Countries › Mexico › Guide › 14. Disputes › Limitation periods and filing deadlines in Mexico: ten years for commercial claims, three for promissory notes, six months for cheques, and the short deadlines that matter most

Limitation periods and filing deadlines in Mexico: ten years for commercial claims, three for promissory notes, six months for cheques, and the short deadlines that matter most

Last verified: 2026-10-26 · Status: Stable

Commercial claims expire after ten years unless the Commercial Code sets a shorter period, and the periods are strict: they run from the day the claim could be brought in court and cannot be restored once missed. Shorter periods apply to key instruments and relationships: five years between a company and its shareholders or against liquidators, three years on promissory notes and bills of exchange from maturity, six months on cheques, one year for most labor claims and two months for dismissal claims. A lawsuit or a written acknowledgment by the debtor interrupts the period and restarts it, and procedural deadlines are much shorter still: 15 days for amparo, 30 days for federal administrative claims and three months to annul an award.

USD conversions use MXN 18.5026 per US dollar, the US Federal Reserve H.10 noon buying rate in New York for 16 October 2026 (FRED series DEXMXUS), the latest observation available when this page was verified. Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

General limitation period for commercial claims	10 yearsCódigo de Comercio art. 1047, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Limitation period for claims between a company and its shareholders	5 yearsCódigo de Comercio art. 1045, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Limitation period for actions on promissory notes and bills of exchange	3 yearsLGTOC arts. 165 and 174, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Limitation period for recourse actions on cheques	6 monthsLGTOC art. 192, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
General limitation period for civil claims (federal civil code)	10 yearsCódigo Civil Federal art. 1159, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
General limitation period for labor claims	1 yearsLey Federal del Trabajo art. 516, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Limitation period for unjustified dismissal claims	2 monthsLey Federal del Trabajo art. 518, as of 2026-10-26 · in force

The rule

1. Ten years is the default for commercial claims, and periods are strict. Claims arising from commercial acts expire under the Commercial Code; the terms are fatal and there is no restitution against them. The period runs from the day the action could legally be brought in court. Where the Code sets no shorter period, ordinary commercial limitation is ten years.
Cost to do it: Free to protect: calendar the period from the date the claim became enforceable.Código de Comercio, DOF 7 October to 13 December 1889 (Chamber of Deputies consolidated text, last reform DOF 14 November 2025, amounts updated by agreement DOF 18 February 2026), Arts. 1038, 1039, 1040 and 1047, 1889-10-07 official text · verified 2026-10-26

2. Five years for company law claims, one year for some trade claims. Claims arising from the company contract and company operations between the company and its shareholders, from shareholders against the company or among shareholders by reason of the company, and claims against liquidators for their conduct, expire in five years. One year applies to retail sellers' claims for credit sales (each item from the day of sale, unless there is a current account), to commercial employees' salary claims from separation, to claims against stock brokers or commercial brokers for obligations they intervened in, and to supplies and services for ships.
Cost to do it: Shareholder disputes should be filed or interrupted well within five years of the act.Código de Comercio, DOF 7 October to 13 December 1889 (Chamber of Deputies consolidated text, last reform DOF 14 November 2025, amounts updated by agreement DOF 18 February 2026), Arts. 1043 and 1045, 1889-10-07 official text · verified 2026-10-26

3. Interruption: a lawsuit, an acknowledgment or a renewed document. The period is interrupted by a lawsuit or any other judicial demand on the debtor, by acknowledgment of the obligation, or by renewal of the document on which the claim rests. A new period starts from the acknowledgment, from the date of the new document or, if the renewal extends the due date, from the new due date. A judicial demand does not interrupt if the plaintiff withdraws it or the claim is dismissed.
Cost to do it: A signed acknowledgment of debt by the debtor restarts the period at no cost.
Example: A supplier's claim for MXN 1,850,260 became enforceable on 1 March 2020; a debt acknowledgment signed on 1 March 2026 starts a new ten year period from that date. / MXN 1,850,260 is about USD 100,000.Código de Comercio, DOF 7 October to 13 December 1889 (Chamber of Deputies consolidated text, last reform DOF 14 November 2025, amounts updated by agreement DOF 18 February 2026), Arts. 1041 and 1042, 1889-10-07 official text · verified 2026-10-26

4. Three years on promissory notes and bills of exchange. The exchange action (acción cambiaria) on a bill of exchange expires in three years from maturity or, for sight bills, from the end of the presentment period; the same rule applies to promissory notes, whose maker is treated as the acceptor.
Cost to do it: No cost to sue within the period; after three years the note loses its executive force as a credit instrument.Ley General de Títulos y Operaciones de Crédito, DOF 27 August 1932 (Chamber of Deputies consolidated text, last reform DOF 26 March 2024), Arts. 165 and 174, 1932-08-27 official text · verified 2026-10-26

