Financed Vehicle into Mexico
You are supposed to have a notarized letter of permission to take your vehicle into Mexico if it is financed. When you buy your Mex-Insurance just ask them to fax a copy to the lienholder and they do this for free. You will have to follow up with the lienholder (finance company) to make sure they received the proof of insurance, and then they will write your permission letter. Depending on your lien holder/finance company it can take anywhere from 2 hours to 2 weeks to received your letter of permission.
Trailer Import Permits for Mexico
If you are towing, be advised that the vehicle and trailer get two permits. The car gets a six-month permit, and the trailer gets a ten-year permit. The trailer permit costs (this could change tomorrow) 644 pesos.
Be careful with the 10-year permit – you MUST REMEMBER TO RETURN IT. Too often, people don’t cancel them, leave them in Mexico and come home, or bring them back and end up selling the trailer in the USA or Canada. Then, when they expire, they will be barred from driving in Mexico.
Make sure to have separate permits for the trailer and the automobile. If you get a combined permit it might cause problems if for whatever reason you need to cancel one permit but not the other. You won’t be able to on a combined permit. It’s best to get separate permits always.
Non-Motorhome Tourists
These are the official rules from Hacienda for non-motorhome tourists. If you have a motorhome, you can temporarily import a towed vehicle.
- A temporary import is only possible for one vehicle at a time.
- The maximum load capacity for a temporary vehicle import is 3.5 tons. Note: that is currently interpreted as GVWR – NOT payload.
- You may tow with your vehicle one to three motorcycles, beach cars or dune buggies, or four-wheel motorcycles or ATVs, equivalent to the number of people traveling inside the car. They CANNOT be street-legal. You’ll need to be able to provide proof of ownership for the vehicles being transported, which must be returned along with the towing or transporting vehicle. You get one permit for all.
- Selling the temporarily imported vehicles on Mexican territory or using them commercially is not permitted.
- The vehicle must be returned to the country of origin within the authorized time frame as stated in the Temporary Import Permit.
- Be sure to turn this permit in before leaving Mexico. Otherwise, you will not be able to drive to Mexico. The Hacienda (the treasury department) keeps perfect track of these vehicle permits.
Processing the Vehicle Import Permit for Mexico - Getting it DONE
There are services that will prepare all the paperwork for you – for a small fee they will work with the customs and make sure your entry in Mexico is smooth and seamless. However you can also do this yourself. If you do it yourself, you can go in person, or start the process online. If you do it yourself, here are some tips:
- Don’t check the insurance box. The insurance they offer is sub-standard and requires vehicle repairs in Mexico, often has high deductible and low limits of coverage.
- Doing it online allows you to get 180 days (as opposed to 30 day max in person)
- If you select the wrong border crossing its OK – but try to be accurate
- Motorcycle’s are required to carry the title in Mexico unless you get the permit online.
Returning the Permit (TIP) at the Border
When you leave Mexico at the U.S. border you have to return your FMM and TIP. The FMM is your temporary visa that we discuss in this article.
There are several steps to take to exit Mexico and enter the United States properly. For the full border crossing checklist click here.
Upon arriving at Banjercito, there is an office building and to the left of it is a small booth. You will get in the line of cars to get to the drive-through booth. This line moves relatively quickly, so don’t be discouraged by the seemingly long line. Once you get up to the booth, you will give the agent your TIP. They will take pictures of your automobile as well as the VIN number and the information on the inside of your door. In return, you will receive the packet including the receipt and TIP. From there you need to park in the parking lot, so you can cancel your FMM and get your TIP refund.
You can’t just pass them to the bridge or border crossing toll-taker. You must find the Banjército / Migración complex and get the vehicle permit recorded, scanned, and scrapped off your windshield by a Banjército employee. He or she will give you a computer-printed receipt showing you canceled your permit.
Sonora makes it easy to cancel the permits with kiosks at KM 21 on MEX-15 (just south of Nogales, Sonora). You pull in; someone scans your permit, does the required checking, and you are done.
Find Banjercito BEFORE Your Reach the Border
Yes, due to the free zone within 15 miles of the border, you can return your permit and FMM at a Banjercito before you get to the border.
If you cross at Eagle Pass 2, stop at the Banjercito at marker 53.4 km, which is about an hour from the border, which is open later than the Banjercito by the Eagle Pass 2.
Here you will cancel your FMM and TIP.
You Can Cancel (Return) Your TIP at Any Border Crossing
It does not matter where you received the permit for your car, truck, RV or motorcycle. Canceling your permit means showing up at the Banjército kiosk with your vehicle and all the documentation you received when you got your permit. If you lose that big, official paper your permit was attached to; you will get a scolding and be asked to sign a form promising you didn’t mean to violate the laws permitting foreigners to import their vehicles into Mexico temporarily.
Once signed, all will be smiles, and you can cancel your permit.
Special Rules for Residents
Temporary residents (old FM3) and permanent residents (old FM2)
You have to get your residency visas validated in-country, you should have obtained a temporary travel permit stamped in your passport by the consulate. It is valid for 30 days and is checked at the border.
However, some border officials want to issue you an FMM. You should make sure you have a travel permit and use that.
Temporary visa-holders: your vehicle permit is good as long as your immigration permit is good.
Permanent visa-holders: when you get your temporary license validated, things change. You may need to contact Aduana, submit a letter with attachments and copies that is sent to Mexico City and wait for the TIP extension to the end of the first year of temporal packet to be approved and returned.
For permanent residents: you are supposed to buy a Mexican vehicle. Don’t export/import your vehicle to Mexico. It will lose most of its value. It’s best to either buy a vehicle in Mexico (sell your US vehicle) or just keep your US vehicle so that you can enjoy the benefits of having a US Insurance brokerage and the data and privacy protections you are accustomed to in the US and Canada. Once you import your vehicle to Mexico you have to work with local direct Mexican agents. Be clear, they want you to pay your taxes, but if you maintain US residency, there is nothing preventing you from keeping a US vehicle, you’ll just have to continuously return it for the new TIPs.
Do you know the hours of operation of tehTIP office at the OTAY border crossing. We plan to go through the border into Mexico at 6AM this Friday Sept 30 2022
Replying for Mike – 6am is correct.
If I get a TIP for my car and trailer/ATV, can I tow the trailer with a different car while in Mexico? A Mexican friend has a 4×4 pickup that makes it easier to tow the trailer and quads to where we ride, if I have my permit in hand should I be ok?
I don’t see an issue with this but I would check with them when it’s issued at the border to make sure. The other consideration is your insurance for the towed unit – it always needs to be listed on the towing unit’s policy. Let us know how it goes and what you find out! https://visitingmexico.com/towing-in-mexico/
Vehicle permit for Mexico,
Hello, i am currently at the tail end of my 6-month temporary import permit for my truck – it expires June 16th, 2024. I am currently smack dab in the middle of the country on the Pacific side in Michoacan. I plan to stay longer most likely another 6 months. Is it possible to apply for another TIP online without canceling the first one at a border? Or perhaps i could just simply fly to a border town and get another TIP? I’d be fine with attempting to cancel my original TIP at a later date. Appreciate any insight, thanks!
(I’m trying to avoid a long ride to the Colombia border in Tamaulipas.