Selling property in Mexico depends on the same key distinction as buying: whether your property is held under direct title (escritura) or a bank trust (fideicomiso). That determines which document set you'll need to pull together before you can list.

The Basics

An escritura is direct title — held by Mexican nationals, Mexican corporations, or foreign owners outside the restricted zone.

A fideicomiso is a bank trust, used when a foreign individual owns property inside the restricted zone (most of coastal Baja, including Todos Santos). If this is your situation, the bank technically holds title, and certain sale steps route through the trust.

Mexican National (Individual) — Escritura

  • Passport, scanned
  • Driver's license, both sides
  • Recent proof of address (water, electric, or phone bill)
  • Copy of the escritura, duly registered
  • Most recent predial (property tax) payment receipt
  • Property map or plot plan
  • Current-year RFC
  • Marriage certificate, if applicable
  • Construction license, completion certificate, and manifestation — if the property has a structure

 

Mexican Corporation — Escritura

  • All individual-equivalent documents, filed under the corporation
  • Articles of incorporation, duly registered
  • Current-year corporate RFC
  • Meeting minutes, if applicable
  • Notice of acquisition filed with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) — required if the corporation has foreign shareholders
  • Proof of address in the company's name
  • Legal representative's ID, RFC, and proof of address
  • Construction plans and license, if applicable

 

Foreign Owner — Fideicomiso

  • ⁠Copy of the fideicomiso, title, and any Power of Attorney
  • ⁠Seller ID copies (and POA holder's ID, if applicable)
  • ⁠Official subdivision plan
  • ⁠Building permit and manifestation of construction — needed to establish capital gains or losses at sale
  • ⁠Protocolization of any subdivision or construction added after the fideicomiso was originally issued (see note below)
  • ⁠Environmental impact study
  • ⁠Title search or title insurance policy, if one exists
  • ⁠Derecho de tanto (first right of refusal) and bank appraisal — only if the property originated from ejido land
  • ⁠Documentation of any existing lien or loan
  • ⁠Paid municipal property tax receipts
  • ⁠Most recent annual fideicomiso payment record
  • ⁠If held via a US LLC or trust: the LLC/trust documents, translated into Spanish
  • ⁠Construction blueprints
  • ⁠A utility bill from your home-country residence, to establish residency
  • If a beneficiary has passed away: a will, death certificate, and proof the change was recorded on the fideicomiso

 

One Thing That Trips People Up

If you've added a structure or subdivided the land after your fideicomiso was originally issued, that change has to be formally recorded with the bank before you can legally sell. Many owners don't realize this applies to them — and discovering it mid-transaction can stall a closing for weeks.