5. Cheques: short presentment periods and six months to sue. Cheques must be presented within 15 calendar days of their date if payable in the place of issue, one month if issued and payable in different places in Mexico, and three months if issued abroad and payable in Mexico or issued in Mexico and payable abroad. If not presented or protested in time, recourse actions against endorsers and guarantors lapse, and the direct action against the drawer lapses if it proves it had funds during the presentment period. Recourse actions expire in six months from the end of the presentment period (for the last holder) or from payment (for endorsers and guarantors).
Cost to do it: Present cheques from foreign customers within three months, or the recourse claims may be lost.Ley General de Títulos y Operaciones de Crédito, DOF 27 August 1932 (Chamber of Deputies consolidated text, last reform DOF 26 March 2024), Arts. 181, 191 and 192, 1932-08-27 official text · verified 2026-10-26

6. Civil claims: ten years, with two years for fees and some sales. Outside the exceptions, ten years from when an obligation could be demanded extinguish the right to demand performance. Two years apply to fees, salaries and other pay for services from when the services ended, and to a merchant's claim for the price of goods sold to non resellers, from delivery if not sold on credit.
Cost to do it: Check whether a claim is commercial or civil: the Commercial Code governs claims arising from commercial acts (CCom art. 1038).Código Civil Federal, DOF 26 May, 14 July, 3 and 31 August 1928 (Chamber of Deputies consolidated text, last reform DOF 14 November 2025), Arts. 1159 and 1161, 1928-05-26 official text · verified 2026-10-26

7. Labor claims: one year, and two months for dismissal. Labor claims expire one year after the obligation becomes enforceable, with exceptions. A worker who is dismissed has two months from separation to claim; the period is suspended when the worker files the mandatory conciliation request and resumes when the conciliation ends.
Cost to do it: For employers, the two month window bounds the exposure for back pay claims from a dismissal.Ley Federal del Trabajo, DOF 1 April 1970 (Chamber of Deputies consolidated text, last reform DOF 14 May 2026), Arts. 516 and 518, 2019-05-01 official text · verified 2026-10-26

Claim or step	Period	Starts	Rule
Commercial claim (default)	10 years	When it can be brought in court	CCom arts. 1040, 1047
Company and shareholders, liquidators	5 years	When it can be brought	CCom art. 1045
Retail credit sales, brokers' liability	1 year	Sale or act	CCom art. 1043
Promissory note, bill of exchange	3 years	Maturity	LGTOC arts. 165, 174
Cheque recourse	6 months	End of presentment period	LGTOC art. 192
Civil claim (default)	10 years	When it can be demanded	CCF art. 1159
Labor claim (default)	1 year	When enforceable	LFT art. 516
Dismissal claim	2 months	Day after separation	LFT art. 518
Annul an award made in Mexico	3 months	Notice of the award	CCom art. 1458
Amparo against an act	15 days	Day after notice takes effect	Ley de Amparo arts. 17, 18
Federal administrative court claim	30 days	Day after notice takes effect	LFPCA art. 13
Federal administrative review appeal	15 days	Day after notice takes effect	LFPA art. 85

Main limitation periods and filing deadlines in Mexico, verified 26 October 2026 against the official consolidated texts.

Worked example

A Colombian distributor sold goods on 90 day terms to a Mexican retailer and holds the retailer's promissory note for MXN 925,052 (about USD 49,995), due 30 June 2024.
The action on the note expires on 30 June 2027 (LGTOC arts. 165 and 174). If the distributor misses it, it can still sue on the sale contract within the ten year commercial period (CCom art. 1047), but without the executive trial's attachment at the first step.
To keep both options open, it obtains a written acknowledgment of the debt from the retailer, which restarts the commercial period (CCom arts. 1041 and 1042), and sues on the note before 30 June 2027.

Step by step

1. For each receivable or claim, identify whether it is commercial, civil or labor and which instrument supports it.
2. Record the date it became enforceable and compute the period from the table.
3. Before expiry, sue or obtain a signed acknowledgment; keep the original document.
4. After any adverse act by an authority, calendar the 15 day amparo and 30 day administrative court deadlines the same day notice is received.
5. Review the calendar quarterly; there is no restitution once a commercial period expires (CCom art. 1039).

Common traps

Relying on informal reminders. Only a judicial demand, an acknowledgment or a renewed document interrupts the period (CCom art. 1041).
Withdrawing a lawsuit. A withdrawn or dismissed claim counts as never having interrupted the period.
Holding cheques from abroad too long. Late presentment kills recourse against endorsers and guarantors (LGTOC art. 191).
Treating amparo like a limitation period. It is 15 days in most cases, counted from the day after notice takes effect (Ley de Amparo arts. 17 and 18).
Assuming mediation stops the clock. The 2024 mediation law does not state that starting a mediation suspends commercial limitation periods, so sue or obtain an acknowledgment if time is short.

Sources

← Commercial litigation in Mexico: choosing the court, oral and executive trials, attachment, appeal thresholds, costs and pre trial measuresAmparo in Mexico: the constitutional claim against laws and authority acts, the 15 day deadline, suspension after the October 2025 reform and tax guarantees →