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Insurance and reinsurance in Mexico: the CNSF license, the ban on buying insurance from foreign insurers, exceptions, foreign reinsurers registry, minimum capital and 2026 fees

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

Underwriting insurance risks in Mexico is reserved to insurers and mutuals licensed at the discretion of the National Insurance and Surety Commission (CNSF), and contracts concluded in Mexico are governed by Mexican law. It is prohibited to buy from foreign insurers, among others, personal lines for people in Mexico, liability cover for events in Mexico and property cover for risks in Mexico, unless the CNSF grants an exception; contracts in breach have no legal effect. Mexican insurers may only cede risk to foreign reinsurers registered with the CNSF, and the 2026 CNSF duties to study, license and start an insurer total MXN 359,400.

USD conversions use MXN 18.6638 per US dollar, the US Federal Reserve H.10 noon buying rate in New York for 23 October 2026 (FRED series DEXMXUS), the latest observation available when this page was verified. Legal conversions in Mexico use the Banxico FIX, which differs slightly. Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

License required to write insurance in Mexico	Yes, CNSF authorization LISF arts. 11 and 20, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Buying cover for Mexican risks from foreign insurers	Prohibited unless a CNSF exception applies LISF arts. 21 and 22, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Registration of foreign reinsurers	Required, CNSF General Registry of Foreign Reinsurers LISF art. 107, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
CNSF duties to study, license and start an insurer (2026)	359400 MXNLFD art. 30-E, III to V, as of 2026-10-26 · in force

The rule

1. License. Organizing and operating as an insurance company or mutual requires a non transferable federal authorization granted at the CNSF's discretion with its Governing Board's agreement. The CNSF notifies its decision within five business days with its opinion on the draft bylaws, and the promoter has 90 days to submit the notarized bylaws for approval.
Cost to do it: 2026 CNSF duties: study MXN 68,885, authorization MXN 103,328, start of operations opinion MXN 187,187; total MXN 359,400 (USD 19,257).
Example: A foreign insurance group forming a Mexican subsidiary pays MXN 359,400 in CNSF duties across the three stages. / About USD 19,257.Ley de Instituciones de Seguros y de Fianzas (LISF), DOF 4 April 2013, last reform DOF 14 November 2025 (Chamber of Deputies consolidated text), Art. 11, 2013-04-04 official text · verified 2026-10-26

2. Who may insure risks in Mexico. Insurance operations entered into in Mexico are subject to Mexican law. Only licensed insurers and mutuals may carry out active insurance operations in Mexico, meaning promising, for a payment, to compensate a loss or pay a sum on a future uncertain event. Selling goods or services in the future and performing with one's own resources and facilities is not insurance, except prepaid health services aimed at preventing or restoring health.
Cost to do it: None.
Example: A car dealer's extended warranty that it fulfils with its own workshops is not insurance; a promise to pay cash for repairs at any shop could be. / Not applicable.Ley de Instituciones de Seguros y de Fianzas (LISF), DOF 4 April 2013, last reform DOF 14 November 2025 (Chamber of Deputies consolidated text), Arts. 19 and 20, 2013-04-04 official text · verified 2026-10-26

3. Buying from foreign insurers is prohibited for Mexican risks. It is prohibited to contract with foreign companies: personal insurance where an individual policyholder is in Mexico when contracting, or where a company policyholder's insured persons reside in Mexico; hull insurance for ships, aircraft and vehicles registered in Mexico or owned by persons domiciled in Mexico; credit, surety type, mortgage credit and financial guarantee insurance where the insured is subject to Mexican law (financial guarantees on securities offered only abroad excepted); liability insurance for events that may occur in Mexico; and other lines covering risks that may occur in Mexico. Insurance bought abroad for goods transported into or out of Mexico, and travel cover bought abroad by non residents for their visits, are not included. Offering these covers in Mexico is also prohibited, and contracts made in breach have no legal effect, although the policyholder can recover premiums.
Cost to do it: None; the cost is buying the cover from a Mexican insurer (often reinsured abroad).
Example: A US parent cannot simply extend its global liability policy to cover a Mexican subsidiary's operations; the local cover must be written by a Mexican licensed insurer, which may then reinsure with the global carrier. / Not applicable.Ley de Instituciones de Seguros y de Fianzas (LISF), DOF 4 April 2013, last reform DOF 14 November 2025 (Chamber of Deputies consolidated text), Arts. 21, 23 and 24, 2013-04-04 official text · verified 2026-10-26

4. Exceptions. The CNSF may except from the prohibitions (I) foreign insurers it authorizes to sell in Mexico covers for risks that can only occur in the foreign countries where they are licensed, and (II) a person who proves that no Mexican insurer can or wishes to write a specific risk, through a specific authorization to buy it abroad directly or through a Mexican insurer.
Cost to do it: No 2026 Annex 4 duty for these exceptions was identified.
Example: A Mexican company that cannot find local capacity for a unique satellite launch risk can ask the CNSF for a specific authorization to insure it abroad. / Not applicable.Ley de Instituciones de Seguros y de Fianzas (LISF), DOF 4 April 2013, last reform DOF 14 November 2025 (Chamber of Deputies consolidated text), Art. 22, 2013-04-04 official text · verified 2026-10-26

