Mexico’s Temporary Import Permit

The Temporary Import Permit is the customs permit that lets a foreign recreational boat stay in Mexico without paying import duty. Banjercito issues it for the customs agency ANAM. Without one, the boat can be fined or seized.

If the boat is visiting Mexico Heard from Cruisers

This is the customs permit that lets a foreign recreational boat stay in Mexico without paying import duty. It is not a list of things to see. The towns are on the Pacific coast page.

Banjercito issues it for the customs agency ANAM. Permits issued from 1 April 2026 last 5 years. If you have one and you are not coming back before it expires, cancel it when you leave. Only the person named on it can cancel it.

From Some Tuesday I cancelled ours in person at the Guatemalan border, on the way out of Puerto Chiapas. The marina can drive you. It cannot cancel the permit for you.

Cancel it when you leave From Some Tuesday

I applied online years before this trip, and Banjercito mailed the permit, because I used to sail to Mexico every year for the Newport to Ensenada race. We arrived in December 2025 with a permit already in hand. Ours was issued under the old rules, long before 1 April 2026.

If you have a permit and you don’t cancel it, it stays with that boat forever. That can become a major headache for the next owner, or for you if you come back later. Cancel it when you leave Mexico, unless you are planning to come back before it expires.

I’ve heard horror stories of people who couldn’t clear into Mexico at all, with no solution, because a previous owner never cancelled the permit. Only the person the permit was issued to can cancel it, so the new owner can’t. The name doesn’t match, they can’t reach the previous owner, or the previous owner has died.

It’s a crazy, manual system, and the only good way to manage it is to never get behind the 8 ball in the first place.

At Puerto Chiapas I did it in person, at the border office. When I cleared out at Puerto Chiapas, the marina guy strongly urged me not to leave Mexico without cancelling it. I didn’t. The marina arranged a driver for the drive to the office at the Guatemalan border, about 90 minutes, and that was the only place I could cancel it there. The marina can drive you. It cannot cancel the permit for you. The person named on it has to go.

What it covers Heard from Cruisers

Recreational boats over 4.5 m, owned by foreigners or by Mexicans living abroad, need one. The importer is the owner. The permit records the boat’s name, make, year-model, type, hull identification number, and registration, plus mobile accessories such as the dinghy and the outboard. Those details have to match later, including engine serial numbers.

You can’t sell the boat in Mexico on the permit without importing it for good. Chartering needs Mexican permits.

How long, and what it costs Heard from Cruisers

Permits issued from 1 April 2026 last 5 years, with entries and exits while the permit is valid. That is Ley Aduanera article 106, in force from the reform published 19 November 2025, and rule 4.2.5 of the 2026 customs rules. Permits issued before 1 April 2026 keep their original term. The ANAM page still says 10 years. Go by the date printed on your permit.

	Online	In person
Where	gob.mx/banjercito	A Banjercito CIITEV office at a port of entry, or a Mexican consulate in the United States that has one
Cost	US$45 + IVA	US$51 + IVA
Pay with	An international credit card in the importer’s name	Cash or card. Consulates: card only
When	10 to 60 days before the boat enters	At arrival, or up to six months ahead at a consulate

Check the hull identification number for an open permit before you apply. There can be only one active permit per boat. The lookup is on the SAT portal. Buying a boat that has cruised Mexico? Check before you buy.

To close it after you leave by sea, Banjercito wants the original and a copy of the international despacho stamped by the port authority, the mobile-accessories list, and the permit. You can send that by certified mail or leave it in a CIITEV mailbox. Either way, the cancellation is in the permit holder’s name.

The answer sheet for the application is in the forms tool. The arrival and departure steps are on the clearing-in guide.

Heard from Cruisers

Most of this circulates by word of mouth among cruisers. We pulled it together, organized it, and share it free. It is not official guidance, so don’t rely on it as such.

Two permits, then out Heard from Cruisers

Practice is two permits, then the boat leaves Mexico. We could not find that rule in the official text. The law lets customs extend a permit “for an equal period” only with justified causes.

Passports on the online form Heard from Cruisers

The online application accepts United States, Canadian, and Mexican passports. Other nationalities get the permit in person.

Serial numbers Heard from Cruisers

A replaced engine whose serial number no longer matches the permit can block a cancellation or a renewal. A wrong detail from the start can be fixed by substitution, at the in-person fee, and the new permit keeps the old expiry date.

Windows that don’t match Heard from Cruisers

Apply online 10 to 60 days before entry. Other published windows are 11 to 60 days, and between 60 and 7 days. A renewal can be requested up to 45 days before the current permit expires, without presenting the boat. Another published window is 91 days. Ask Banjercito which one they are using.