Coronavirus (COVID-19) and travel: The situation around the world is changing dramatically. Various governments have changed their travel warnings to restrict travel during this time. To understand how this may impact cover under your policy, please go to our FAQs and select your country of residence.
For the latest travel warnings and alerts around the world, read about lockdowns and border restrictions.
Traveling to Mexico? Here's what you need to know about local laws, illegal activities, and staying out of trouble in Mexico.
Photo © GettyImages/stockcam
Traveling to Mexico? Here's what you need to know about the local laws and how to stay on the right side of them. Foreign nationals who commit illegal acts under Mexican law have no special privileges and are subject to full prosecution under the Mexican judicial system.
Car rental laws
First, to rent a car in Mexico you’ll need either an International Driving License or a valid driver’s license in a language that uses the Roman alphabet (this one).
To legally drive in Mexico, you’ll need to buy Mexican personal liability insurance. Some rental companies will lean on you to purchase it from them, which is illegal, but the most you can do is argue with them – they’re not obliged to do business with you. Some US credit cards offer their cardholders free collision damage waiver car rental insurance, but most Mexican car rental agencies won’t honor it.
If you’re involved in a serious accident, wait for the police to come and have your insurance ready. But for minor fender-benders, Mexicans usually settle up in cash by the side of the road. If it’s your fault, offer a few hundred pesos (unless you have full coverage, you’ll have to pay for it later); and if it’s not, it’s up to you if you want to ask for money or call your insurance company.
In remote areas, be aware that you may come across unofficial roadblocks, even on main roads, manned by locals seeking toll money. Use the official cuota – toll – roads where possible.
As far as the driving culture goes, passing is the most important thing to get your head around. Drive on the right and pass on the left, but on many one-lane highways in Mexico, especially on the newer toll roads, there’s a wide shoulder on either side divided by a broken white line. When someone wants to pass you, drive about halfway onto the shoulder to let them get by.
Alcohol consumption laws
The legal drinking age is 18 in Mexico, and while passengers of the requisite age aren’t prohibited from drinking inside a vehicle, it’s illegal to drink in the street, and visitors can be fined or jailed for public inebriation.
Driving while drunk in Mexico is, of course, a criminal offense. And Mexican authorities employ DUI checkpoints to enforce the law. Rental cars carrying foreigners around party-hearty tourist spots are often pulled over.
When a car is stopped at a checkpoint, the driver is breathalyzed. If they fail the test – if their BAC (blood alcohol concentration) is over .08 in most states, but over just half that in Aguascalientes, Chiapas, Estado de México (including Mexico City), Hidalgo, Jalisco, Michoacán, Tamaulipas and Veracruz – they may do up to 36 hours in jail, be fined up to USD $2,500, and denied future entry into the country if they’re found to have had a drunk driving conviction in the past 10 years.
The government likes to keep things “tranquilo” in the run-up to elections and referenda, both state and federal. Where it is implemented, ley seca, or dry law (which, until 2007, was enforced at a national level – the authorities of each state now determine whether or not to apply it) bans alcohol sales for up to 48 hours, the day before elections and throughout election day. Very occasionally the law has been brought in to ensure calm during religious holidays.
Drugs in Mexico
Trafficking proscribed drugs and possession beyond the legal amounts set out for personal use are federal offenses, and convicted offenders, for whom bail is not an option, face jail sentences of up to 25 years. It’s not uncommon for foreigners charged with drug offenses to be detained for up to two years before a verdict is reached.
In 2009, the Mexican government adopted legislation decriminalizing possession of small amounts of drugs for "personal and immediate use” – defined as up to half a gram of cocaine, five grams of marijuana, 50 milligrams of heroin, 40 milligrams of methamphetamine and 0.015 milligrams of LSD.
If you need to take prescription drugs while in Mexico, ensure you have the necessary paperwork (a doctor’s letter or prescription), but note that some drugs that are legal in your home country may not be in Mexico, and you may be subject to arrest for arriving in the country with a controlled substance. Over-the-counter medicines that contain stimulants, such as codeine and pseudoephedrine, which is in Actifed, Sudafed and Vicks inhalers, are prohibited.
LGBTQ+ laws in Mexico
As of 2022, 19 out of 32 states have approved a law that allows any person to change their legal documents to align with their chosen name and gender identity; and a bill to ban the pseudoscientific practice of conversion therapy, with punishments of up to 12 years imprisonment for anyone practicing or promoting it, was passed by the Mexican Senate in October.
However, political protection and social convention are different things. Public policy in Mexico is heterogeneous, in the sense that, despite rulings from the nation’s Supreme Court of Justice mandating equal legal, social, and political recognition of gender and sexual minorities, many states and entities do not create laws to this end. The enforcement of a binary sex model continues to pathologize transgender people and expose them to stigma and violence – data collected in 2017 for the Global Attitudes Toward Transgender People survey revealed the country is second only to Brazil in the number of known homicides against transgender people worldwide. To find out more, check out our article from our LGBTQ+ expert, Ed Salvato.
What is a mordida?
If you hire a car, do yourself a favor and avoid speeding, running a red light, using a cell phone or any other traffic offense or the local police will pull you over and give you a ticket. Always remain calm and respectful. If you are given a fine, ask the officer to take you to the local police station to pay for it legally. However, you may be asked for a mordida, in other words, a bribe – mordidas literally means “bites”.