5. Foreign reinsurers and representative offices. Mexican insurers may only reinsure or retrocede with foreign reinsurers registered in the CNSF's General Registry of Foreign Reinsurers; registration is discretionary for first class reinsurers that prove solvency, home country compliance and the minimum rating set by the CNSF, and may be cancelled. The CNSF may also authorize representative offices of foreign reinsurers, which may only accept or cede reinsurance on behalf of their principals and may not write direct insurance.
Cost to do it: 2026 CNSF duty for a foreign reinsurer representative office: MXN 33,551 (USD 1,798).
Example: A Bermuda reinsurer must be on the CNSF registry before any Mexican insurer can cede premiums to it. / Not applicable.Ley de Instituciones de Seguros y de Fianzas (LISF), DOF 4 April 2013, last reform DOF 14 November 2025 (Chamber of Deputies consolidated text), Arts. 107 and 108, 2013-04-04 official text · verified 2026-10-26

6. Minimum capital and agent licensing. Minimum paid capital per operation or line is set in UDIs by the CNSF in general rules, published by 30 June each year, and must be fully paid by the last business day of the year at the prior 31 December UDI value; capital above the minimum must be at least 50 percent paid. Insurance agents need CNSF authorization: in 2026 a provisional individual authorization costs MXN 3,091, a definitive three year individual authorization MXN 4,861 and its three year renewal MXN 2,543.
Cost to do it: Agent fees: MXN 3,091, MXN 4,861 and MXN 2,543 (USD 166, USD 260 and USD 136).
Example: A sales team of 20 individual agents with definitive authorizations costs MXN 97,220 in CNSF duties every three years. / About USD 5,209.Ley de Instituciones de Seguros y de Fianzas (LISF), DOF 4 April 2013, last reform DOF 14 November 2025 (Chamber of Deputies consolidated text); Ley Federal de Derechos (LFD), last reform DOF 7 November 2025; 2026 amounts in Anexo 4 de la Resolución Miscelánea Fiscal para 2026, DOF 28 December 2025, LISF art. 49; LFD art. 30-A, sections I to III, 2025-12-28 official text · verified 2026-10-26

Item	MXN	USD at 18.6638	LFD
Insurer, mutual or surety: study	MXN 68,885	USD 3,691	art. 30-E, III
Insurer, mutual or surety: authorization	MXN 103,328	USD 5,536	art. 30-E, IV
Insurer, mutual or surety: start of operations opinion	MXN 187,187	USD 10,029	art. 30-E, V
Foreign reinsurer representative office	MXN 33,551	USD 1,798	art. 30-E, II
Recognition as insurance or surety organization	MXN 55,919	USD 2,996	art. 30-E, I
Individual agent, provisional	MXN 3,091	USD 166	art. 30-A, I
Individual agent, definitive for three years	MXN 4,861	USD 260	art. 30-A, II
Individual agent, three year renewal	MXN 2,543	USD 136	art. 30-A, III

2026 CNSF duties, LFD arts. 30-A and 30-E as updated by RMF 2026 Annex 4 (DOF 28 December 2025).

Worked example

A US manufacturer opens a plant in Mexico and wants its global insurance program to cover it.
Property and liability risks that may occur in Mexico, and group life for employees residing in Mexico, cannot be bought from the US carrier directly (LISF art. 21).
It buys local policies from a Mexican licensed insurer, which reinsures them with the global carrier if that carrier is on the CNSF foreign reinsurer registry (LISF art. 107).
Where no Mexican insurer will write a specific risk, the company can request a CNSF specific authorization to buy abroad (LISF art. 22, II).

Step by step

1. Map each insured risk: is it personal, hull, credit or guarantee, liability, or property in Mexico (LISF art. 21)?
2. Place covered risks with a Mexican licensed insurer and confirm any reinsurer is CNSF registered (LISF arts. 20 and 107).
3. For risks with no local capacity, document the market refusal and apply to the CNSF for a specific authorization (LISF art. 22).
4. If entering as an insurer, file the license application, pay the study duty, and plan for the 90 day bylaws deadline (LISF art. 11).
5. Make sure every sales agent holds a current CNSF authorization (LFD art. 30-A).

Common traps

A foreign policy covering Mexican risks in breach of art. 21 has no legal effect in Mexico; claims may fail (LISF art. 24).
Offering foreign insurance in Mexico, even as an intermediary, is itself prohibited (LISF art. 23).
Prepaid health plans count as insurance even if delivered with your own clinics (LISF art. 20).
Reinsurance with an unregistered foreign reinsurer is not allowed (LISF art. 107).

Sources

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