# Creating/Starting a Business/Corporation



## tcreek (Sep 13, 2010)

Yes, I know there are a LOT of threads on this, but I am asking if anyone knows of a guide to help me along.

There are lot so of guides posted on various sites online, but there are quite generic.

For example ,they all tell you to check with Secretaria de Relaciones Exteriors to get a permit to allow you to use the business name you want.

Check how? What offices? Is there a form to fill out? What office handles this? etc., etc.. Visiting the web site of this department reveals nothing.

I know an important part is getting a Attorney/Notario Publico, and an Account, but I want to know in details before I go there. I do not want to appear before any of them ignorant of things.

Thanks for any advice.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

A convenient SRE office is the Mexican Consulate nearest to you in your home country. That is where you should be able to obtain the information you need, and maybe even consult with an official. It is also where you must apply for the necessary visa to fit your situation.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

RVGRINGO said:


> A convenient SRE office is the Mexican Consulate nearest to you in your home country. That is where you should be able to obtain the information you need, and maybe even consult with an official. It is also where you must apply for the necessary visa to fit your situation.


RV, it looks like the OP is already living in Mexico, in Saltillo to be precise.


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## tcreek (Sep 13, 2010)

Yes I am in Mexico. Long drive to the nearest place in the US


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## ojosazules11 (Nov 3, 2013)

tcreek said:


> ...
> I know an important part is getting a Attorney/Notario Publico, and an Account, but I want to know in details before I go there. I do not want to appear before any of them ignorant of things.
> 
> Thanks for any advice.


I'm sorry I can't help with your question about starting a business/ incorporation, but I want to respond to your concern about not appearing ignorant before an attorney or notario público. The fact is most of us will be "ignorant" of bureaucratic processes we've never been through before, in the Spanish/Latin sense of the word ignorant - simply not having that specific knowledge - as opposed to the English more pejorative sense of being stupid. I would think an attorney/NP would not expect you to have specific knowledge of these things. That's their profession and part of their role is to educate you with reliable information.

This was recently brought home to me on the subject of getting a Mexican will. My husband and I jointly own property in Mexico. He's Mexican, I'm not even a resident. We did formal Powers-of-Attorney for each other allowing either one to act/sign on the others' behalf regarding the land (the consular official noted we must really trust each other - we do). However if one of us were to die, the POA is no longer valid. I've read dire warnings on the Internet, including forums such as this, of the nightmare that can happen to property succession if someone dies without a Mexican will, even if both parties names are on the title. So I keep insisting we need to get a will written in Mexico. Finally, he took me to someone in Tepoztlan who is a go to person to help people draft all sorts of legal documents. 

She said she could certainly help us draft the will, but she strongly recommended we wait until September, the "month of the will", when a will can be done for about 1/4 of the regular cost. I explained my concerns that the property would be caught up in a legal and bureaucratic limbo if one of us died intestate, or that if we both died our children would not be able to inherit. She explained that land in our town, Tepoztlan, Morelos is governed by the Agrarian Law and that under "la Ley Agraria" succession/inheritance of land is clearly stipulated (spouse being first in line, then common-law partner, then children). She was able to cite exactly which article in the Ley Agraria stipulated this, pulled it up on her computer and showed me.

So I went in thinking I was "informed" based on my readings and other people's experiences, only to discover I was actually ignorant about this specific subject as it applies in our specific town. 

Hopefully others here can share their experiences about setting up a corporation in Mexico, but in the end I think you'll get the best and most accurate advice from an attorney/Notario who specializes in this.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Does the Ley Agraria indicate that your property is part of an ejido?


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## tcreek (Sep 13, 2010)

Thank you for the kind reply, ojosazules11.

But the idea of me getting informed was to make sure the attorney I choose is being upfront, and not taking advantage of me because of any ignorance on my part, and making sure I am satisfied on any work they are doing based on what I could know.


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## ojosazules11 (Nov 3, 2013)

RVGRINGO said:


> Does the Ley Agraria indicate that your property is part of an ejido?


It is part of the _comunero_ system, but not to worry, we had copies of land rights and _"cesión de derechos"_ dating back to the 1950's or 1960's in the name of the father of our neighbour (the neighbour who had sold our land to the person we bought it from). Most of the neighbouring lands are still owned by siblings who each inherited part of the original large piece of land from their father. The owners of all the adjacent properties (_colinderos)_ had to sign off on our papers when we first registered it with the Casa del Pueblo. We have also registered our land with Catastro (the land registry in Morelos) and started paying the _Predial_ (property tax). 

Apparently many original owners of land in Tepoztlan have never registered with Catastro or pay the Predial because as far as they are concerned this has been their ancestral land since time immemorial and they don't owe the government anything for it. But registering with Catastro and paying the Predial is important for those of us who are _fuereños_ as a safeguard for anyone who might ever try to dispute our ownership (although we don't expect this to happen - we've done our due diligence at every step along the way). 

Interestingly, though, the woman answering my inquiries about a will in terms of property inheritance did not ask if our land was still part of the ejido system or if it had been privatized. She simply said that given the fact it is located in Tepoztlan, land succession in the event of someone dying without a will would be governed by _la Ley Agraria (Artículo 18) _.


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## tcreek (Sep 13, 2010)

Well after spending a lot of time investigating, every single web site on starting a business in Mexico is now obsolete. Seems things have changed in the past year, or so.


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