Police corruption remains a concern. Reliable figures are hard to come by, but uniformed officers still invite tourists to bribe their way out of trumped-up charges. These bribes are best dealt with calmly. Ask for identification, and be seen to note down the officer’s name, badge and patrol car numbers.
Get a travel insurance quote for Mexico
You can buy at home or while traveling, and claim online from anywhere in the world. With 150+ adventure activities covered and 24/7 emergency assistance.
Related articles
Simple and flexible travel insurance
You can buy at home or while traveling, and claim online from anywhere in the world. With 150+ adventure activities covered and 24/7 emergency assistance.
Get a quote
13 Comments
Animal abuse should be illeagal
Ok. I need some help say if i have my card paperwork saying im a patient to smoke cannabis what is the law for cannabis patients how much weed can we bring with use. .
So all three comments are idiots.
Mark Waverly; nothing about this is racist or in poor taste. I live in Mexico at the moment; it is all culturally sound and honest. Americans love to think everything is racist; especially when they don't know wtf they're talking about.
hggurhfihv; i completely agree but that just so happens to be culturally insensitive and close-minded. Judging a culture and saying they should change is the equivalent to someone telling you to stop wanking. You clearly never will you pathetic loser
Dominique (gay name btw) Weed is easy to get here in general. Don't bring your pathetic lil card cuz they don't care; they are legalizing marijuana (for locals.) You can smoke it in public; just don't be an idiot. If you get caught you don't get in that much trouble anyway; you pay a bribe or go to the station and pay a fine. No jail time; just... read a book and suck a dick you pathetic little bitch.
Why are most people so stupid? Seriously; each of these comments were retarded in a unique way.. Good article though!
Oh, one more thing! As an openly homosexual man in Mexico I can say at least that part of this shitty article was correct! I've had the best gay encouters of my life here!
I once got caught by local police and instead of a bribe, I got off by sucking the policemans dick.. it wasn't as bad as many would think.
Finland is not a gun-friendly country. You should not mention the U.S. and Finland (and Norway) even in the same sentence when you talk about gun-friendly countries. That is insane.
Last trip down there the cops robbed us. They said we could sit in jail and fight the charges or just pay them and go home. It's not worth waiting a year to be found innocent we paid them and went on our way. If you travel keep a small amount of money in a different location for a bribe to leave you the hell alone.
Stop writing articles with false information.
It shows you did zero research on Mexico. Personal possession and use of some drugs is discriminalized. Yes you CAN legally own a gun in Mexico. Yes you CAN own brass knuckles. You are wrong about access to "prescription" drugs as well.
Delete this stupid article.
Hi everyone,
We are well aware this article is very out of date. Keep posting your experiences and updated information in the comments section, we're in the process of updating these articles and appreciate your input.
Cheers,
Allyson@worldnomads
Have you even been to Mexico? Open containers in public is the norm as well as smoking weed. As long as you can walk it is highly unlikely the police will stop you....even if they do most of the time they will put your drunk ass in a taxi
Sounds like this Dont drink or get kidnapped dont do drugs that are at the least attention preventors,if your not paying attention you could end up dead and thats the end of disscusion all the states cartels are looking for stupid people not paying attention and being drunk ,high or enamored with a new partner you found isnt really paying attention and really even if you got a gun loaded and ready your outnumbered out shot and you are the one who is alone there ....seems to me its easier to go somewhere else to smoke weed swim and be in the hot sun than to go play an innocent in Mexico while smoking weed on the street and getting drunk BESIDES THAT PRISON THERE IS REALLY UNCOMFORTABLE
Can’t say I’ve ever been to México living in England but have decided to travel there with my family and do my balls in on excursions seeing the place doing all the vip parks ( have to cause I’m nobody special just another gang banger from across the pond ) I plan to get stoned I do that daily in the uk and will definitely be sampling mexicos finest. As always the news and dumb asses spread crap about the country and let’s be real some Americans can moan about literally anything. I’ve visited Jamaica got stoned in the ghettos and I’m white visited Dominican all of Europe and anywhere else what will accept me. America don’t want me lol. Way I see it is if your there spending money helping there economy and ultimately not been a judgemental dick towards others I recon I’ll have a very pleasant month there. Meet some mew boniest and have a blast with the family. If anyone thinks I can’t do that legally or will have issues in Mexico I’d like to hear why lol
And anyone who thinks cartels are just waiting to take out tourists is in my view [edited]. I imagine in the poorer places in Mexico where the daily grind pays little it’s easy for people to turn to drug sale or consumption. Them who take it in the end can’t afford it and face there fate. I imagine the sale of drugs to tourists is a staggering multi million if not billion dollar a year industry. Now why anyone would think cartels would harm and scare away this income has probably never left mums basement or actually lived a life of struggle and abuse. My advice would be if you want something you pay for it and go about your way. These clowns thinking there plastic gangsters secretly filming and broadcasting peoples business or threatening how someone feeds there own deserves a kick in. It’s the code you don’t break. Don’t look for trouble be nice relaxed have a personality and I reckon your gonna be fine and will love it so much you will return cause that’s what every business wants returning business. If your scared to visit places where crime is you best stay at home with your blanket and be safe lol.