Messaging Compliance in Mexico

Overview

In Mexico, marketing messages must respect the consumer protection framework enforced by PROFECO, including the REPEP do-not-contact register, and Mexico's personal data protection law for private parties, which requires notice and consent for marketing uses.

Mexico's federal law on the protection of personal data held by private parties, renewed in 2025, requires a privacy notice (aviso de privacidad) on websites and forms and consent for secondary uses such as marketing.

Spanish is the main language of search in Mexico; Google dominates, and WhatsApp is often the customer's preferred next step after a search.

WhatsApp is a major business channel in much of Latin America, while in the US and Canada it is used alongside SMS. Consent and data protection laws in each country apply to WhatsApp marketing.

Automated and prerecorded calls are tightly regulated in the US (TCPA and the National Do Not Call Registry) and Canada (CRTC Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules), and other countries in the region have their own registers and rules.

Advertising Rules

Advertising must follow the Federal Consumer Protection Law, and health-related products are subject to COFEPRIS advertising rules.

Digital Habits and Channels in Mexico

Mexico is one of WhatsApp's largest markets, and customers routinely use it to ask questions, book appointments and confirm orders; Facebook, Instagram and TikTok drive discovery. SMS remains common for codes and reminders.

Cards, cash payments at OXXO convenience stores, SPEI bank transfers and Mercado Pago are widely used, and monthly instalments without interest (meses sin intereses) are a strong purchase driver. El Buen Fin in November, Hot Sale in spring, Día de las Madres on 10 May, back-to-school and Christmas are key periods. A new federal personal data protection law took effect on 21 March 2025, replacing the 2010 law.

Mexico is closely linked to the US economy through the USMCA trade agreement, with car and auto parts plants, aerospace suppliers, electronics assembly and maquiladoras concentrated in the northern and Bajío states, and nearshoring has brought new investment. Remittances, tourism, oil and agriculture (avocados, tomatoes, berries and tequila) are also important. VAT (IVA) is 16%, with 8% in the northern and southern border zones. Consumers can register numbers in PROFECO's REPEP to block advertising calls and messages. Cash at OXXO convenience stores, cards and SPEI bank transfers are the main payment methods.

Practical Details

Country code +52; time zone America/Mexico_City; currency Mexican peso (MXN). Usual working week: Monday to Friday.

Cities we cover in Mexico

• Mexico City
• Guadalajara
• Monterrey
• Puebla
• Tijuana
• León
• Querétaro
• Mérida
• Cancún
• Aguascalientes
• Chihuahua
• San Luis Potosí
• Hermosillo

General information, not legal advice, as of October 2026.