# USA Business investing in Mexico



## RK315 (Feb 17, 2014)

Hello all,

I own a small private business (formed in the USA) and will be a majority owner of a Mexican company that is currently being formed. I am told that I need a Power of Attorney from the Mexican consulate in order for my USA company to be a majority owner. The closest consulate is in New York. On their website, it states that I need the following:

•Notarized and annotated company incorporation agreement

•Notarized and annotated statutes of the company

•Deeds of the Assembly that designate the appearing party and gives him/her faculties to grant the notarized and annotated power of attorney

•Identification of general information for the appearing party

•Translations of the incorporation agreement into Spanish, the statutes of the company and of the deeds of the assembly. The translations must be certified by a translator or registered expert.

My questions are:

1) Do I notarize and annotate (I assume annotate is apostille) the documents before or after I translate them?

2) Where do I have to translate the documents (USA or Mexico)?

3) If I have to translate them in the USA, does anyone have any suggestions (I have tried to reach someone from the consulate, but I constantly am put through an endless maze of pre-recorded menus that never gets me to an actual human being).

Your help and assistance is greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

Regards,
RK


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## maesonna (Jun 10, 2008)

Regarding the translation:
In the U.S.A., there is no single official government certification for translators of written documents, but generally organizations (both American and foreign) will accept a notarized* translation done by an American Translators Association member, especially if the translator has ATA English-to-Spanish certification. There is an online directory of translators at the ATA website.
In Mexico, an official translation is one done by a _traductor perito_ (expert translator) who has official _perito_ certification in the relevant jurisdiction. Sometimes the government office where you have to submit the documents has a list of which _peritos_ they accept. If not, you can look for translation agencies in the Mexican yellow pages (online - _Sección Amarilla_), and ask agencies if they can have your documents translated by a _perito_.

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*In this case, it’s the translator who has it notarized.


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## Longford (May 25, 2012)

If you haven't already done so, you should locate an attorney in Mexico in the city/town where the business will be organized/based who is familiar with such matters in order to obtain advice which addresses the specifics of your situation. Notario Publicos are often the type of attorney which handles corporate formations, registrations, applications for permissions filed with the Mexican government. Online forums aren't the place to be soliciting/receiving opinions on something as important as this, IMO. There are commercial officers at many of the Mexican consulates, and also at the Mexican Embassy in Washington, D.C. If you receive advice from one of those offices you probably ought to follow it. Regulations and government procedures are not uniformly applied/enforced in Mexico and complying with the norms established in the office in that city/town where the business in Mexico will operate should be the goal in this instance. Best of luck.


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## RK315 (Feb 17, 2014)

maesonna said:


> Regarding the translation:
> In the U.S.A., there is no single official government certification for translators of written documents, but generally organizations (both American and foreign) will accept a notarized* translation done by an American Translators Association member, especially if the translator has ATA English-to-Spanish certification. There is an online directory of translators at the ATA website.
> In Mexico, an official translation is one done by a _traductor perito_ (expert translator) who has official _perito_ certification in the relevant jurisdiction. Sometimes the government office where you have to submit the documents has a list of which _peritos_ they accept. If not, you can look for translation agencies in the Mexican yellow pages (online - _Sección Amarilla_), and ask agencies if they can have your documents translated by a _perito_.
> 
> ...


Thank you for your reply. I was able to find out that any certified translator will do. Since my business is a USA registered company, the documents have to be translated in the US. Also, I can have it notarized by a separate notary...it doesn't have to be the translator.

Thank you again.


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## RK315 (Feb 17, 2014)

Longford said:


> If you haven't already done so, you should locate an attorney in Mexico in the city/town where the business will be organized/based who is familiar with such matters in order to obtain advice which addresses the specifics of your situation. Notario Publicos are often the type of attorney which handles corporate formations, registrations, applications for permissions filed with the Mexican government. Online forums aren't the place to be soliciting/receiving opinions on something as important as this, IMO. There are commercial officers at many of the Mexican consulates, and also at the Mexican Embassy in Washington, D.C. If you receive advice from one of those offices you probably ought to follow it. Regulations and government procedures are not uniformly applied/enforced in Mexico and complying with the norms established in the office in that city/town where the business in Mexico will operate should be the goal in this instance. Best of luck.


Thank you for your reply. Due diligence from my side has definitely been followed. My partner is a Mexican citizen, resides in Mexico and who was formerly a corporate lawyer in Mexico. It was my partner who informed me (after he spoke with the Notario Publicos in Mexico) that I will have to have the Mexican Consulate from the United States issue a certified Power of Attorney granting me rights to allow my company as an official owner of a Mexican registered business. I tried numerous times to get in touch with an actual person from the Mexican Consulate in New York, but to no avail. Your opinion on not soliciting advice on online forums are noted, but ironically (in this situation I suppose) it was in fact your post that helped me out. I didn't think about calling a Mexican consulate in another state until you suggested it. It was the Washington DC consulate where I was able to get in touch with a very helpful individual and who assisted me getting in touch with the right person in the NYC Embassy (with direct phone numbers). I now have received all the information I needed and can now proceed in setting up my company partnership the right way. I have always viewed online forums as a place for people to provide helpful advice, IMO...and I thank you for yours.

Regards,
RK


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